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[HISTORY. Derived from Art. XIV of Ch. XXV of the Charter and Ordinances, 1974, of the City of Buffalo. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction and demolition; fire prevention — See Ch. 103.
Enforcement — See Ch. 137.
Hazardous materials and wastes — See Ch. 235.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 341.
Rat control — See Ch. 356.
Sanitation — See Ch. 378.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FUMIGANT
Includes any substance or combination of substances which emits or liberates a gas, fumes or vapors, which gas, fumes or vapors, when liberated or used for the destruction or control of insects, vermin, germs, rodents or other pests, is lethal, poisonous, noxious or dangerous to human life.
No person, firm or corporation shall hereafter engage or continue in the business of pest control within the City by means of generating, releasing or spraying poisonous or dangerous fumes, gases or vapors, such as hydrocyanic acid, cyanogen, salts of cyanides, methyl bromide, carbon dioxide, carbon bisulfide, carbon tetrachloride, chloropicrin, ethylene dichloride, ethylene oxide, methyl formate or other poisonous substances or mixtures of these compounds, in a building or part thereof or in a closed space, vessel or structure within the City for the purpose of fumigating the same or exterminating insects, vermin, rodents or other pests without first obtaining a license therefor from the Director of Licenses and Permits. Such license shall be issued only upon application to the Director, after approval thereof by the Commissioners of Inspections and Licenses and Fire and after examination of the applicant as hereinafter provided.
A permit may be issued by the Department of Inspections and Licenses to a person, firm or corporation definitely not engaged in the business of fumigation within the City, as the same is commonly conducted, such as flour mills, cereal mills, greenhouses or horticultural establishments, provided that such person, firm or corporation has formulated a plan, approved by the Commissioner of Fire, for the instruction of the employees of such person, firm or corporation in the use of fumigants in buildings or plants owned or operated by such person, firm or corporation within the City. Such permit shall authorize the holder, without the issuance of a further license, to perform and engage in fumigation and pest control by the use of poisonous materials and substances in such buildings or plants. The permit shall expire one (1) year from the date thereof, may be renewed annually, and the fee for the original permit and each annual renewal shall be as provided in Chapter 175, Fees.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to apply to fumigation or extermination outside of buildings in the interests of insect or wildlife control by members of the United States Public Health Service, Armed Forces or Fish and Wildlife Service, New York State Department of Health or the County Department of Health.
The Commissioner of Inspections and Licenses may appoint an Advisory Committee on Pest Control, to consist of five (5) members, one (1) of whom shall be a member of the Department of Fire; one (1), a member of the Department of Inspections and Licenses, both of whom shall serve ex officio; one (1), a member of the County Department of Health; and two (2) representatives of the pest control industry, all of whom shall serve without compensation for such service.
The duties of the Committee on Pest Control shall be as follows:
A. 
The Committee shall make recommendations to the Commissioners of Inspections and Licenses and Fire for the issuance of licenses hereunder and may make recommendations to the Commissioner of Fire concerning useless or dangerous fumigations or exterminations. It shall also assist the Commissioner of Fire in the giving of oral and written examinations to applicants for licenses to engage in the business of pest control within the City and in determining whether an individual, a member of a firm or officer, agent or employee of a corporation is qualified by scientific training and experience to conduct the essential operations of pest control.
B. 
The Committee may recommend that a prefumigation inspection be made by an inspector of the Department of Inspections and Licenses or a member of the Department of Fire after notification of intent to fumigate is received by the Department of Inspections and Licenses in order to determine whether the fumigation is necessary or useful or that the rules and regulations applicable thereto are or will be observed. By such inspection, however, neither the Department of Inspections and Licenses nor the Department of Fire assumes any responsibility for the work of the licensee.
C. 
The Committee shall take steps to provide and distribute copies of all applicable rules and regulations to persons, firms or corporations engaged in the pest control industry within the City, and it shall keep copies of said rules and regulations on file in its office. It shall also submit to the Commissioners of Inspections and Licenses and Fire copies of such rules and regulations for filing in their offices. The Committee may, from time to time, recommend amendments or changes in such rules and regulations as new conditions warrant or new proprietary chemical combinations come into commercial use. The Department of Inspections and Licenses shall give thirty (30) days' notice by mail of any changes in such rules and regulations relating to pest control to persons, firms or corporations engaged in the pest control industry within the City, the names of whom are on file in the office of the Department.
