Chapter 12 — FIRE PREVENTION — Porterville Municipal Code

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

SECTION:

12-1.1: California Fire Code Adoption

12-1.1.1: Severability

12-1.2: City Of Porterville Fire Department Fire Prevention Division; Established; Supervision; Enforcement Of Chapter

12-1.3: City Of Porterville Fire Department Fire Prevention Division; Fire Marshal In Charge

12-1.4: City Of Porterville Fire Department Fire Prevention Division; Meaning Of Term Fire Marshal

12-1.5: Applicability Of County Air Pollution Rules And Regulations To All Burning

12-1.6: Storage, Operation And Use Of Liquefied Petroleum Gases

12-1.7: Appeals From Administrative Decisions

12-1.8: Open Burning, Recreational Fires, And Portable Outdoor Fireplaces

12-1.9: Permits For New Materials, Processes Or Occupancies

12-1.10: Violations; Penalties

12-1.11: Interference With Operation Or Work Of Fire Department

12-1.12: Fire Lanes On Private Property

12-1.1: CALIFORNIA FIRE CODE ADOPTION:

A. Adoption: There is hereby adopted by the Council of the City of Porterville for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion, that certain code known as the California Fire Code, published by the International Code Council being particularly the 2025 edition thereof together with the following appendices thereto: 4, B, BB, C, CC, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, O, and P to all intents and purposes and to the same effect as if each and every sentence, paragraph, word and clause in said codes mentioned are referred to herein or therein were fully and specifically set forth herein, are hereby adopted and enacted by the Council of the City of Porterville as amended and changed as follows:

B. Fire Code Amendments:

Section [A] 103.1 is amended to read as follows:

[A] 103.1 Creation of agency. The PORTERVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION is hereby created and the

official in charge thereof shall be known as the fire code official. The function of the agency shall be the implementation, administration and enforcement of the provisions of this code.

Section [A] 105.1.1 is amended to read as follows:

[A] 105.1.1 Permits required. A property owner or owner’s authorized agent who intends to conduct an operation or business, or

install or modify systems and equipment that are regulated by this code, or to cause any such work to be performed, shall first make application to the Porterville Building Department and obtain the required permit.

Section 112 Means of Appeals is removed and replaced by Porterville City Code Section12-1.7.
Section [A]113.4 is amended to read as follows:

[A]113.4 Violation penalties. Persons who shall violate a provision of this code or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who shall erect, install, alter, repair or do work in violation of the approved construction documents or directive of the fire code official, or of a permit or certificate used under provisions of this code, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment not exceeding one hundred eighty days (180) or six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served shall be deemed a separate offense. Alternatively, the City of Porterville reserves the right to enforce violations of this code utilizing the Administrative Citation process outlined in Chapter 2, Article 14 of the Porterville City Code.

Section 311.1.1 is amended to read as follows:

311.1.1 Abandoned premises. Buildings, structures and premises for which an owner cannot be identified or located by dispatch of

a certificate of mailing to the last known or registered address, which persistently or repeatedly become unprotected or unsecured, which have been occupied by unauthorized persons or for illegal purposes, or which present a danger of structural collapse or fire spread to adjacent properties shall be considered to be abandoned, declared unsafe and abated by demolition or rehabilitation in accordance with the 1997 Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, as adopted by reference in Section 7-80 of the Porterville City Code, and the California Building Code.

The Exception 1. to Section 603.5.2 is deleted, Exception 2. is amended to read:
Current taps and relocatable power taps shall not be required to connect directly to a permanently installed receptacle outlet,

where used for 90 days or less for the purpose of testing the performance of such devices. This exception shall only apply to research conducted in a proper occupancy, under controlled conditions, in a facility that is protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system.

Appendix C, Section C103.1 is amended to read as follows:

C103.1 Hydrant spacing. Fire apparatus access roads and public streets providing required access to buildings in accordance with

Section 503 shall be provided with one or more fire hydrants, as determined by Section C102.1. Where more than one fire hydrant is required, they shall be on a looped system, the distance between required fire hydrants shall be spaced at no greater than three hundred (300) feet in commercial, multi-family, or mixed-use applications and no greater than five hundred (500) feet in single-family residential applications. Where a single hydrant is required, it shall be placed in a location approved by the fire code official.

Appendix CC, Section CC105.1 is amended to read as follows:

CC105.1 The spacing between fire hydrants shall comply with Section C103.1 as amended.

Appendix CC, Section CC105.2 is deleted.
The Exception to Section D104.2 of Appendix D is deleted.

Appendix D, Section D103.5 is amended to read:
1. Where a single gate is provided, the gate width shall be not less than 20 feet (6096 mm). Where a fire apparatus road consists of a divided roadway, the gate width shall be not less than 16 feet (4877 mm).

The Exception to Section D106.1 of Appendix D is deleted.
Appendix D, Section D107.1 is amended to read as follows:

D107.1 One- or two-family dwelling residential developments. Developments of one- or two-family dwellings where the number of

dwelling units exceeds 30 shall be provided with two separate and approved fire apparatus access roads. Developments of one- or two- family dwellings where the number of dwelling units does not exceed 30 may be required to provide two separate and approved fire apparatus access roads.

Exceptions 1 and 2 of section D107.1 of Appendix D are deleted.
Section 3304.3 (Site Security) is added to read as follows: