City of Lawrence

Fire Code Board of Appeals

July 8, 2015

 

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:        Capt. Pete Easterwood, Tracy Green, Dan Wilkus, Jay Zimmershied

                                  

MEMBERS ABSENT:         Stephen Blanchard

 

STAFF PRESENT:             Division Chief James King, Jeanette Reiling

 

 

 

 


Division Chief James King called the meeting to order.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

 

Minutes from the May 13, 2015 meeting were unanimously approved.

 

OLD BUSINESS: 

 

There was no old business.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

Division Chief James King stated he had pulled out some sections of the code that would merit some discussion and what impact they would have to the code locally and had made recommendations for modifying or removing.  Division Chief King provided a handout to each member of the committee for reference.

 

Division Chief James King stated an important topic that would be discussed would be regulations for animal housing.  Division Chief King stated that he had met with outside stakeholders, boarding and kennel facilities, pet stores, the Humane Society and Douglas County veterinarians.  Due to fires at Christal K9 and the fire at Pet World, the city and fire department have been looking at animal housing regulations.  Division Chief King stated that the city code had dealt primarily with boarding facilities in the past and found that they had not been enforced for over 30 years.  Under the existing 2012 Fire Code, boarding facilities fall under a B Occupancy for fire protection requirements (exit signs, lighting and fire extinguishers), no requirement for smoke detection or sprinkler requirements. Division Chief King stated that the more the city and fire department researched the issue; it was found that the NFPA 150 had higher standards that pertain specifically to animal housing.  Division Chief King stated that the city had changed the terminology from boarding kennels to animal housing facilities which would include any animal that is confined for any circumstance, then to look at how to take the existing fire code and blend in the NFPA 150 without necessarily bringing in all the requirements as they can be pretty substantial.  In doing that, the recommendation that was put forth to the city commission was to retroactively require all animal housing facilities to provide monitored smoke detection and fire alarms.  Division Chief King stated under new or renovated construction the requirement would remain for smoke detection and fire alarm, CO detection for facilities with gas fired appliances, emergency plan and any facility over 3000 sq. ft. would be required to have automatic fire sprinklers.  Division Chief King stated they felt that 3000 sq. ft. would provide a break for smaller businesses that would suffer a large financial hardship by installing sprinkler systems and place this under new construction so new businesses can plan ahead for funding mechanisms. The feedback from stakeholders has been positive, especially with the smoke detection and monitored fire protection, there has been a little ‘push back’ with sprinkler systems but the Humane Society and Pet World have been vocal proponents of sprinkler systems, in fact, they don’t want any threshold.  Tracy Green asked if the Humane Society had fire sprinklers, Division Chief King answered that they did not but they were getting ready to do a multi-million dollar renovation and their new facility would be equipped with fire sprinklers.  The city commission asked for more information so a survey was distributed to stakeholders to get an idea of the size of these businesses and the actual number in the community which was 22, and are awaiting the results of that survey which will be presented to the city commission for their input. Division Chief King stated that this could clearly result in an amendment to the existing code for those businesses that will be renovating this year.    

 

Division Chief King presented a report from Phoenix, AZ outlining their requirements for mobile food trucks.  Division Chief James King told the members of the committee that they would be discussing fire code requirements for mobile food trucks.  Division Chief King stated that food trucks were being discussed within the city and regardless of the position of the city, the committee needed to address the issue of fire code requirements for mobile food trucks.  Division Chief King stated that this may be an issue that needs to go forward with a new local amendment to be placed into the code under Section 914-Fire Protection Based on Special Detailed Requirements of Use and Occupancy, similar to the issue of animal housing.   Jay Zimmershied asked what the concern was regarding mobile food trucks.  Division Chief King stated that mobile food trucks are largely unregulated and there have been a number of incidents in the nation involving mobile food trucks, some of which have exploded.  Division Chief King stated that the he had researched other cities and found that they also approach mobile food trucks in much the same way as we do, as a mobile commercial kitchen that needs to be regulated the same way as other kitchens (type 1 hoods, controlled gas cylinders, extinguishing systems and fire extinguishers on board).  All members of the committee agreed that this was something that should be eventually added as an amendment to the code.

