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Private fire
hydrant ordinance for
THE TOWN
OF RUTLAND
Section I. AUTHORITY
Pursuant to 20 V.S.A. § 2291(13), 24 V.S.A. §
2291(14) and 24 V.S.A. § 2291(15) the following
ordinance is promulgated
in order to regulate the inspection, testing, maintenance,
correction, and repair of
fire hydrants located on private property in the Town
of Rutland and
those fire hydrants located
in the rights of way of a public highways of the Town
of Rutland
that the Town of Rutland does
not own. This Ordinance is designated as a civil ordinance
pursuant to 24 V.S.A. §
1971(b).
Section II. PURPOSES
The purposes of this Ordinance are to:
(1) Provide standards and
requirements for the inspection, testing, maintenance,
correction,
and repair of fire hydrants
located on private property of the Town of Rutland,
as well as fire
hydrants located in the right
of way of a public highway in the Town of Rutland
that are
owned by a fire district or
any person or entity other than the Town of Rutland.
(2) Ensure that every private fire hydrant to which
the Fire Department of the Town of Rutland
or other municipal fire department
connects in the event of a fire or other emergency
will
function as designed to produce
the water necessary to respond appropriately to the
fire or
other emergency.
(3) Protect the public health, safety and general
welfare of the Town of Rutland.
Section III. DEFINITIONS
(1) EMERGENCY IMPAIRMENT A condition where
a private fire hydrant is out of service due
to an unexpected occurrence,
such as frozen or ruptured hydrant components or an
interruption of the water
supply to the system.
(2) FIRE DEPARTMENT The Fire Department of
the Town of Rutland.
(3) HYDRANT A private fire hydrant as defined
below.
(4) IMPAIRED HYDRANT A private fire hydrant
which is not operational due to an emergency
impairment or a preplanned
impairment.
(5) IMPAIRMENT A shutdown of a private fire
hydrant which renders the hydrant non-
operational and therefore
out of service.
(6) IMPAIRMENT TAG A tag affixed to a private
fire hydrant to indicate that the hydrant is out
of service. The Fire Department
may determine the requirements of an impairment tag
and the
means and location of its
attachment to a hydrant.
(7) INSPECTION A visual examination of a private
fire hydrant to verify that it appears to be
in operating condition and
is free from physical damage.
(8) ISSUING MUNICIPAL OFFICIAL - A constable of the
Town of Rutland, the town attorney,
town grand juror, administrative
assistant, officer and any other person designated
by the
Board of Selectmen to issue
and pursue before the Traffic and Municipal Ordinance
Bureau a
municipal complaint to enforce
this Ordinance.
(9) MAINTENANCE Work performed to keep a private
fire hydrant operable or to make
repairs.
(10) NFPA STANDARD Publication 25 of the National
Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
entitled Standard for the
Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based
Fire Protection
Systems 2002, and any subsequent
amendments or revisions thereto.
(11) OWNER The person that holds record title
to the property upon which a private fire
hydrant is located. For fire
hydrants located in the right of way of a public highway
in the
Town of Rutland that are not
owned by the Town of Rutland, the owner is the person
that
owns the fire hydrant itself.
(12) OWNERS DESIGNEE - Where the owner is not
the occupant of the premises upon which
a private fire hydrant is
located, the occupant, management firm, or managing
individual
designated by the owner through
specific provisions in the lease, written use agreement,
or
management contract owner
to assume the responsibility to inspect, test, and
maintain,
correct and repair a private
fire hydrant located on the owners property.
(13) PERSON - Any institution, public or private corporation,
individual, partnership, fire
district, or other entity.
(14) PRE-PLANNED IMPAIRMENT A condition where
a private fire hydrant is out of service
due to work that has been
planned in advance.
(15) PRIVATE FIRE HYDRANT A valved connection
to a water main for the purpose of
supplying water to a fire
hose or other fire protection apparatus and that is
not located within
the right of way of a public
highway of the Town of Rutland. A private fire hydrant
also
includes any fire hydrant
located in a right of way of a public highway in the
Town of Rutland
that is owned by a fire district
or any person other than the Town of Rutland.
