The Grantsville City Council took another look at adopting the state’s new fire code but ended up tabling the proposal due to the absence of its city attorney.
The proposal before the council would have adopted the state code but not require residential dwellings less than 4,000 square feet to include additional fire suppression or sprinkler systems.
It differed from the recommendations of Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Ted Black, who supported a sprinkler requirement for a residential dwelling of less than 3,000 square feet and approval of Appendix B to the state code, which requires 1,000 gallons per minute of flow from the hydrant system.
During its Oct. 6 meeting, the city council was informed water flow at hydrants throughout the city were closer to an average of 500 gallons per minute, according to the Grantsville City Fire Department. If the council adopted Appendix B, homes near fire hydrants could be required to have sprinklers due to the low water flow.
Grantsville City Fire Marshal Kent Liddiard had strong words against adopting the ordinance with the 4,000-square-foot standard because it was not based on the same formula as the state.
“In my opinion, this ordinance is ill-advised at best and illegal at worst,” he said.
He also said the proposed ordinance would be more lax than the state code and would not enhance public safety.
“It helps a few individuals that do not want to follow the existing code,” he said. “This ordinance weakens the fire code.”
Councilman Neil Critchlow, a captain with the city’s fire department, said the threshold of 3,000 square feet for sprinklers was based upon only one fire engine and one water tender, when the city, in conjunction with mutual aid partners, routinely supplies far more trucks and water to fires than Black used in his formulating the restriction.
Councilwoman Jewel Allen said she would like to hear from future homeowners and developers who would build under the sprinkler restrictions before making a decision. Councilman Tom Tripp recommended tabling the ordinance until city attorney Joel Linares could be on hand to advise them.
The ordinance was tabled until the next meeting on Nov. 16, with legal input on the concerns from Liddiard.