Section 15-101
§ 15-101 Definitions; bureaus, divisions and offices. a. For the
purposes of this title the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
(1) "Commissioner" shall mean the fire commissioner.
(2) "Department" shall mean the fire department.
b. In addition to such other bureaus, divisions and offices as the
commissioner may organize pursuant to section eleven hundred two of the
charter, there shall be in the department:
1. A fire bureau in the charge of the chief of the department which
shall have charge of the extinguishment of fires and the necessary and
incidental protection of life and property in connection therewith.
In such bureau there shall be a bureau of fire prevention and such
bureau shall be in the charge of a member of the uniformed force of the
department, of a rank above that of captain, to be designated by the
commissioner. Such bureau shall perform the duties and exercise the
powers of the commissioner in relation to (1) combustibles, chemicals,
explosives, flammables, or other dangerous substances, articles,
compounds or mixtures, (2) the prevention of fires or danger to life or
property therefrom, excluding provisions relating to structural
conditions and (3) protection against fire and panic, obstruction of
aisles, passageways and means of egress, standees, fire protection and
fire extinguishing appliances, and fire prevention in licensed places of
assembly. In the performance of their official duties, the uniformed and
civilian members of the bureau of fire prevention shall have the powers
and perform the duties of peace officers, but their power to make
arrests and serve process in criminal actions shall be restricted to
cases arising under laws relating to (1) the manufacture, storage, sale,
transportation or use of combustibles, chemicals, explosives, flammables
or other dangerous substances, articles, compounds or mixtures and the
control of fire hazards, (2) the prevention of fires or danger to life
or property therefrom, excluding provisions relating to structural
conditions and (3) fire perils.
2. A chief and deputy chief fire marshal, appointed by the
commissioner, who shall be members of the department.
c. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of any general, special
or local law, or rule or regulation, a chief of the department shall not
serve in any other capacity to the department during his or her term of
office of chief. Any person violating the provisions of this section
shall be deemed to have vacated the office of chief so held.
Section 15-102
§ 15-102 Volunteer system. a. The paid department system, as soon as
practicable, shall be extended over the borough of Staten Island by the
commissioner, and thereupon the present volunteer fire companies now
maintained therein shall be disbanded. Any real property and any
apparatus, equipment or other personal property owned or used by such
volunteer forces which may be deemed useful or necessary for the use of
the department, upon the extension of the paid system to the borough of
Staten Island, shall be purchased by the department of general services
upon the recommendation of the commissioner at the reasonable value
thereof.
b. In the meantime and until the paid department shall be extended
over such borough of Staten Island, such volunteer fire companies shall
continue to discharge the duties for which they have been associated or
incorporated, and there shall be paid on the first day of June in each
year to the treasurers of such volunteer fire companies, by the
comptroller, the following sums: To the treasurer of an engine company
or chemical engine company twelve hundred dollars, to the treasurer of a
hook and ladder company ten hundred dollars, to the treasurer of a hose
company, eight hundred dollars, and to the treasurer of a patrol
company, eight hundred dollars. The city, in its discretion, may
appropriate such sum of money as it may deem necessary for the purchase
of apparatus for the use of the several volunteer companies in the
borough of Staten Island, and for the maintenance of the fire alarm
system in such borough.
c. The extension of the paid department system shall not affect the
rights and privileges of any volunteer benevolent association existing
within the territory where such extension is made.
Section 15-103
§ 15-103 Qualifications of force of department. a. To qualify for
membership in the department a person shall be:
1. A citizen of the United States.
2. Able understandingly to read and write the English language.
3. Shall have passed his or her eighteenth birthday but not his or her
twenty-ninth birthday on the date of the filing of his or her
application for civil service examination. No person who qualifies under
this requirement shall be disqualified from membership in the department
because of having passed his or her twenty-ninth birthday subsequent to
the filing of his or her application. However no person shall be
appointed unless he or she shall have attained his or her twenty-first
birthday.
b. A conviction of a felony shall disqualify all persons from
membership in the department.
c. Nothing in this section is intended to repeal or supersede the
provisions of section 12-138 of the code.
Section 15-103.1
§ 15-103.1 Chief of department. Notwithstanding any inconsistent
provision of any general, special or local law, including but not
limited to section 15-110 of this chapter, to the contrary, the chief of
department shall not be required to be selected by competitive
examination. The chief of department shall be in the exempt class of the
classified service, and shall be selected from among persons holding the
title of deputy chief (fire).
