Title 5, Municipal Corporations

No frame or wood structure shall be built within such fire limits except the following, and all roofs placed upon such buildings or structures shall have an incombustible covering, (a) temporary one-story frame buildings for the use of builders and (b) wooden fences not over eigh…

No building shall hereafter be built for a public garage, coffee roaster, bakery, dry cleaning establishment or steam laundry within the fire limits, unless it be of slow-burning construction with exterior walls and roof of incombustible material.

All repairs to roofs within the fire limits shall be by the use of incombustible materials.

An existing frame building within the fire limits which may hereafter be damaged by fire, decay or otherwise to an amount greater than one half of its value on February 20 1917, exclusive of the foundation, shall not be repaired or rebuilt but shall be removed.

The chief of a fire department shall also be the local inspector of buildings for the city or town for which he is appointed and shall perform the duties required herein and make all reports required by the State law, by city or town ordinances or by the State Fire Marshal. He sh…

All duties imposed by this chapter upon the building inspector may be performed by a deputy, duly appointed and approved by the city council or other governing body of the town.

(A) One-family and two-family dwellings, including manufactured housing, must be equipped with approved and properly functioning smoke detectors installed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 72E, 1990 Edition, and with NFPA Standard 74, 1989 Ed…

A battery-operated detector meeting the requirements of NFPA 74, 1989 Edition, is permitted in an existing dwelling that has not undergone remodeling exceeding fifty percent of its assessed value. Detectors must be installed according to manufacturer's instructions.

(A) The owner of a dwelling is responsible for supplying and installing the smoke detectors in rental dwellings and housing and shall provide the tenant at the time the tenant takes possession of the dwelling written or verbal instructions, or both, for testing the detectors and …

No person may convey a title to real estate which includes a dwelling to which the article applies pursuant to Section 5-25-1310(A) or transfer possession of a building to which this article applies pursuant to Section 5-25-1310(A) unless smoke detectors have been installed and a…

Upon entry into a dwelling on official business by invitation of the owner or occupant or in response to an emergency, the State Fire Marshal or a local fire official, or both, shall enforce this article.

A person who violates this article on first offense has fifteen days to install a smoke detector or to repair or replace the detector. On second offense, a person who violates this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than fifty dollars …

Failure to comply with the provisions of this article does not create a cause of action for a per se statutory violation for liability, or for negligence-based liability, for death, injury, or damages. Nor shall failure to comply with the provisions of this article be used by any…

The city council of any incorporated city or town may, in its discretion, appoint an electrical inspector in addition to the building inspector, and when such electrical inspector is so appointed, he shall do and perform all things herein set out for the building inspector to do …

The city council may at any time review, reverse, modify or affirm any action or order given by the inspector.

The inspector of buildings of every incorporated city or town in this State shall hold an inquiry into the origin of every fire occurring within the limits of such city or town. The inspector of buildings may subpoena witnesses as may magistrates of the State. The mayor, chief of…

After making a complete inquiry upon such fire any such inspector of buildings shall make a report in writing to the State Fire Marshal upon blanks to be furnished by the Marshal, showing how, in his opinion, the fire originated.

An inspector of buildings shall be entitled to a fee of three dollars for making any such inquiry, such fee to be taxed against the person owning the property burned, if the fire was caused by faulty construction or negligence of the owner; but in case the inspector shall conclud…

If the officer shall consider that the fire be due to criminal carelessness, the person responsible for it shall be indicted before a magistrate for a misdemeanor and, upon conviction of the same, may be fined in a sum not exceeding fifty dollars or imprisoned for not more than t…

Any city or town council of a city or town of not less than one hundred inhabitants may equip and control a fire department for the protection of such city or town in such way as it deems necessary and by ordinance establish fire limits in such city or town and prescribe and desi…

If the governing body of any municipality shall fail or refuse to appoint an officer to make the investigation required, the State Fire Marshal shall make such appointment.

An officer so appointed who, after accepting such appointment, shall fail to carry out the provisions of SECTIONS 5-25-160 and 5-25-170 shall be liable to a penalty of twenty-five dollars, recoverable before a magistrate, and to dismissal from office. The State Fire Marshal shall…

Before a building is begun the owner of the property shall apply to the inspector for a permit to build. This permit shall be given in writing and shall contain a provision that the building shall be constructed according to the requirements of this chapter. This requirement shal…

As the construction of any building progresses the inspector shall make as many inspections as may be necessary to satisfy him that the building is being constructed according to the provisions of this chapter. As soon as the building is completed the owner shall notify the inspe…

No building shall be moved until a permit has been obtained from the inspector, and such official shall not issue such a permit if in his judgment the proposed new location of the building would seriously increase the fire hazard of the surrounding buildings.