Applications for the various types of licenses herein described shall be made to the Director of Licenses and Permits upon forms prescribed by him and approved by the Committee on Pest Control. No license shall be issued until the application therefor has been approved by the Commissioner of Fire and the Department of Inspections and Licenses and the applicant has qualified by examination as provided in § 203-6 of this chapter.
A. 
There shall be four (4) types of licenses for pest control purposes issued by the Director of Licenses and Permits, to be known, respectively, as "Type A, Type B, Type C and Type D licenses."
(1) 
A Type A license, when issued, authorizes the holder, as fumigator exterminator, to perform and engage in the practice and business of pest control using poisonous fumes, gases and vapors, as well as other poisonous materials and substances. The fee for such license shall be as provided in Chapter 175, Fees.
(2) 
A Type B license, when issued, authorizes the holder, as exterminator only, to perform and engage in the practice and business of pest control by means other than by using, generating or releasing lethal or poisonous fumes, gases or vapors. The fee for such license shall be as provided in Chapter 175, Fees.
(3) 
A Type C license, when issued, authorizes the holder, as employee-operator, to perform and engage in the practice of pest control using poisonous fumes, gases or vapors, as well as other poisonous materials and substances only as an employee of a holder of a Type A license. The fee for such license shall be as provided in Chapter 175, Fees.
(4) 
A Type D license, when issued, authorizes the holder, as employee-operator, to perform and engage in the practice of pest control by using means other than generating or releasing poisonous fumes, gases or vapors only as an employee of a holder of a Type B license. The fee for such license shall be as provided in Chapter 175, Fees.
B. 
Any and all applicants for A and B Type licenses shall be the holder of a Type C or D license for not less than two (2) years prior to the taking of the examination for said Type A or B license. The above provision shall not be applicable to any present license holder.
C. 
Each of the foregoing types of licenses shall expire one (1) year from the date of issuance.
In the case of a firm or corporation desiring a license to engage in the business and practice of pest control as herein defined, an officer, an authorized representative of or an agent officially designated by such firm or corporation to conduct its business of fumigation and extermination shall be subject to examination and all applicable provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations of the Department of Health relating thereto.
It shall be the duty of the holder of a license or permit issued pursuant to the provisions of § 203-2 and § 203-3 of this chapter to notify the Departments of Inspections and Licenses, Fire and Police and the occupants of spaces to be fumigated, respectively, of his intention to conduct a fumigation in a building, vessel, car or enclosed space within the City. Such notification shall be given so as to be received by each of the aforesaid Departments and the occupants of the premises to be fumigated at least four (4) hours prior to the commencement of the fumigation.
A. 
Every person, firm or corporation engaged in the fumigation of any premises shall see that all premises, buildings, vessels or enclosed spaces are entirely vacated by human beings, pets or animals of commercial value prior to said fumigation, unless partial vacation of the premises is recommended by the Committee on Pest Control.
B. 
The Commissioner of Fire is authorized to order any occupant of a premises or part thereof to temporarily vacate the same for the time required to complete the fumigation process or for such time as he shall deem necessary to correct insanitary conditions or to protect the public health and safety.
A. 
All crevices, cracks or openings in the buildings, vessels or spaces that are to be fumigated shall be effectively sealed prior to fumigation so as to prevent the escape of gas during the process of fumigation, and the fumigators must see that persons in buildings adjoining the fumigated area are not endangered. All windows accessible to entry must be locked or, in the absence of locks, must be nailed shut by said fumigators.
B. 
It shall be the duty of the holder of any license as fumigator or exterminator to make or cause to be made a careful examination of all parts of such spaces that are to be vacated to see that all openings in such spaces are properly sealed.
A. 
No license shall be issued to any person, firm or corporation to engage in the practice and business of pest control as a fumigator or exterminator under a Type A license or as an exterminator only under a Type B license by the Director of Licenses and Permits until such applicant shall file with the Comptroller a policy or liability insurance or bond, approved as to form by the Corporation Counsel and as to sufficiency of surety by the Comptroller, protecting the City of Buffalo against any claim for property damage up to and including one thousand dollars ($1,000.) and against any claim for personal injury in a sum not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000.) for injury to one (1) person and in a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000.) for injury to more than one (1) person resulting from the operation of fumigation or extermination under said license or the use of a fumigants or deleterious substances or gases in connection with such fumigation or extermination.