Section 15-104
§ 15-104 Probationary period. Preliminary to a permanent appointment
as firefighter there shall be a period of probation for such time as is
fixed by the civil service rules, and no person shall receive a
permanent appointment who has not served the required probationary
period. The service during probation shall be deemed to be service in
the uniformed force if succeeded by a permanent appointment, and as such
shall be included and counted in determining eligibility for
advancement, promotion, retirement and pension.
Section 15-105
§ 15-105 Oaths of office. Each member of the uniformed force shall
take an oath of office and subscribe the same before an officer of the
department empowered to administer an oath.
Section 15-106
§ 15-106 Warrants of appointment. Every member of the uniformed force
shall have issued to him or her a warrant of appointment signed by the
commissioner.
Section 15-107
§ 15-107 Grades of members of the uniformed force. Members of the
uniformed force, upon appointment, shall be assigned to the fourth
grade; after one year of service in the fourth grade they shall be
advanced to the third grade; after one year of service in the third
grade, they shall be advanced to the second grade; after one year of
service in the second grade, they shall be advanced to the first grade;
and they shall in each instance receive the annual pay or compensation
of the grade to which they belong.
Section 15-108
§ 15-108 Salary during absence from duty caused by injury or sickness.
Each member of the uniformed force shall be paid full pay or
compensation during absence from duty caused by injury or sickness,
except as otherwise provided by law.
Section 15-108.1
§ 15-108.1 Receipt of line of duty pay. a. A member or officer of the
force shall be entitled pursuant to this section to the full amount of
his or her regular salary for the period of any incapacity due to
illness or injury incurred in the performance and discharge of duty as a
member or officer of the force, as determined by the department.
b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights,
powers and duties of the commissioner pursuant to any other provision of
law, including, but not limited to, the right to discipline a member or
officer of the force by termination, reduction of salary, or any other
appropriate measure; the power to terminate an appointee who has not
completed his or her probationary term; and the power to apply for
ordinary or accident disability retirement for a member or officer of
the force.
c. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require payment of
salary to a member or officer of the force who has been terminated,
retired, suspended or otherwise separated from service by reason of
death, retirement or any other cause.
d. A decision as to eligibility for benefits pursuant to this section
shall not be binding on the medical board or the board of trustees of
any pension fund in the determination of eligibility for an accident
disability or accidental death benefit.
e. As used in this section the term "incapacity" shall mean the
inability to perform full, limited, or restricted duty.
Section 15-109
§ 15-109 Salary of first grade firefighters. Firefighters of the first
grade shall be paid a minimum of three thousand dollars per annum.
Section 15-110
§ 15-110 Promotions. Promotions of officers and members of the force
shall be made by the commissioner on the basis of seniority, meritorious
service in the department and superior capacity as shown by competitive
examination. Individual acts of personal bravery may be treated as an
element of meritorious service in such examination, the relative rating
therefor to be fixed by the commissioner of citywide administrative
services. The fire commissioner shall transmit to the commissioner of
citywide administrative services in advance of such examination the
complete record of each candidate for promotion.
Section 15-111
§ 15-111 Credit for service in the police department. a. (1) Any
member of the uniformed force of the fire department, who immediately
prior to his or her appointment or employment as such, has served or
shall have served as a member of the police force of the police
department, shall have the time served by such member in such police
department counted as service in the fire department in determining his
or her retirement and pension in such department as herein or otherwise
provided, upon condition that he or she shall contribute to the
appropriate fire department pension fund a sum equal to the amount which
he or she would have been required to contribute had the time served in
the police department been served in the fire department.
(2) Within one year after the fire department pension fund shall
request a transfer of reserves with respect to any such person who
becomes a member of the fire department pension fund on or after July
first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, who performed such prior service
in the police force of the police department, and who has qualified for
benefits under this subdivision, the police pension fund shall transfer
to the contingent reserve fund of the fire department pension fund the
reserve on the benefits of such member which is based on the
contributions made by the employer (including the
reserve-for-increased-take-home pay). Such reserve shall be determined
by the actuary of the police pension fund in the same manner as provided
in section forty-three of the retirement and social security law. No
such transfer of reserves pursuant to this paragraph shall be made with
respect to any person who became a member of the uniformed force of the
fire department prior to July first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight.