 

Tracy Green joined the meeting at 4:19 p.m.

 

Division Chief King referred to the handout noting the recommendations he had made and told the committee that they would quickly review those. 

 

Division Chief King commented that a recommendation a change for flammable combustible liquids in stationary above ground tanks from previously 100 ft. from all adjacent property lines to rely on the distances referenced in Table 2306.2.3 of the 2015 code.  Division Chief King presented an example of this issue was when the construction of Haskell, south of 27th street  was being done and Douglas County could not use the card lock fuel station on Haskell.  The county was looking for a place to fuel their vehicles at their Public Works facility located east of Haskell Indian Nations University campus.  When their proposal was reviewed for the tank they wanted to install on site and the amendment to the code was applied, it allowed for the installation of a tank in a small area on the facility grounds.  It removed their ability to install the tank in areas that would have been easier to work around.  Division Chief King reminded the committee members that this amendment was referring to UL tanks that have protection mechanisms in place for holding flammable liquids. Douglas County placed jersey barriers around the entire location where the tank is installed and a container for fuel in case of a leak. Committee members agreed with this recommendation. 

     

 

Division Chief James King stated he recommended deleting the amendment in Section 102.7-Referenced Codes and Standards and adopting the 2015 IFC Section 102.7 through 102.7.2 as written.  The committee members agreed with this recommendation.

 

Division Chief James King stated he recommended deleting the amendment in Section 105.1.1-Permits Required and adopting the 2015 IFC Section 105.1.1 and 105.1.2 as written.  Dan Wilkus asked if what is in the IFC would take precedence over what is in the city code.  Division Chief King stated that because these were carry overs from previous code editions he felt that the way the code is written today addressed any issues.  This would just be striking a local amendment and relying on the code as it is written.  Division Chief King stated this and 102.7 are addressed in the IFC and don’t require a local amendment.  Dan Wilkus inquired as to whether this would affect adoption of codes related to animal housing or luminaries.  Division Chief King stated that it would not.  Committee members agreed with this recommendation.

 

Division Chief James King stated the recommendation to Section 105.6.30 was just a change in the section number to Section to 105.6.32 and to approve as written.  Committee members agreed with this recommendation.

 

Division Chief James King recommended the language written for Section 109.3.2-Compliance with orders and notices, to have the exception included and adopt the 2015 IFC Section 109.3.2 as written.  Jay Zimmershied inquired as to if the tenant wants to add a kitchen to an existing business and does not want to install a hood system, is the fire department going to issue a notice of violation to the owner or the tenant?  Division Chief King stated that was the reason for the exception.  Typically any changes or modifications to the building fall on the responsibility of the owner to fund. The language as written captures what the intent was, just recommended to keep the exception.  There have been some instances where any modifications to the building, if there is a written agreement between the owner and the occupant, falls on the responsibility of the occupant if the owner does not want to be responsible for funding or acquiring a permit.  Tracy Green asked if there should be a caveat at the end of the section to include “as long as the owner is aware”.  Division Chief King stated if the committee is not in agreement with the recommended changes, they can choose to leave the code as written without including the exception.  The committee members agreed to table this discussion to acquire feedback from the city legal department.

 

Division Chief James King stated that in Section 202 Definitions under occupancy classifications he had referred to the development code in the appropriate section and moved it into R-3. Division Chief King stated that R-3’s encompass one and two family homes but can also encompass congregate housing, so in an effort to set a threshold at which congregate facilities and boarding houses would require sprinkler protection, relying on the development code where no more than four unrelated persons can live together, provides that lower threshold.  Division Chief King provided Article 6-Density and Dimensional Standards (d) Occupancy Limits based on zoning districts showing the maximum number of occupants per dwelling unit.  Jay Zimmershied inquired as to whether this would be retroactive.  Division Chief King stated it would not be retroactive.  The committee members agreed to this recommendation. 

 

Division Chief King recommended meetings every two weeks.  Jeanette Reiling will send reoccurring meeting dates to members of the committee. 

 

 

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

Tracy Green made a motion to adjourn.  Pete Easterwood seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 5:24.

 

NEXT MEETING

 

The next meetings will be schedule every two weeks.