(a) There is adopted by the city for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion that certain code known as the Standard Fire Prevention Code recommended by the Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc., being particularly the 1991 edition thereof, and any subsequent additions and amendments thereto, of which code a copy has been and is now filed in the office of the fire chief, and the same is incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein; and the provisions thereof shall be controlling in the city, except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, amended or modified.
(b) There is also adopted in its entirety the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code, 1985 edition, to supplement the ordinances, rules and regulations of the city respecting the proper delivery of safety services to the community. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; Ord. O-09-93, 1993; prior code § 2-3-1)

At least once in each and every year, the fire chief, or his designate, shall make a general inspection of all buildings in the corporate limits and ascertain if the laws and ordinances in reference to fire protection are complied with. It shall be the duty of the department to notify the occupant and owner of all premises of any defects or hazards found in this general inspection, and see that they are properly corrected. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-2)

The fire chief shall report before February 15 the number and dates of general and quarterly inspections during the preceding year ending December 31, upon blanks furnished by the insurance commissioner, and furnish such other information and make such other reports as shall be called for by the insurance commissioner. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-3)

Every building which shall appear to the inspector to be dangerous to life or limb or, because of its liability to fire, bad conditions of walls, overloaded construction, decay or other cause, shall be held to be unsafe; and the inspector shall affix a notice of the dangerous character of the structure at a conspicuous place on the exterior wall of the building and shall give immediate notice to the owner or agent, fixing a reasonable time under the circumstances for the correction of such condition. (Prior code § 2-3-4)

The city fire limits shall be as determined by the city council. (Prior code § 2-3-5)

The fire chief and/or his designated assistants shall investigate all fires and shall file a report with the state fire marshal. In cases of fires of a suspicious origin or when arson is suspected, the fire chief has the authority to call for assistance from any outside agency. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-6)

It is unlawful for any person to injure, destroy or in any manner tamper or interfere with the system, electrical or other, by which fire alarms are communicated to the department whether such system belongs to the city or not. (Prior code § 2-3-22)

It is unlawful for any person to in any way injure any hose, ladder or other apparatus belonging to, or in use by, the department for fire safety or fire fighting purposes. (Prior code § 2-3-23)

During the progress of any fire within the city limits, fire fighters and police officers, the fire chief (or in case of his absence or disability, the person in command of the department) shall have complete control of the scene of such fire, and the vicinity thereof, to such a distance in every direction as shall be necessary to enable him to effectively fight the fire. All fire fighters and police officers shall obey all lawful orders given them by the commander. He may likewise disperse crowds, rope off streets, buildings or other places within the city limits, destroy buildings or other property and take any other steps which may appear necessary in extinguishing a fire and in preventing looting, rioting or other disorder. It shall be the duty of all citizens, at his request, to render him all lawful assistance therein. No person shall interfere in any way with the fire chief, or with any person acting under the orders of the fire chief or acting fire chief while in the discharge of their duties. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-24)

It is unlawful for any person to obstruct any fireplug in such a manner as to impede the free approach thereto by the fire trucks or other apparatus of the department. (Prior code § 2-3-25)

The driver of any vehicle, other than one on official business, shall not follow any fire apparatus traveling in response to a fire alarm closer than five hundred feet, or stop within five hundred feet of any fire apparatus stopped in answer to a fire alarm. (Prior code § 2-3-26)

No person not a member of the fire department, unless authorized by a proper official, shall be allowed to ride on the apparatus or to handle equipment. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-27)

Except as otherwise provided, it shall be a misdemeanor to violate any provision in this article and, upon conviction, the penalty shall be in accordance with Section 1.12.510 of this code. (Prior code § 2-3-28)

In cases of fire, the fire chief, or any other person with authority from him, is authorized to cut any telegraph, telephone, power or other wires within the city limits without liability to the city for so doing. Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply that the city authorizes any person to undertake the personal risk of cutting any of such wires or to render it liable for any injury to the person so doing. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-29)

The city accepts the benefits of Title 38, Chapter 57 of the South Carolina Code of Laws relative to disposition of funds arising from insurance companies doing business in this state. (Prior code § 2-3-41)

The mayor, city administrator and one council member to be elected by the council, are appointed trustees of the Firemen’s Insurance and Inspection Fund. They shall have control thereof and direct its disbursements under such rules and regulations as may be adopted by them in accordance with state law. (Ord. O-15-93, 1993: O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-42)

The clerk-treasurer is authorized to receive the benefits of the Firemen’s Insurance and Inspection Fund from the state treasurer. All money so collected shall be set apart, and shall be paid out only upon the orders of the board of trustees, under the rules and regulations adopted by them. (Prior code § 2-3-43)