b. Any such member who shall have been a member of the police pension
fund pursuant to subchapter three of chapter three of title thirteen of
the code shall become a member of the department pension fund pursuant
to subchapter two of chapter three of title thirteen. The election or
elections made by such member pursuant to section 13-247 or 13-253 of
the code shall be deemed to be the election or elections required by
section 13-350 or 13-355 of the code. In the event that any such member
shall have made an election pursuant to section 13-248 of the code, such
election shall be deemed to be the election provided by subdivision b of
section 13-350 of the code.
c. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any
member of the uniformed force of the fire department, who immediately
prior to his or her appointment or employment as such, has served or
shall have served as a member of the police force of the police
department, the New York city transit authority police department or the
New York city housing authority police department, shall have the time
served by such member in such police department counted as service in
the fire department in determining his or her eligibility for variable
supplements fund benefits payable by the firefighters' variable
supplements fund pursuant to subchapter five of chapter three of title
thirteen of this code or the fire officers' variable supplements fund
pursuant to subchapter six of chapter three of title thirteen of this
code.
Section 15-111.1
§ 15-111.1 Credit for service in the uniformed transit police force or
uniformed housing police force. Any member of the uniformed force of the
fire department, who immediately prior to his or her appointment or
employment as such, has served or shall have served as a member of the
uniformed transit police force or a member of the uniformed housing
police force shall have the time served by such member in such force
counted as service in the fire department in determining: (a) his or her
eligibility to compete in a promotional examination; (b) his or her
seniority credit for the purpose of grading a promotional examination;
and (c) his or her seniority credit for the purpose of determining
eligibility for transfers within the uniformed force of the fire
department.
Section 15-112
§ 15-112 Working hours. a. The commissioner shall divide the deputy
chiefs, battalion chiefs, captains, lieutenants, engineers and
firefighters, marine engineers and pilots in boats of the department
into platoons, and such divisions shall be fully completed and the
provisions hereof fully effectuated. None of such platoons, or any
member thereof, shall be assigned to more than one tour of duty in any
twenty-four consecutive hours. The commissioner shall install a two
platoon system.
The two platoon system shall consist of not more than two tours of
duty of not more than nine hours each, to be followed by a rest period
of at least forty-eight hours for all members. After such rest period
there shall be not more than two tours of duty of not more than fifteen
hours to be followed by a rest period for all members of at least
seventy-two hours which shall continue in such sequence so that not more
than six nine-hour tours of duty and six fifteen-hour tours of duty
shall be worked in any twenty-five consecutive calendar days, except, in
the event of conflagrations, riots or other similar emergencies or for
the necessary time consumed in changing tours of duty, in which events
such platoons or members thereof shall be continued on duty for such
hours as may be necessary.
This section shall in no manner affect any provision of law providing
for furlough or leave of absence of such members of the department.
b. The mayor and all other officials charged with such duty are hereby
authorized, empowered and directed to carry out the provisions of this
section and to provide any and all necessary funds to effectuate the
purposes thereof.
c. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of this title,
the provisions of this section, as amended, in relation to the
establishment and continuance of the platoon system and the tours of
duty and the hours thereof shall not be repealed, superseded,
supplemented or amended by local law, and the same may only be repealed,
superseded, supplemented or amended as prescribed in section eleven of
article nine of the constitution and upon the affirmative action of the
qualified voters of the city of New York on a referendum submitted at a
general election.
Section 15-113
§ 15-113 Discipline of members; removal from force. The commissioner
shall have power, in his or her discretion on conviction of a member of
the force of any legal offense or neglect of duty, or violation of
rules, or neglect or disobedience of orders or incapacity, or absence
without leave, or any conduct injurious to the public peace or welfare,
or immoral conduct, or conduct unbecoming an officer or member, or other
breach of discipline, to punish the offending party by reprimand,
forfeiture and withholding of pay for a specified time, or dismissal
from the force; but not more than ten days' pay shall be forfeited and
withheld for any offense. Officers and members of the uniformed force
shall be removable only after written charges shall have been preferred
against them, and after the charges shall have been publicly examined
into, upon such reasonable notice of not less than forty-eight hours to
the person charged, and in such manner of examination as the rules and
regulations of the commissioner may prescribe. The examination into such
charges and trial shall be conducted by the commissioner, a deputy
commissioner or other person designated by the commissioner in writing
for that purpose; but no decision shall be final or be enforced until
approved by the commissioner. The rules and regulations for the
uniformed force of the department, as established from time to time by
the commissioner, shall be printed, published and circulated among the
officers and members of such department.
