Fire Official

Fire Official

The Fire Officials Office is the Franklin Park Borough enforcement and compliance body for all matters associated with Borough Fire Code.  The Fire Official is responsible for yearly fire inspections on all commercial buildings, including churches, daycare facilities and schools. The Fire Official also issues permits for recreational camp fires, and investigates all fires within the Borough. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us by email.

Fire Company

The Franklin Park Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 is designated by Franklin Park Borough Council as the fire emergency response service for the Borough of Franklin Park. If you are interested in joining the Fire Company or want to request the fire company participate in a function, please contact them directly at 412-364-5670 and leave a message for the Chief.  Alternatively you may email the chief at chief1@franklinparkvfc158.org

Business Toolkit

Some of the most essential fire codes that are included in the annual fire safety inspection by the Franklin Park Fire Official are listed in the Business Tookit Checklists (PDF). Commercial property owners and managers should continuously review this checklist for the safety of the general public, employees and emergency responders. The (IFC) numbers refer to the International Fire Code which is enforced in Franklin Park Borough.

Open Burning

COVID-19 NOTICE: Allegheny County has requested residents not conduct open burning during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Please see this notice from Allegheny County released April 16, 2020.

Open Burning, the act of allowing combustion that is NOT inside an enclosed combustion chamber connected to a chimney with some method of controlling airflow to the fire, is regulated by the Fire Official’s Office and must meet criteria set forth by the International Fire Code and Allegheny County.  Only clean dry firewood (no trash, brush, yard waste, leaves or paper) may be used for open burning.  Open burning MUST occur only under adult supervision with adequate ability to extinguish the fire present (a charged garden hose capable of extending at least 25 feet beyond the fire is recommended).

An Open Burning Permit is REQUIRED unless the burning meets one of the following exceptions:

1. Burning occurs within a commercially purchased/manufactured device intended for wood burning, the device is located at least 25 feet from any structure or combustibles (trees, shrubs, woodpiles, etc. included), and the fire size does not exceed 3 feet x 3 feet with flames not exceeding 2 feet high. Steel drums, wheelbarrows, etc. ARE NOT commercially purchased devices intended for wood burning.

2. Burning within an outdoor fireplace structure constructed in accordance with a permit issued by the Franklin Park Borough Building and Zoning Office requirements.

3. The burning is within a device intended and used only for preparing food such as a grill or smoker.

Burning permits are annual permits valid from March 1st through the last day of February.  You MUST apply for an annual open burn permit at least 10 days prior to the date you want to burn.  Click here to complete an Open Burn Permit Application.  A member of the Fire Official’s Office will conduct the inspection then notify you if any conditions are observed that do not meet open burn requirements.

To use your open burn permit, you MUST notify the borough of the date and time you will be burning at least 2 hours in advance by using the Recreational Burn Notification Form. If you wish to notify by telephone, call 412-364-4115 x313 at least 2 hours before starting your recreational burn AND during normal Monday to Friday business hours. Be sure to leave your name, permit number, and the date and time you plan to burn.  A member of our staff will then notify Police and Fire.

Why do I have to notify the borough in advance of burning?  When you notify the borough in advance, we are able to notify both Police and Fire in advance to aid in minimizing unneeded full scale emergency response to an authorized recreational fire.  

Residential Cooking Fire Prevention

A recent report from the National Fire Protection Agency showed that between 2010 to 2012, fires in residential buildings accounted to roughly 82% of all fire deaths, 78% of all fire injuries, and over half or 57% of the total dollar loss to property from all fires. Click here for Residential Cooking Fire Prevention.

Fireworks