Fire Marshal FAQ
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To obtain a statement of verification of an incident, please contact the Fire Marshal's Office at 302-736-4457 or cityofdoverfmo@dover.de.us.

To obtain the Dover Fire Departments incident report, please contact the Fire Chiefs Office at 302-736-4242.

Please call our front staff at 302-736-4457 to schedule an inspection.

Please refer to the link for Knox Box Request on the Fire Marshal's main page. Once this form is completed, payment can be made with our front staff at City Hall.

Please contact us at 302-736-557 or e-mail us at cityofdoverfmo@dover.de.us 

Per City of Dover Ordinances, Sec. 46-5. - Open burning.

(a) Permit required. Open burning of structures, brush, or bonfires shall not be permitted without a permit obtained from the fire marshal.

(b) Fire dimensions. Open burning, when permitted, shall be kindled in such a manner as not to be a danger to other campers, recreational vehicles, tents, or structures and shall not be of a size greater than 18 inches by 18 inches by 18 inches. Height of the fire shall be measured from the ground or from the bottom of the inside of the container being used to kindle the fire. Open burning shall not be kindled directly on the ground unless contained in a fire ring.

(c) Fire clearances and time restrictions. Outdoor fireplaces shall have 36 inches clearance from all combustibles when in use. Portable fireplaces, fire pits, or fire rings shall be extinguished in a residential area between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 8:00 a.m.

(d) Commercial barbecuing. Commercial barbecuing shall be permitted under the following conditions:

(1) The location has been approved by city licensing and inspections and the fire marshal and an outdoor public gathering permit has been obtained.

(2) One fire extinguisher of not less than five pounds ABC is to be located within ten feet of the cooking area. Cooking area and cooking fuels shall be secured from public access.

(3) Approval from the board of public health has been obtained.

(4) The operator shall make all reasonable attempts to avoid causing a nuisance to nearby property owners with smoke, fumes, or sparks.

(5) All compressed flammable gas containers used for cooking shall be secured in such a way as to prevent them from being knocked, tipped, or blown over.

Any commercial barbecuing operations which are a continual nuisance because of smoke, fumes, or sparks shall be terminated by the code official or fire marshal and the outdoor public gathering permit revoked until such time as the director of licensing and inspections is satisfied that the problem has been corrected.

Barbecuing of any kind shall not be kindled within 200 feet of any fuel pump or storage tank fill. Cooking grease shall not be disposed of by placing it directly on the ground or in storm water drains.

Smoke alarms shall be installed in all sleeping rooms, outside of each seperate sleeping area, in the immediate vicinity of the sleeping rooms, and on each level of the dwelling unit, including basements.

Batteries in smoke alarms should be changed at least twice a year. We suggest that you change your smoke alarm batteries every time you change your clocks (Spring and Fall).

Yes, please refer to the following link to the City of Dover Ordinances, Appendix F-Fees and Fines, (specifically Chapter 46) https://www.municode.com/library/de/dover/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_APXFFEFI

Yes, all contractors must have a City of Dover business license.

The following is City of Dover Ordinances, Sec. 98-10. - Speed reduction devices.

(a)    Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Speed bump shall mean a transverse hump, generally designed as a rounded, raised pavement structure usually from two to six inches high and one to three feet from front to back, set into the surface of a street, parking lot, or driveway to slow the traffic. Their design generally dictates comfortable crossing speeds of five miles per hour or less so they are usually appropriate only for use where vehicle speeds are typically the lowest to begin with such as parking lots, private roads, and on some residential streets.

Speed cushion shall mean a speed hump with an unraised path for fire trucks and ambulances through the hump. Speed cushions are devices designed as several small speed humps installed across the width of the road with spaces between them. They are generally installed in a series across a roadway resembling a split speed hump.

Speed hump shall mean a raised area in the pavement surface, usually from three to four inches high and 10 to 12 feet from front to back, extending transversely across the travel way. The purpose of the length of a speed hump is to allow the entire vehicle to be on the hump at once before it descends the far side onto the pavement to reduce the likelihood that a vehicle will "bottom out" when going over the speed hump. Speed humps are typically applied to residential streets where speed limits do not exceed 25 miles per hour.

(b)   Prohibited. Any device used as a means of speed reduction on any city street, drive, parking lot, or any other driveable surface, which causes a change in elevation which may result in emergency equipment having to reduce speed during a time of emergency, is prohibited.

(c)    Permitted. Speed cushions may be installed on privately owned commercial property, at the owner's expense, following review by the Safety Advisory and Transportation Committee and approval by city council. Any other type of speed reduction device on private commercial property within the city is prohibited.

(d)   Installation and design standards. Installation and design standards for speed cushions shall be in accordance with the Delaware Traffic Calming Design Manual.

(Code 1981, § 7-4; Ord. of 5-26-1998; Ord. No. 2016-09, 6-13-2016 )