B. 
Said licensee shall also furnish a workmen's compensation policy in accordance with the Workers' Compensation Law of the State of New York before issuance of said license.
Prior to the actual fumigation process, suitable warning signs shall be posted on all doors or entrances or, in the case of vessels, on gangplanks and ladders leading from the docks or piers, to read as follows: skull and crossbones (sketch or picture) "DANGER. FUMIGATING WITH POISONOUS GASES. ALL PERSONS WARNED TO KEEP AWAY." Such signs shall be printed in red ink on white cardboard, with letters at least two (2) inches in height.
It shall be the duty of the licensed fumigator of exterminator engaged in the operation of fumigation or extermination to supply either a capable, full-time watchman to patrol the fumigated area or to visit or cause to be visited by some person in his employ the fumigated area at stated intervals as provided in the rules and regulations aforesaid; provided, however that if the fumigator can lock all entrances by special approved safety lock of his own, the watchman and visitations may be dispensed with. This lock must have the approval of the Committee on Pest Control.
A. 
It is hereby declared unlawful to sell or give away fumigants except to a person, firm or corporation holding a Type A license as provide in §§ 203-8 and 203-9 of this chapter or a person holding a permit for the use of a fumigant provided in § 203-3, unless a signed statement is obtained from the recipient of such fumigants to be effect that the same will not be used for purpose of fumigating any building or part thereof used for human habitation or otherwise in contravention of the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Nothing in this chapter contained shall be deemed to apply to the sale of economic poisons used in agricultural or industrial arts or products used for the control of insects, animals or other pests when sold in the original, unbroken containers properly labeled, in accordance with the federal Insecticide Act of 1910, as the same may be amended, or in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
No license shall be issued to any person to engage in the practice of pest control as an employee-operator under a Type C license or an employee-operator under a Type D license by the Director of Licenses and Permits until such applicant shall file an affidavit sworn to by his employer that said employer is licensed under this chapter, either by a Type A or a Type B license, and has, on file with the Comptroller of the City of Buffalo, public liability and property damage insurance policies or a bond and evidence of compensation insurance as provided in this chapter.
All employers, upon discharge of a licensed operator, shall notify the Commissioner of Inspections and Licenses of such termination within one (1) week from the date thereof.
A crew of two (2) men must be present at each fumigation, both at the time of releasing the gas and at the time of opening the fumigated spaces for ventilation. These shall be either two (2) holders of a Type A or a Type C license or one (1) holder of Type A or Type C license and the other person familiar with fumigation procedure and qualified in the use of gas masks and modern methods of resuscitation.
A. 
When the space to be fumigated is sealed, a thorough inspection shall be made by the licensed fumigator, and any contents or movable material that may be liable to cause a fire shall be corrected or removed before the fumigant is released into the space to be fumigated. During the fumigation and ventilation period, the use of matches and lights with unprotected flames shall be prohibited. No smoking shall be allowed upon the fumigated premises.
B. 
Only electric lanterns or flashlights approved for hazardous locations shall be used for light during the fumigation and ventilation period, except that electric lights may be used if the electrical installation in any location where flammable vapors or gases may exist complies with the provisions of Article II of Chapter 165 of the Code of the City of Buffalo.
C. 
All open flames, fires and similar sources of ignition shall be eliminated from the space being fumigated. Where heating is by hot air, all dampers or ducts shall be closed.
D. 
In spaces to be fumigated in which any electrical installation does not conform to the requirements of Article II of Chapter 165 of the Code of the City of Buffalo, the main electrical switch shall be opened and the main gas valve shall be closed.
E. 
During the fumigation of any building, all doors on vertical openings and doors leading to stairways and elevator shafts, except automatic fire doors, shall be closed. In the event of a fire in the immediate vicinity of a space undergoing fumigation, the Commissioner of Fire or his authorized representative may, at his discretion, cause said space to be immediately ventilated by the licensed fumigator, and said ventilation shall be conducted at a point farthest from the fire.
F. 
The manufacturer or distributor of a fumigant or a person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of pest control shall submit authenticated data as to the health and fire hazard of such fumigant which is to be sold, offered for sale or used within the City to the Commissioners of Inspections and Licenses and Fire, both of whom must approve such fumigant before it shall be used within the City.
G. 
All substances or compounds to be stored, sold or used as fumigants in the City of Buffalo must be properly packed, labeled and stored in containers as required by law.