Representatives from the Falcon Fire Protection District and six other local fire districts met with the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners Nov. 21 to discuss the 2009 International Fire Code adoption. Falcon, Black Forest, Wescott, Cimarron Hills, Peyton, Hanover and Security fire districts; which cover the vast majority of the unincorporated county population, are all working toward adopting the fire code.The Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs, while agreeing to or approving all other code amendments, would like to add an amendment that states, in general, ìThe 2009 International Fire Code does not apply to homes built under the International Residential Code.îTrent Harwig, FFPD chief, said the proposed amendment would negate parts of the IFC as written (not amended) that pertain to a minimum firefighting water supply and fire apparatus access roads. In addition, the amendment would negate the districtís proposed amendment requiring that hardened structures be provided within the boundaries of the wild land urban interface. The hardened structure requirements in the fire districtsí code proposal are modeled after the new Colorado Springs hillside ordinance, which was adopted and approved by the city ñ unopposed by HBA ñ after the Waldo Canyon fire.ìItís important to note that the HBA proposed amendment would alter and significantly reduce fire protection requirements as written in the code itself,î Harwig said. ìThese are not Falcon fireís amendments creating the requirements, but code requirements as written.îHBA would also like the fire districts to follow the 2009 IFC ìas writtenî when applying commercial sprinkler requirements. Currently, the fire districts seeking to adopt the 2009 IFC are proposing a sprinkler requirement for commercial buildings of a size and construction type that exceed a calculated fire flow of 2,000 gallons per minute, which is the amount of water FFPD and other districts are able to produce with existing apparatus and staffing. Harwig said the 2,000 gpm fire flow is ìmuch less restrictive than the code being enforced for the past seven years (2003 IFC), and slightly more restrictive than the (2009 IFC) code as written.îHarwig said most of the open public discussion at the BOCC meeting involved citizens from the Black Forest Fire Protection District expressing concerns that had little to do with the proposed code or its amendments. Still, Harwig is concerned about misinformation and confusion over the code, particularly as it applies to residents of the Falcon Fire Protection District.Busting fire code mythsHarwig said one misconception is that this is a new fire code. The proposed 2009 IFC and its amendments are actually a newer version of the 2003 IFC, in place since October 2006.Vernon Champlin, fire marshal, and Harwig addressed other misconceptions about the proposed 2009 IFC and its amendments as they relate to FFPD.
- Some say hardened structures did little or nothing to save homes during the Black Forest fire. Hardened structure elements are a proven effective construction method that improves the survivability of well-mitigated homes, without firefighter intervention, especially during a large fire event when emergency response resources are stretched thin.
- There are no retroactive code requirements applied to existing homes. This code applies to new construction only.
- There are no residential fire sprinkler requirements in this code adoption. Fire sprinklers can be used, if the builder/owner chooses them as an alternative to meet the fire flow requirements.
- A Nov. 21 article in The Gazette cited HBAís Mark Bussone: He said the new code requirements could add $7,000 to $22,000 to the cost of a one-story house and $8,000 to $30,000 to a two-story home. However, Harwig and Champlin said the first two of 14 rebuilds reviewed in the FFPD would not have cost any more under the 2009 IFC, if it had been adopted at the time of review.
