6.150 Fire Prevention.

(1) Fire Prevention Code. The City of Manitowoc hereby adopts Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services Administrative Code SPS 314, and all sections of the National Fire Protection Association Code and any other codes and standards referenced therein, for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 314 is adopted in its entirety save except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended by subsection (7) of this section.

(2) Establishment and Duties of Bureau of Fire Prevention.

(a) The Fire Prevention Code shall be enforced by the Bureau of Fire Prevention in the Fire Department of the City of Manitowoc, which is hereby established and which shall be operated under the supervision of the Chief of the Fire Department.

(b) The Chief in charge of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall be appointed by the Manitowoc Police and Fire Commission on the basis of examination to determine that person’s qualifications. The appointment shall continue during good behavior and satisfactory service, and the Chief shall not be removed from office except for cause after public trial.

(c) The Chief of the Fire Department may detail such members of the Fire Department as inspectors as shall from time to time be necessary. The Chief of the Fire Department shall recommend to the Manitowoc Police and Fire Commission the employment of technical inspectors, who, when such authorization is made, shall be selected through an examination to determine their fitness for the position. The examination shall be open to members of the Fire Department and appointments made after examination shall be for an indefinite term with removal only for cause.

(d) A report of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall be made annually and transmitted to the Chief Executive Officer of the municipality; it shall contain all proceedings under this code, with such statistics as the Chief of the Fire Department may wish to include therein; the Chief of the Fire Department shall also recommend any amendments to the code which, in the Chief’s judgment, shall be desirable.

(3) Storage of Explosives – Establishment of Limits of Districts in Which Storage of Explosives and Blasting Agents Is to Be Prohibited. The limits referred to in the Fire Prevention Code, in which storage of explosives and blasting agents is prohibited, are hereby established as follows: there will be no storage of explosives and blasting agents within the City limits of the City of Manitowoc.

(4) Storage of Flammable Liquids – Establishment of Limits of Districts in Which Storage of Flammable Liquids in Outside Above-Ground Tanks Is to Be Prohibited.

(a) The limits referred to in the Fire Prevention Code, in which storage of flammable liquids in outside above-ground tanks is prohibited, are hereby established as follows: as approved by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Department of Safety and Professional Services and by the Chief of the Fire Department.

(b) The limits referred to in the Fire Prevention Code, in which new bulk plants for flammable or combustible liquids are prohibited, are hereby established as follows: as approved by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Department of Safety and Professional Services and by the Chief of the Fire Department.

(5) Storage of Liquefied Petroleum – Establishment of Limits in Which Bulk Storage of Liquefied Petroleum Gases Is to Be Restricted. The limits referred to in the Fire Prevention Code, in which bulk storage of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted, are hereby established as follows: as approved by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Department of Safety and Professional Services.

(6) Amendments Made in the Fire Prevention Code. The Fire Prevention Code is amended and changed in the following respects: when any State Statute referenced in this code is amended, the City of Manitowoc adopts the amendment unless expressly stated herein. Whenever the Fire Prevention Code is in conflict with applicable State law, the State law will triumph.

(7) Modifications. The Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall have power to modify any of the provisions of the Fire Prevention code upon application in writing by the owner or lessee, or the duly authorized agent of the owner or lessee, when there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the code; provided, that the spirit of the code shall be observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done. The particulars of such modification when granted or allowed and the decision of the Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention thereon shall be entered upon the records of the Department and signed copy shall be furnished the applicant.

(8) Appeals. Whenever the Chief of the Fire Department shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant a permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions of the code do not apply or that the true intent and meaning of the code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the decision of the Chief of the Fire Department to the Common Council of the City of Manitowoc within 30 days from the date of the decision appealed.

(9) New Materials, Processes or Occupancies Which May Require Permits. The Chief of the Fire Department shall determine and specify, after giving affected person an opportunity to be heard, any new materials, processes or occupancies, which shall require permits, in addition to those now enumerated in said code. The Chief of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall post such list in a conspicuous place in his/her office, and distribute copies thereof to interested persons.

(10) Penalties.

(a) Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of the Fire Prevention Code hereby adopted or fail to comply therewith, or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order made thereunder, or who shall build in violation of any detailed statement of specifications or plans submitted and approved thereunder, or any certificate or permit issued thereunder, and from which no appeal has been taken, or who shall fail to comply with such an order as affirmed or modified by the Fire Chief or by a court of competent jurisdiction, within the time fixed herein, shall severally for each and every such violation and noncompliance respectively be punished by a fine of not less than $100.00 for the first offense, $500.00 for the second offense, and $1,000 for the third and subsequent offenses. When not otherwise specified, each day that prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate offense.

(b) The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.

(11) Repeal of Conflicting Ordinances. All former ordinances or parts thereof conflicting or inconsistent with the provisions of this section or of the code hereby adopted are hereby repealed.

(12) Validity. The Common Council of the City of Manitowoc hereby declares that should any section, paragraph, sentence or word of this section or of the code hereby adopted be declared for any reason to be invalid, it is the intent of the Common Council of the City of Manitowoc that it would have passed all other portions of the ordinance codified in this section independent of any such portion as may be declared invalid.

(13) Date of Effect. The ordinance codified in this section shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication.

[Ord. 24-1126 § 5, 2024; Ord. 09-555 §§ 19, 20, 21, 2009. Prior code § 6.15. Formerly 6.16]