The fire chief shall file with the insurance commissioner, on a blank furnished by him, a certificate that the city has an organized fire department, a list of the equipment, and other facts that may be required by the insurance commissioners. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-44)

It is unlawful for any person to fire, shoot or discharge any fireworks of any description within the city, except as provided in this chapter. The penalty for the violation of this section shall be in accordance with Section 1.12.510. (Prior code § 2-3-51)

Nothing in this chapter shall apply:
(1) To the manufacture, storage, sale or use of signals necessary for the safe operation of railroads or other public or private transportation;
(2) To illumination devices for photographic use;
(3) To the military or naval forces of the state or United States;
(4) To fire fighters;
(5) To the sale or use of blank cartridges for ceremonial, theatrical or athletic events;
(6) To the transportation or use of fireworks solely for agricultural purposes;
(7) To toy paper pistol caps which contain less than twenty-five hundredths grains of explosive compounds, toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns or other devices using paper caps. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-52)

Any person desiring to hold a public display of fireworks shall first secure from the fire chief a written permit to hold such a display at least ten days prior to the date of the display; provided, no permit shall be issued to allow any public display of fireworks within the fire limits of the city, or at any location whereby, in the judgment of fire chief, life or property may be endangered. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-53)

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the shipping, sale, possession and use of fireworks for public displays; and such items of fireworks which are to be used for public display only and which are otherwise prohibited for sale and use within the city shall include display shells designated to be fired from mortars, display set pieces of fireworks classified by the regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission as “Class B Fireworks,” and shall not include such items of commercial fireworks as cherry bombs, tubular salutes, repeating bombs, aerial bombs and torpedoes. (Prior code § 2-3-54)

(a) It is unlawful for persons to possess, sell, offer for sale, store or transport within the city any fireworks other than those herein enumerated. The permissible fireworks consist of ICC Class C “Common Fireworks” only for the transportation of explosives and other dangerous articles, and shall include the following:
(1) Roman candles whose total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed twenty grams each in weight;
(2) Bottle-type rockets whose pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed twenty grams each in weight;
(3) Cylindrical fountains whose total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed seventy-five grams each in weight and whose inside diameter shall not exceed three-fourths inch;
(4) Cone fountains whose total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed fifty grams each in weight;
(5) Wheels whose total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed sixty grams in weight, for each driver unit, but there may be any number of drivers on any one wheel and the inside bore of driver tubes shall not be over one-half inch;
(6) Illuminating torches and colored fire in any form whose total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed one hundred grams each in weight;
(7) Sparklers whose total pyrotechnic composition shall not exceed one hundred grams each in weight;
(8) Firecrackers and salutes with casings, the external dimensions of which do not exceed one and one-half inches in length and one-quarter inch in diameter, and other items designed to produce an audible effect, the total pyrotechnic composition of which does not exceed two grains each in weight; and
(9) Items composed of a combination of two or more articles or devices of the above enumerated approved items.
(b) No component of any device listed in this section which is designed to produce an audible effect shall contain pyrotechnic composition in excess of two grains in weight, excluding propelling or expelling charges designed to produce a loud and piercing effect.
(Prior code § 2-3-55)

It is unlawful to sell or offer for sale any fireworks to children under the age of fourteen years unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. (Prior code § 2-3-56)

No permissible article of common fireworks enumerated in Section 2.12.270 shall be sold, offered for sale, possessed, stored or used in the city unless it shall be properly named to conform to the nomenclature of that section, and unless it is certified as “common fireworks” on all shipping cases and by imprinting on the article to be of sufficient size and so positioned as to be readily recognized by law enforcement authorities and the general public. (Prior code § 2-3-57)

All retailers are forbidden to expose fireworks where the sun shines through glass on the merchandise displayed, except where such fireworks are in the original packages, and all fireworks kept for sale on front counters must remain in original packages, except where an attendant is on constant duty; provided, however, that fireworks in open stock may be kept in show cases or counters out of reach of the public without an attendant being on duty. Signs reading “FIREWORKS FOR SALE--NO SMOKING ALLOWED” shall be displayed in the section of the store set aside for the sale of fireworks. (Prior code § 2-3-58)

Fireworks shall not be sold or kept for sale in a place of business where paints, oils, varnish, turpentine, gasoline or other flammable substances are kept in unbroken containers, unless in a separate and distinct section or department of the store. (Prior code § 2-3-59)

All retailers shall, before commencing business, obtain a license from the clerk-treasurer. The clerk-treasurer shall issue such license only after approval of the applicant and the place of business by the fire chief. (Ord. O-10-93 § 4 (part), 1993; prior code § 2-3-60)