(16) QUALIFIED Having knowledge of the installation,
construction, operation, maintenance,
correction or repair of a
fire hydrant and the hazards involved.
(17) RECORD Written documentation of the inspection,
testing, maintenance, correction, or
repair of a private fire
hydrant.
(18) SHALL Indicates a mandatory requirement.
(19) TESTING A procedure of periodic physical
and operational checks used to determine
whether a private fire hydrant
is capable of being operated as intended and will
perform as
intended, e.g. water-flow
tests. These tests follow up on the original tests
at intervals specified
in this Ordinance.
Section IV.GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
(1) Responsibility for properly maintaining a private
fire hydrant shall be that of the owner of
the property or the owners
designee.
(a) Where the owner of a private fire hydrant has
designated an occupant, management firm,
or managing individual, through
specific provisions in the lease, written use agreement,
or
management contract, to be
responsible for the inspection, testing and maintenance
of a
private fire hydrant in accordance
with this Ordinance, the owners designee shall
comply
with the requirements of this
Ordinance and shall be subject to enforcement of this
Ordinance
in the event of a failure
to so comply.
(2) By means of periodic inspections, tests, maintenance,
correction, and repair, every private
fire hydrant shall be maintained
in proper working condition, consistent with this
Ordinance,
the NFPA Standard, and the
manufacturers specifications or recommendations.
(3) Inspection, testing, maintenance, correction and
repair shall be implemented with the
procedures meeting or exceeding
those established in this Ordinance and the NFPA
Standard, and shall be in
accordance with the manufacturers specifications
or
recommendations. This Ordinance
shall control in the event of a conflict among any
of the
aforementioned applicable
standards. Inspection, testing, maintenance, correction,
and repair
shall be performed by qualified
maintenance personnel or a qualified contractor.
(4) The owner or owners designee shall notify
the Fire Department of the Town of Rutland
before testing or shutting
down a private fire hydrant or its water supply.
(a) This notification shall include the purpose for
the shutdown, the private fire hydrant
involved, and the estimated
time that the hydrant will be impaired.
(5) The owner or owners designee shall notify
the Fire Department when the private fire
hydrant is returned to service.
(6) The owner or owners designee shall promptly
correct or repair any deficiencies, damaged
parts, or impairments found
while performing the inspection, testing, and maintenance
requirements of this Ordinance.
(7) The owner or owners designee shall promptly
correct or repair any deficiencies, damaged
parts, or impairments of
any private fire hydrant of which the owner or owners
designee has
knowledge or, in the exercise
of reasonable care, ought to have knowledge.
Section V. INSPECTION, TESTING, MAINTENANCE, CORRECTION
and REPAIR
(1) This section shall provide
the minimum requirements for the routine inspection,
testing,
maintenance, correction, and
repair of private fire hydrants. These functions shall
be
permitted to be carried out
simultaneously.
(2) On or before October 1 of each year, the owner
or the owners designee shall inspect, test,
maintain, and if necessary,
correct, and repair each private fire hydrant to ensure
proper
functioning, with the necessary
repair or corrective action taken as shown in Table
1.
(a) The owner or owners designee shall conduct
an inspection of a private fire hydrant after
each time the hydrant is operated.
(3) When conducting a test
of a private fire hydrant, the hydrant shall be opened
fully and
water flowed until all foreign
material has cleared.
(a) Flow shall be maintained
for not less than one (1) minute.
(b) After operation, the hydrant shall be observed
for proper drainage from the barrel.
(c) Full drainage shall take no longer than sixty
(60) minutes.
(d) Where soil conditions
or other factors are such that the hydrant barrel
does not drain
within sixty (60) minutes,
or where the ground water level if above that of the
hydrant drain,
the hydrant drain shall be
plugged and the water in the barrel shall be pumped
out.
(e) A hydrant does not drain as required shall be
identified clearly as needing pumping after
each operation.
(4) Private fire hydrants shall be lubricated annually
to ensure that all stems, caps, plugs, and
threads are in proper operating
condition.
(5) Private fire hydrants shall be kept free of snow,
ice, or other materials and protected
against mechanical damage
so that free access is ensured.
