The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-12-23


 duty of every fireman and policeman who shall discover any tlre-escape, balcony or ladder of any flre-esCape incumbered in any way to forthwith report the same to the commanding officer of his company or precinct, and such commanding officer shall forthwith cause the occupant of the promises or apartment to which said tire-escape balcony or ladder is at taChed or for whose use the, same is provided. to be notified either verbally or in writing to remove such incumbrance and keep the same clear. If such notice shall not be compiled with by the removal forthwith, of such inCum branee, and keeping said fire-escape, balcony or ladder free from incumbrance, then it shall be the duty of said commanding officer to apply to the nearest magistrate for d warrant for the arrest of the occupant or occupants of the said premises or apartment of which the hre-escape forms part, and the said parties shall be brought before the said magistrate, as for misdemeanor; and, on conviction, the occu- pant or occupants of said premises or apart ment shall be fined not more than ten dollars for each offense, or may be imprisoned not to exceed ten days, or both, in the discretion of the court. In constructing all balcony ire escapes the manufacturer thereof shall se- Curey fasten thereto In a conspicuous place, a cast-ron plate having suitable raised let- ters on the same, to read as follows: Notice! Any person placing any incumbrance on this balcony is liable to a penalty of ten dollars and Imprisonment for ten days. The owner, proprietor or manager Of every hotel and lodging house, and of every boarding house
 
 the ground floor, and the person or persons having charge or management of every public or private hospital or asylum building, as may be deemed necessary by the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department of said City, shall, with in three months after the passage of this act place or cause to be placed in every room used as lodging or sleeping room in such building, except the rooms on the ground floor, and also excepting rooms one or more windows of which open upon a tire-escape having direct access to the ground, manila rope, or other better appliance to be approved by the said Chief of Fire Department, to be used as an auxiliary means of escape. Said rope or other appliance shall be securely fastened on one end to a suitable iron hook or eye, to be se- curely driven into or fastened to the wall or stud next adjoining the frame of the window, or one of the windows, of such room, and at all times to be coiled up and exposed to the view of the occupant of the room the coil to be fastened in such slight manner as to be easily and quickly loosened. Said rope shall not be less than one inch in diameter and shall be of sufficient length to reach the ground, and the rope and fastenings shall be of sufficient strength to Sustain a weight of not less than one thousand pounds. The Chief of said De- partment shall cause any building to Whlch the requirement of rope-escape applies to be periodically inspected to ascertain whether the provisions of this section as to ropes have been compiled with, and to report any omis- sion or neglect thereof to the City Attorney. The provisions of this section in regard to dNNll1ary rope Hr5-eSCdpeS SIiil uUI dpply lO flre-nroof buildings. All buildings requiring tire-escapes shall have stationary iron lad ders leading to the scuttle opening in the roof thereof and all scuttes and ladders shall be kept so as to be ready for use at all times. If a bulkhead Is used in place of a scuttle, it shall have stairs with sufficient guard or hand-rail leading to the roof. In case the building shall be a tenement house, the door in the bulkhead or any scutte shall at no time be locked, but may be fastened on the
 inside by movable bolts or hooks. Every dwelling house arranged for or occupied by two or more families above the first story, hereafter erected, shall be provided with an entrance to the basement thereof from the out side of such building.
 Sec. 54.-No dwelling house, whether called tenement house, apartment house, flats, ho- tel or other building to be used for residence purposes shall be built in the rear of build ing occupying the front of the same lot or plot of ground and no building whatsoever shall
 be erected or placed in front of any such building except special permit be obtained
 for either case from both the Board of Fire Commissioners and the Board of Health.
 Sec 55. In all buildings of public oharac- ter, such as hotels, churches theaters, restau-
 rants, railroad depots, public halls and other
 buildings used or intended to be used for pur- poses of public assembly, amusement or in- struction, the halls, doors, stairways, seats,
 passageways and aisles, and all lighting and heating appliances and apparatus shall be arranged as the Inspector of Buildings shall direct to facilitate egress in cases of fire or accident and to afford the requisite and proper accommodation for the public protection in such cases. All aisles and passageways in said buildings shall be kept free from camp stools chairs, sofas and other Instructions, and no person shall be allowed to stand in or occupy any of said aisles or passageways dur ing any performance, service. exhibition, lec- ture, concert, ball or any public assenlblage. The inspector of Buildings, with the concur renee of the Chief Engineer of the Fire De- pertinent, may, at any time serve written or printed notice upon the owner, lessee or manager of any ofsaid buildings, directing any act or thing to be done or provided in Or about the said buildings and the several appliances herewith connected such as halls, doors, stairs windows, seats, asles f1re-walls and | Horoscopes so as to afford such security to the public in the uses to which they may be severally applied, as they may deem necessary. | Nothing herein contained shall be construed | to authorize or require any other alterations l to existing theaters than are specified in this | section. Upon report to the Mayor of the City by the Inspector of Buildings that any | order or requirement of this title in regard l to theaters or places of public amusement has been violatedor not complied with in any such | building, the said Mayor may, in his discre- l tion, revoke the license of such theater or | place of public amusement, and cause the same | to be closed.
 | Sec. 56. Every theater or opera house. or | other building intended to be used for thea l ! tertalnments of any kind where stage scenery and apparatus are employed hereafter erected i shall be built to comply with the requirements ts | of this section. No building which, at the l time of the passage of this act is not in actual 1 use for theatrical or operatic purposes, and no | building hereafter erected not in conformity | with the requirements of this section, shall | be used for theatrical or operatic purposes or ] for public entertainments of any kind where | stage scenery and apparatus are employed, un- l til the same shall have been made to conform | to the requirements of this section. And nc | building hereinbcfore described shall be
 opened to the public for theatrical or operatic | purposes. or for public entertainments of any | kind where stage scenery or apparatus are l employed, until tho Inspector of Buildings | shall have approved the same in writing as | conforming to the requirements of this sectoin
 and the Mayor of the City shall refuse to is- | sue any license for any such building and l shall close the same, and prevent it's opening
 until certificate in writing of such approval | shall have been given by the Inspector oi | Buildings. Every such bHtlding shall have al l least one front on the street, and in such front | there shall be a suitable means of entrance and | exit for the audience. In addition to the | aforesaid entrances and exits on the street | there shall be reserved for service in case oi | an emergency an open court or space or the 1 side not bordering on the street, where said | building is located on q corner lot; and on both 1 sides of said building, where there is but one l frontage on the street. The width of such open | court or courts shall be not less than seven | feet where the seating capacity is not over one | thousand people, above one thousand and no 1 more than eighteen hundred people, eight feel i in width, and above eighteen hundred people | ten feet in width. Said open court or courts