The local inspector shall at all times have the right to enter any dwelling, store or other building and premises to inspect them, without molestation from anyone. Provided, that a private dwelling or premise may not be entered without permission, unless there exists probable cau…

The inspector shall report to the State Fire Marshal every person neglecting to secure such permit and certificate and shall also bring the matter before the mayor or recorder of the municipal court for his attention and action.

Once in every three months the inspector or his deputy shall make a personal inspection of every building and premises within the fire limits and shall especially inspect the basement and garret and he shall make such other inspections as may be required by the State Fire Marshal…

At least once in each and every year the inspector or his deputy shall make a general inspection of all buildings in the corporate limits and ascertain if the provisions of this chapter are being complied with. The local inspector shall notify the occupant and owner of any premis…

Whenever the inspector finds any defects in any new building or finds that such building is not being constructed or has not been constructed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or that an old building, because of its condition, is dangerous and likely to cause fire…

To every building which shall appear to the inspector to be dangerous to life or limb or, because of its liability to fire, bad condition of walls, overloaded floors, defective construction, decay or other cause, shall be held to be unsafe the inspector shall affix a notice of th…

Each hospital operating over ten beds and all public schools located in a city or town in this State in which there is a general fire alarm station and an electrically operated fire alarm system shall be equipped with a fire alarm box of the type and character used in such city o…

No building shall be altered, repaired or moved until it has been examined and approved by the inspector as being in a good and safe condition to be altered as proposed, and the alteration, repair or change so made shall conform to the provisions of this chapter.

If the owner or builder erecting any new building, upon notice from the inspector, shall fail or refuse to comply with the terms of the notice by correcting the defects pointed out in such notice so as to make such building comply with the law as regards new buildings, he shall b…

If the owner of any building which has been condemned as unsafe and dangerous by any local inspector, after being notified by the inspector in writing of the unsafe and dangerous character of such building, shall permit it to stand or continue in that condition, he shall forfeit …

If any person shall remove any notice which has been affixed to any building by the inspector of any city or town stating the dangerous character of the building, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars for each offense.

The inspector shall keep the following records: (1) A book indexed and kept so that it will show readily by reference all such buildings as are approved, that is, the name and residence of the owner, the location of the building, how it is or is to be occupied, the date of inspec…

The inspector shall report before the fifteenth day of February of each year the number and dates of his general and quarterly inspections during the year ending the preceding thirty-first day of December upon blanks furnished by the State Fire Marshal and shall furnish such othe…

If the inspector shall (a) fail to perform the duties required of him by law, (b) give a certificate of inspection without first making the inspection required by law or (c) improperly give a certificate of inspection, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, sha…

For every inspection of a new building or of an old building repaired or altered the following fees shall be charged: Two dollars for each mercantile store room, livery stable or building for manufacturing of one story, and fifty cents per room. But the inspection fee shall in no…

Cities having a population of seventy thousand or more, according to the official United States census, may establish a schedule of fees for the inspection of new buildings and the inspection of repairs to or alterations of existing buildings, which shall not exceed two dollars f…

Explosives, inflammable liquids and matches may be kept within the corporate limits only in such quantities and in such manner as shall not cause an increase in the insurance rate on any property affected thereby.

No building hereafter erected or altered shall exceed four stories or fifty-five feet in height, unless it be of fireproof construction, when it shall not exceed fifteen stories or one hundred and ninety feet. Except when built as specified in SECTION 5-25-920, no building hereaf…

No frame building erected or altered after February 20 1917 shall exceed two stories or thirty feet in height, except that private dwellings may be three stories or forty feet high.

No opening in any interior masonry wall shall exceed eight feet by ten feet. If the opening be in a party or fire wall, it shall have a standard automatic fire door on each side of the wall. If an opening in a fire wall is made to serve as an emergency exit, it shall not exceed f…

All business buildings erected after February 20 1917 being more than fifty-six feet high and covering an area of more than five thousand superficial feet and also all buildings exceeding eighty feet in height shall have a four-inch or larger metallic standpipe within or near the…