The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-12-22

TIUVIUVU or any of them. The owner CT owners of any building upon which q tlre-escape is erected shall keep the sane in good repair and proper ly painted No person shall at any time place any incumbrance of any kind whatsoever be- fore or upon any fire escape. It shall be the duty of every fireman and policeman who shall discover any ilre-escape, balcony or ladder or any fre-escape lncumbered 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 premises or apartment to which said fre-escape balcony or ladder Is at tached or for whose use the same Is provided, to be notified either verbally or tn 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- branoe, and keeping said fire-escape balcony or ladder free from incumbrance, then 1t snail pc the duty of said commanding officer to apply to the nearest magistrate for warrant for the arrest of the occupant or occupants or the sald premises or apartment of which the tire-escape forms a part, and the said parties small DO brought before the said magistrate, as for msdemeanor; and, on conviction, the occu- pant or occupants of said premises or apart ment shall be fined not more than ten dollars for each ofense. or may be imprisoned not 10 exceed ten days, or both, in the discretion of the court. In constructing all balcony nre- escapes, the manufacturer thereof shall se- curely fasten thereto in a conspicuous place, a cast-iron plate having suitable raised let ters on the same, to read as follows: Notice! Any person placing any incumbrance on tnls balcony is liable to a penalty of ten dollars and imprisonment for ten days. The owner, proprietor CT manager of every hotel and lodging house, and of every boarding house having more than fifteen sleeping rooms above 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 flre-escape having direct access to the ground, a manilla 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 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 tho 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 suihcleht strength to sustain weight Of not less than one thousand pounds. The Chief of said De- partment shall cause any building to which 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 omls- sion or neglect thereof to the City Attorney. The provisions of this section in regard to auxiliary rope fire-e escapes shall not apply to | fre-proof buildings. All buildings requiring | fre-escapes shal! have stationary iron lad ders leading to the scuttle opening in the roof | thereof, and all scuttles and ladders shall be kept so as to be ready for use at all times. If bulkhead is used in place Of a scuttie, 1t | shall have stairs with sufficient guards or | hand-raiI leading to the roof. In case the | building shall be a tenement house, the door | in the bulkhead or any scuttle shall at no time be locked, but may be fastened on the l inside by movable bolts or hooks Every | dwelling house arranged for or occupied by 1 two or more families above the first story, hereafter erected, shall be provided with an l entrance to the basement thereof from the out | side of such building.
 | Sec. 54.-No dwelling house, whether called 1 a tenement house. apartment house, flats, ho- | tel or other building to be used for residence purposes shall be built in the rear of build 1 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 a special permit be obtained
 for either case from both the Board of Fire Commissioners and the Board of Health.
 1 Sec. 8. In all buildings of public charac- ter, such as hotels, churches, theaters, restau- ! rants, railroad depots, public halls and other | DulldlngS used or intended 10 De used TOT puT-
 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 l 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 asles and passageways in | said buildings shall be kept free from camp stools chairs, gcfas and other Instructions,
 and no person shall be allowed to stand in or 1 occupy any of said aisles or passageweys dur | ing any performance, service, exhibition, lec- ture, concert, ball or any pGolic assembage. 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 said 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, aisles, fre-walls and fire-escapes, so as to afford such security tt | 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
 to existing theaters than are specified in this
 section. Upon report to the Mayer of the City by the Inspector of Buildings that any
 order or requirement. of this title in regard
 to theGters or places of public amusement has
 been violated or not complied with in such
 building, the said Mayor may, in his dlscre-
 
 place of public amusement, and cause the same | to be closed.
 Sec. 56. Every theater or opera house, ol
 other building intended to be used for thea 1 trical or operatic purposes, Or for public en-
 tertainments of any kind where stage scenery
 and apparatus are employed, hereafter erected shall be built to comply with the requirements
 of this section. No building which, at the
 time of the passage of this act, Is not in actua
 use for theatrical Or operatic purposes, and nc
 building hereafter erected not In oonformit.
 with the requirements of this section, shal
 be used for theatrical or operatic purposes. o
 for public entertainments of any kind wher'
 stage scenery and apparatus are employed, un til tho same shall have been made to conform
 to the requirements of this section. And nc
 building hereinbefure described shall b,
 opened to the public for theatrical or operati, | purposes or for public entertainments of any
 kind where stage scenery or apparatus art
 employed until the Inspector of Buildingi
 shall have approved the same in writing a!
 conforming to the requirements Of this sectoin
 and the Mayor of the City shall refuse to is
 sue any license for any such building ant
 shall close the same, and prevent it's openinl
 until certificate In writing of such approva
 shall have been given by the Inspector O
 Buildings. Every such building shall have a
 least one front on the street, and in such iron
 there shall be suitable means of entrance ant
 exit for the audience. In addition to thu
 aforesaid entrances and exits on the street
 there shall be reserved for service in case o
 an emergency an open court CT space on thu
 side not bordering on the street. where sait
 building is located on corner lot; and on botl
 sides of said building, where there is but on
 frontage on the street. The width of such opel
 court CT courts shall be not less than sever ks~,- a,1lt f, A,r1, T,