Section 15-114
§ 15-114 Resignations and absences. Any member of the department who
shall withdraw or resign without the permission of the commissioner
shall be subject to the forfeiture of salary due to such member.
Unexplained absence, without leave, of any member of the uniformed
force, for five days, shall be deemed and held to be a resignation by
such member, and accepted as such.
Section 15-115
§ 15-115 Rehearing of charges; reinstatement of members of department.
a. Upon written application to the mayor by the person aggrieved,
setting forth the reasons for demanding such rehearing, the commissioner
may rehear the charges upon which a member or a probationary member of
the uniformed force has been dismissed, or reduced from the rank
theretofore held by him or her. Such person or persons shall be required
to waive in writing all claim against the city for back pay and shall
obtain the mayor's consent to such rehearing, such consent to be in
writing and to state the reasons why such charges should be reheard.
b. Such application for a rehearing shall be made within one year from
the date of the removal or reduction in rank.
c. If the commissioner shall determine that such member has been
illegally or unjustly dismissed or reduced, the commissioner may
reinstate such member or restore such member to the rank from which he
or she was reduced, as the case may be, and allow such member the whole
of his or her time since such dismissal to be applied on his or her time
of service in the department, or the commissioner may grant such other
or further relief as he or she may determine to be just, or may affirm
the dismissal or reduction, as he or she may determine from the
evidence.
d. If the applicant be a probationary member of the department, the
commissioner may allow such probationary member the time already served
as a probationary member to count as time served, but shall not allow
the time between the date of his or her dismissal and restoration to
count as service in the department.
e. Employees of the department, not entitled to a trial before
dismissal, and who were given an opportunity to explain charges before
they were removed, may apply to the mayor, within one year from the date
of the order separating them from the service, for a further opportunity
to explain, setting forth the reasons for such action. The mayor, in his
or her discretion, may grant such application. The commissioner,
thereupon, shall afford a further opportunity to the dismissed employee
to explain the charges filed against him or her, on which the removal
was based. Thereafter the commissioner, in his or her discretion, may
reinstate the dismissed employee or reaffirm the previous removal. Prior
to any reinstatement hereunder, such former employee shall file a
written statement waiving all claim or claims for back salary and
damages of any kind whatsoever.
Section 15-116
§ 15-116 Members of force; peace officers. In the performance of their
duties, all officers and members of the uniformed force, other than the
chief marshal, deputy chief fire marshals, supervising fire marshals and
fire marshals, shall have the powers and perform the duties of peace
officers, but their power to make arrests and to serve process in
criminal actions shall be restricted to cases arising under laws
relating to fires and the extinguishment thereof, and to fire perils.
Section 15-117
§ 15-117 Members of force; police officers. In the performance of
their duties, the chief fire marshal, deputy chief fire marshals,
supervising fire marshals and fire marshals shall have all the powers
and perform all the duties of police officers in the state.
Section 15-118
§ 15-118 Exemption from civil arrest and service of subpoenas. Any
officer or uniformed member of the department shall be exempt from
arrest on civil process, or, while actually on duty, from service of
subpoena from civil courts.
Section 15-119
§ 15-119 Reimbursement for loss of property while in performance of
duty. Whenever any member of the uniformed force of the department,
while in the actual performance of his or her duty, shall lose or have
destroyed any of his or her personal belongings, and shall present
satisfactory proof thereof to the commissioner, such member shall be
reimbursed to the extent of the loss sustained, at the expense of the
city.
Section 15-120
§ 15-120 Uniforms and badges; unlawful use prohibited. a. It shall be
the duty of the commissioner to make suitable regulations under which
the officers and members of the department shall be required to wear an
appropriate uniform and badge by which the authority and relations of
the officers and members in such department may be known. The
commissioner shall select the grade of cloth and quality required for
such uniforms, but shall not prescribe where or from whom such uniforms
or uniform clothing shall be purchased, or the price to be paid
therefor. It shall be unlawful for any contractor or agent or employee
of any contractor for the making of uniforms for the department to have
an office within any building belonging to or under the control of the
department.
b. It shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for a period
of not less than sixty days, for a person not enrolled or employed, or
appointed by the department, to wear the whole or any part of the
uniform or insignia prescribed to be worn by the rules or regulations of
the department, or to do any act as firefighter not duly authorized by
the commissioner, or to interfere with the property or apparatus of the
department in any manner unless by the authority of the commissioner.
