Advisory board recommends city adopt more lenient fire code
Yuma officials are considering adopting a more lenient fire code that recognizes when builders and building owners voluntarily install safety features.
A council-appointed building advisory board is recommending that the city adopt the 2018 National Fire Protection Association Fire Code with local amendments.
“The sole purpose of this code is to prevent loss of life and limit property damage by using science and engineering to reduce hazards. It’s also designed to be used in conjunction with model building codes,” said Kayla Holiman, a fire marshal with the Yuma Fire Department.
Holiman reviewed the proposed code, and highlighted changes and local amendments during the council’s Tuesday work session. The ordinance that calls for the adoption of the proposed fire code was then introduced during the Wednesday meeting.
Yuma has been using the NFPA fire code for the last 25 years and last updated it in 2014 by adopting the 2012 edition.
“It works well with our building codes,” Holiman said, noting that “up-todate codes provide for the use of the most modern materials and equipment available for installation and use.”
She also explained that up-to-date codes are required to achieve a favorable Insurance Services Office rating for the city, as well as accreditation status with the Commission of Fire Accreditation International/Center for Public Safety Excellence.
Yuma currently has an ISO rating of 2, with 1 being the top. The higher the rating, the lower the insurance premiums are for home and building owners.
The board held a series of public meetings in July and August and reviewed significant changes made to the NFPA between 2012 to 2018 and local ordinances. Local engineers and contractors participated in the review.
The board, with input
from fire personnel, city staff and citizens, developed localized amendments. On Aug. 22, the board unanimously voted to recommend the council move forward with approval and adoption of the proposed fire code update.
The proposed update was declared a public record at the Oct. 17 meeting and made available for public inspection. The city did not receive any comments.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO ORDINANCE
Holiman noted that the proposed fire code update is more lenient without reducing life safety but could result in cost savings to builders and building owners.
One of the most significant changes is to the fire sprinkler requirements for smaller commercial occupancy buildings. The current code requires a 500-square-foot business building to install fire sprinklers. The proposed update now says that a new building with commercial use up to 2,000 square feet doesn’t need sprinklers. It allows a building four times the size without the added cost of sprinklers.
“We thought that would be a good give without risking a lot,” Holiman said.
The proposed code also reduces the number of required fire hydrants. “It’s basically half as many,” Holiman said, noting that the requirement for less fire hydrants recognizes that people are installing fire sprinklers in their commercial occupancies “that are generally more restrictive than national standards and so we want them to give something back for those sprinklers, and reducing the number of fire hydrants is one way to do that and still keep a very high degree of public safety and capabilities from our fire department.”
An amendment also recognizes that sometimes it’s harder to install a fire hydrant for a new single family house in an area that is already developed because it lacks the appropriate waterline size.
“Sometimes, it’s challenging for people that just want to come in and put in a single family on a lot in the city to have to put in a fire hydrant too,” Holiman said.
The code currently requires a fire hydrant every 500 feet in residential areas. The proposed code says that if a builder voluntarily installs fire sprinklers in the house, the spacing for fire hydrants can be doubled to 1000 feet.
“Sometime we’re the bad guys because of so many requirements, but it’s for life safety, property conservation, insurance rates. But we recognize what people do for fire and life safety and give them something back,” Holiman noted.
The proposed code also addresses the width of fire department access roads. The code now requires fire access roads to be 20 feet wide, but the proposed code permits these roads to be less than 20 feet with consideration of several factors such as one-way traffic, potential for parking on street, length of road, amount of traffic, etc.
It also addresses other local issues such as clarification on wording for reference to the Life Safety Code for new construction; air curtain destructor placement; piles of yard waste materials; and removal of restriction on zoning districts for above storage tanks.
Deputy Mayor Gary Knight commended the board for bringing a fire code update that has “common sense.” He said, “That makes it easier for businesses and residents alike to have a house, to have a business. It’s just refreshing to see some of these regulations have been boiled down to common sense.”
“I definitely appreciate that feedback too,” Holiman said. “It’s something that I strive for because these are the same problems that I see people struggle with and I want to try to address them so we don’t have to repeat the struggle for future people.”
The proposed fire code is expected to be up for adoption by the council on Dec. 19. The meeting agendas can be found at www.yumaaz.gov.