(6) The owner or the owners
designee shall repair as soon as possible a private
fire hydrant
which is impaired or otherwise
does not function as required by this Ordinance, the
NFPA
Standard, or the manufacturers
specifications.
(a) After completing all necessary repairs to a private
fire hydrant, the owner or the owners
designee shall inspect and
test the hydrant as necessary consistent with the
standards of
this Ordinance, including
without limitation Table 1, to ensure that the hydrant
is operational.
Section VI.IDENTIFICATION AND NOTIFICATION OF IMPAIRED
HYDRANT
(1) The owner or owners designee shall notify
the Fire Department in advance of a
preplanned impairment of a
private fire hydrant.
(2) The owner or the owners designee shall notify
the Fire Department immediately of an
emergency impairment of a
private fire hydrant.
(3) The owner or owners designee shall affix
an impairment tag to an impaired hydrant at the
commencement of a preplanned
impairment and at the time of discovery of an emergency
impairment.
(4) Once the necessary inspection and testing confirm
that repairs have restored a private fire
hydrant to operational status,
the owner or the owners designee shall remove
the impairment
tag and shall notify the
Fire Department that the hydrant is operational.
Section VII. RECORDS
(1) Records shall indicate the procedure performed
concerning the inspection, testing,
maintenance, correction, and
repair of a private hydrant. Such records shall include
the
organization that performed
the work, the results, and the date, as well as such
other
pertinent information as the
Fire Department shall require.
(2) Records shall be maintained
by the owner or the owners designee.
(3) The owner or owners designee shall submit
to the Administrative Officer of the Town of
Rutland a record of the annual
inspection, test, maintenance, correction and repair
of each
private fire hydrant and
its components.
(4) The owner shall retain the original records of
a private fire hydrant for the life of the private
fire hydrant.
(5) Subsequent records shall be retained for a period
of one year after the next inspection,
test, maintenance, correction
or required by this Ordinance.
Section VIII. ENFORCEMENT VIOLATIONS and PENALTIES
(1) A civil penalty of not more than $500 may be imposed
for a violation of this Ordinance.
Each week that the violation
continues shall constitute a separate violation of
this Ordinance.
(2) An issuing municipal official is authorized to
recover by the issuance of a municipal
complaint, civil penalties
in the following amounts for each violation of this
Ordinance:
First Violation $50
Second Violation $100
Third Violation $300
Fourth and Subsequent Violations
$500
(3) In lieu of the civil penalties
provided in subsection 2 of this section, an issuing
municipal
official is authorized to
recover a waiver fee in the following amount, from
any person to
whom a municipal complaint
is issued, who declines to contest the municipal traffic
complaint
and pays the waiver fee:
First Violation $25
Second Violation $50
Third Violation $150
Fourth and Subsequent Violations
$250
(4) Other Relief - In addition
to the enforcement procedures available before the
Traffic and
Municipal Ordinance Bureau,
the Town of Rutland may pursue any remedy authorized
by law,
including without limitation,
the maintenance of a civil action in superior court
pursuant to 24
V.S.A. § 1974a(b) to
obtain injunctive and other appropriate relief.
Section IX.EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall become effective sixty (60) days
after its adoption by the Selectboard. If
a petition is timely filed
under 24 V.S.A. § 1973, the taking effect of
this Ordinance shall be
governed by 24 V.S.A. §
1973(e).
SIGNATURES DATE
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TABLE 1 -FIRE HYDRANT INSPECTION,
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
CONDITION
CORRECTIVE ACTION
Inaccessible
Make accessible
Barrel contains water or ice (presence of either could
indicate a faulty drain, a leaky hydrant valve, or
a high groundwater table)
Repair and drain; for high groundwater it could be
necessary to plug the drain and pump out the barrel
after each use
Improper drainage from barrel
Repair drain
Leaks at outlets or at top of hydrant
Repair or replace gaskets, packing, or parts as necessary
Cracks in hydrant barrel
Repair or replace
Tightness of outlets
Lubricate if necessary, tighten if necessary
Worn nozzle threads
Repair or replace
Worn hydrant operating nut
Repair or replace
Availability of operating wrench
Make sure wrench is available
Cracked or peeled paint, exposed rust unpainted metal
Remove rust, paint hydrant as necessary
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