Any person who shall falsely represent any member of the uniformed force
of the department, or who shall maliciously, with intent to deceive,
use, or imitate any of the signs, fire caps, badges, signals or devices
adopted or used by the department, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not less than twenty-five
dollars or more than two hundred fifty dollars, and to imprisonment for
a term of not less than ten days, or more than three months, such fine
when collected to be paid into the general fund of the city established
pursuant to section one hundred nine of the charter.
Section 15-121
§ 15-121 Termination of service of members of uniformed force because
of superannuation. a. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision c of
this section no member of the uniformed force of the department except
medical officers, who is or hereafter attains the age of sixty-five
years shall continue to serve as a member of such force but shall be
retired and placed on the pension rolls of the department, provided
however, that any member who is not eligible for retirement at age
sixty-five, shall continue to serve as a member only until such time as
such member becomes eligible for such pension retirement.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section or
of any other section of law, any member who shall not have completed
thirty-five years of creditable city service within the meaning of
subdivision h of section 13-304 of the code, prior to attaining the age
of sixty-five years may continue to serve as a member until he or she
shall have completed such thirty-five years of creditable city service,
provided that he or she is capable of performing duty acceptable to the
commissioner. This section does not apply to chaplains or medical
officers. This section shall apply only to members who are in the
department on the first day of December, nineteen hundred seventy-one.
c. Any member whose retirement has become mandatory under the
provisions of subdivision a of this section may, upon approval of the
commissioner, request of the board of estimate that he or she be
continued as a member of the uniformed force for a period not exceeding
two years. The board, where advantageous to the public service, may
grant such request for a period not exceeding two years. At the
termination of such additional period of service, such board may in like
manner permit such member to continue in the public service for
successive periods each not exceeding two years. In no event shall a
member be continued in public service upon attaining the age of
seventy-five years.
Section 15-123
§ 15-123 Limited mutual aid agreement with city of Mount Vernon. a.
Subject to the limitations contained in subdivision b of this section,
the commissioner is hereby empowered to enter into a mutual aid
agreement with the fire commissioner of the city of Mount Vernon. Such
agreement shall authorize the dispatching of fire fighting equipment
from the city of New York to the city of Mount Vernon when so requested
by the commissioner of the city of Mount Vernon.
b. The scope of any agreement entered into pursuant to this section
shall be limited in that fire fighting equipment dispatched from the
city of New York shall only respond to fires or other emergencies
occurring in that part of the city of Mount Vernon which contains the
bulk oil storage installations located on the boundary line of the city
of New York and within the confines of the city of Mount Vernon on
either side of Eastchester creek.
Section 15-124
§ 15-124 Destruction of buildings to prevent spread of fire. a. The
commissioner may order any building which is on fire, or any other
building near thereto which he or she deems hazardous, or likely to take
fire, or to convey the fire to other buildings, to be razed, if, in his
or her discretion, such action is necessary to prevent the spread of
fire or to prevent the loss of life or property therefrom.
b. Whenever the razing of a building is thus ordered, it shall be the
duty of any member or members of the department, under the direction of
the officer in command at such fire, to level and destroy such building
by the use of explosives, and it shall be lawful for them to enter and
take possession of the same for such purpose. The commissioner may
establish one or more depots for the storage and safekeeping of such
explosives as may be required and may limit the quantity of any such
explosives to be kept at any such depots.
c. Upon the application of any person interested in any building so
razed, or in its contents, to the supreme court in and for the county or
any adjoining county in the judicial department within which such
building is situated, it shall be the duty of such court to issue a
precept for a jury to inquire into and assess the damages which the
owners of such building and all persons having an estate or interest
therein or in the contents thereof, have respectively sustained by the
razing of such building or its contents. Such precept shall be issued,
directed, executed, returned and proceeded upon, and the proceedings
thereon shall take effect, as nearly as may be, in such manner as is
provided in chapter three of title five of the code. After the inquiry
and assessment are confirmed by the court, the sums assessed by the jury
shall be paid by the city to the respective persons in whose favor the
jury shall have assessed the same, in full satisfaction of all demands
of such persons, respectively, by reason of the razing of such building
or its contents. The court before which such process shall be returnable
shall have power to compel the attendance of jurors and witnesses upon
any such assessment of damages.
