Committee reviews massive fire code

Approximately 1,800 times a year, a Jefferson City fire truck pulls up to one of the 2,614 licensed businesses in the city. A captain, driver and firefighter disembark and approach the structure. From the moment they set foot on the parking lot, they have begun their annual inspection of that business.

"We try to make each inspection an educational experience for the business owner," Division Chief Jason D. Turner said after a Tuesday meeting of a subcommittee analyzing the latest international fire and property maintenance code.

It's called the International Fire and Property Maintenance Codes Technical Subcommittee of the Jefferson City Code Review Steering Committee. At its Tuesday meeting, the subcommittee reviewed hundreds of pages of the International Fire Code, a 2015 book the size of a large doorstop.

Among the detailed provisions the subcommittee scrutinized was this about signs: "A sign stating EXIT in visual characters, raised characters and braille and complying with ICC (International Code Council) A117-1 shall be provided adjacent to each door to an area of refuge, an exterior area for assisted rescue, an an exterior stairway or ramp, an exterior passageway and means of exterior discharge."

The detailed language provides guidelines for builders, landlords and tenants in ingress and egress to properties. The overarching purpose for the examination of the regulations is to provide safe exits to structures during times of crisis, especially fires.

Turner's 75 uniformed firefighters must be familiar with the code as they answer some 4,600 incident calls each year. Each crew has a territory in which to operate. Engine Company No. 1 is one of 21 sub-districts and has 163 licensed businesses it is charged with inspecting this year - 85 have been visited so far. On average, Turner said, each company is able to do 10-15 inspections a month.

Violations of the fire code are common, Turner said. Once notified by the firemen of those violations, business owners strive to reach compliance as soon as possible. Turner estimated "99.999% of all violations we see get corrected almost immediately by the property owners."

In addition to Turner, the committee is comprised of residents interested in the Jefferson City commercial and residential real estate scene. Jim Crabtree, a vice president at Central Bancompany, and Larry Kolb, owner of Kolb Properties, are the chairman and vice chairman, respectively. Other members of the panel are Jim Korsmeyer, Matt Rimiller and Eric West.

Turner is one of three ex-officio members. The others are Larry Burkhardt, AIA, P.E., a building official, and David Helmick, a certified property maintenance, home improvement and residential building inspector, both in the city's Department of Planning and Protective Services.

The subcommittee members and their ex-officio colleagues will join a special meeting of the Ad Hoc Steering Committee on Building Construction Codes at noon Thursday. The meeting will feature a brief overview of the city's requirements for fire sprinklers followed by a thorough discussion of the residential code covering fire sprinklers and then a more in-depth examination of the city building code. The agenda for the meeting provides time for public comment.