Section 15-125
§ 15-125 Preventing spread of harbor fires. The officers of the
department in charge at the scene of a fire occurring on any vessel in
the port of New York or in or upon any dock, wharf, pier, warehouse,
building or other structure bordering upon or adjacent to such port, may
prohibit the approach to such fire or to a vessel, dock, wharf, pier,
warehouse or other building or structure in danger therefrom, of any
tugboat or other vessel, or of any person; or may remove or cause to be
removed and kept away from the vicinity of such fire all tugboats or
other vessels. It shall be unlawful for any person in any way to
obstruct the operations of the department in connection with any such
fire, or to disobey any lawful command of the officers of such
department in charge at the scene of such fire, or of the police in
cooperating with them. Nothing in this section contained shall be
construed to limit the authority of the master or officers of any such
vessel on fire or in danger from fire, subject to the general authority
of the department to control the operations in protection of the public
interest.
Section 15-126
§ 15-126 Fire alarm telegraph system. a. Protection of. The fire alarm
telegraph system shall be operated or used only by the commissioner, or
the officers and employees of the department charged with its operation
or maintenance or authorized to use it for instruction or drill. Any
person, however, may freely operate the same to communicate actual
alarms of fire. It shall be unlawful for any person to experiment or
tamper with such system for any purpose whatever, or to have or possess
any key thereof, without the authority of the commissioner. It shall be
unlawful for any person to post, paint, impress, or in any way affix to
any pole connected with the fire alarm telegraph, or any box, wire or
other appliance connected therewith, any placard, sign, broadside,
notice, or announcement of any kind; or to cut, mutilate, alter, mar,
deface, cover, obstruct or interfere with the same in any manner
whatsoever; or to paint, or cause to be painted, the poles of any other
telegraph, or any other poles on the lines thereof, in a color or colors
similar to those of poles upon which are fire alarm boxes, or in
imitation thereof; or to consent, allow, or be privy to any of such
things done for him or her or upon his or her behalf.
b. Kite-flying. It shall be unlawful for any kite to be flown, raised,
or put in any street adjacent to the lines of such telegraph, or to be
allowed to become entangled with the wires or apparatus thereof.
Section 15-127
§ 15-127 Auxiliary fire alarm systems. a. Fire alarm telegraph
companies.
1. Compensation to be paid to city. All persons engaged in the
maintenance and operation of auxiliary fire alarm telegraph systems from
which rent, profit or compensation is derived, and which are connected
with the fire alarm telegraph system maintained by the city, or who, for
the benefit of their patrons, are permitted to make any use whatsoever
of the service of such fire alarm telegraph system shall pay such
reasonable compensation to the city for such privilege and for such
period of time as shall be fixed by the board of estimate on the
recommendation of the commissioner.
2. Acquisition by department. The commissioner is authorized and
empowered to extend the department's fire alarm telegraph system
whenever in his or her judgment it shall be deemed desirable, by the
purchase, lease or license of the whole or a part or parts of the
appliance, apparatus, equipment, patents, licenses, franchises, rights,
contracts or other property of any kind, of any fire alarm telegraph or
fire alarm signal company doing business in the city, at a price to be
agreed upon with the persons or corporation owning the same, and every
such corporation is hereby authorized to sell, lease or license the same
to the city. Such purchase, lease or license shall first be approved by
the board of estimate, and if so approved, shall be made through the
department of general services.
b. Private connection with fire alarm telegraph system.
1. May be required by commissioner. The owners and proprietors of all
multiple dwellings, factories, office buildings, warehouses, stores and
offices, theatres and music halls, and the authorities or persons having
charge of all hospitals and asylums, and of the public schools and other
public buildings, churches and other places where large numbers of
persons are congregated for purposes of worship, instruction or
amusement, and of all piers, bulkheads, wharves, pier sheds, bulkhead
sheds or other waterfront structures, shall provide such means of
communicating alarms of fire to the department as the commissioner may
prescribe. Any person who shall violate, or refuse, or neglect to comply
with this provision shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a
fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not
exceeding six months, or by both; and any such person shall, also, for
each offense, be subject to the payment of a penalty in the sum of two
hundred fifty dollars, to be recovered in a civil action brought in the
name of the commissioner.
2. Inspection and maintenance. The commissioner shall have the power
to enter in person or by his or her duly authorized employees, the
buildings or premises which are provided, upon the application of the
owners or agents thereof, or which are directed by the commissioner to
be provided, with the means of communicating alarms of fire directly to
the department, for the purpose of maintaining, repairing, examining or
installing the same. The commissioner is authorized to fix and collect
reasonable charges for the maintenance and equipment of such special
fire alarm service thus provided, and such moneys when collected by the
commissioner shall be paid into the general fund.
c. Interior fire alarms.
1. Automatic fire alarms. In every hotel, lodging house, public or
private hospital or asylum, department store, and public school, there
shall be placed and provided, when required by the commissioner, an
adequate and reliable electrical or other interior alarm system, to be
approved by the commissioner, by means of which alarms of fire or other
danger may be instantly communicated to every portion of the building.
The fire alarm apparatus and all other appliances placed or kept within
any of such buildings for the purpose of preventing or extinguishing
fires, or for affording means of escape therefrom in case of fire, shall
be kept at all times in good working order and proper condition for
immediate use, and any member of the uniformed force or authorized
representative of the department may enter any of such buildings, at any
time, for the purpose of inspecting such apparatus or appliances.
2. Building attendants. In every building used or occupied as a hotel,
lodging house or public or private hospital or asylum, there shall be
employed by the owner or proprietor, or other person having the charge
or management thereof, one or more building attendants, whose exclusive
duty it shall be to visit every portion of such building at regular and
frequent intervals, under rules and regulations to be established by the
commissioner, for the purpose of detecting fire, or other sources of
danger, and giving timely warning thereof to the inmates of the
building. There shall be provided a clock or other device, to be
approved by the commissioner, by means of which the movements of such
building attendant may be recorded. The commissioner may, however, in
his or her discretion, accept an automatic fire alarm system in lieu of
such building attendants and time detectors.
3. Diagrams of means of exit. In any of the buildings referred to in
paragraphs one and two of this subdivision, there shall be posted such
cards as the commissioner shall direct upon which shall be printed a
diagram showing the exits, halls, stairways, elevators and fire escapes
of the building, and, in the halls and passageways, such signs as the
commissioner shall direct shall be posted indicating the location of the
stairs and fire escapes.
Section 15-128
§ 15-128 Fire drills. The commissioner, in cases where provision is
not otherwise made by law, is empowered in his or her discretion to
require and compel the regular and periodical performance of a fire
drill, including instruction and practice in the use of means of exit,
alarm systems, and fire prevention or extinguishing methods and
equipment, in all buildings, structures, enclosures, vessels, places and
premises where numbers of persons work, live or congregate, except
multiple dwellings.
Section 15-129
* § 15-129 Reporting of department response times. a. This section
shall be known as and may be cited as the "The Ariel Russo Emergency
9-1-1 Response Time Reporting Act".
b. The department shall track the duration of time between a report to
a 911 operator to which fire units or ambulances are required to respond
and the time when the first fire unit, which shall include ladders and
engines only, or the first ambulance unit, arrives on scene in the
following categories:
(1) Average response time to structural fires;
(2) Average response time to non-structural fires;
(3) Average response time to non-fire emergencies;
(4) Average response time to segment 1 medical emergencies, as defined
by the department, including cardiac arrest and choking incidents by
ambulance units;
(5) Average response time to life threatening medical emergencies by
ambulance units;
(6) Average response time to life threatening and non-life threatening
medical emergencies by ambulance units combined;
(7) Average response time to life threatening medical emergencies by
fire units;
(8) Combined average response time to life threatening medical
emergencies by ambulance and fire units; and
(9) Percentage of response time of less than 10 minutes to Advanced
Life Support medical emergencies by Advanced Life Support ambulances.
c. The department shall submit a monthly and yearly report to the
council and to the mayor that it shall also post on its website,
detailing the citywide response times for each category required herein,
disaggregated by borough.
* NB Effective June 15, 2014
To the extent possible under law, Friends of Devin Balkind for Public Advocate has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to New York City Administrative Code. This work is published from: United States.
Special thanks to Benjarmin Kallos and Thom Neale who made this content publicly available as a bulk download.