An Ordinance Amending The Pasco County Code Of Ordinances, Chapter 46, Article II, And Chapter 18, Article III, To Update Those Ordinances Relating To The County Fire Marshal; Clarifying The County Fire Marshal’s Role And Responsibilities; Updating The Firesafety Inspection Provisions Of The Code Of Ordinances To Reflect Current State Law And Current County Organization; Providing For New Procedures Relating To The Submittal Of Fire Inspection Reports To The County Fire Marshal; Providing For Other Amendments, As Necessary, For Internal Consistency; Providing For Severability; Providing For Inclusion In The Code And Providing For An Effective Date.

27:04Proof of publication, Tampa Bay Times, October 30th, 2024.

27:10Good afternoon, Chairman, Commissioner Councillor, Justin From Fire Marshal for Pasco Fire. Uh P64 is referencing FR 25-1079, an ordinance amending the Pasco County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 46, Article 2, and Chapter 18, Article 3, to update those ordinances relating to the County Fire Marshal. Clarifying the County Fire Marshal's role and responsibilities, updating the fire safety inspection provisions of the code of ordinances to reflect current state law and current county organization. Providing for new procedures

27:41relating to the SMIDL fire inspection report to the County Fire Marshal, providing for other amendments as necessary for internal consistency. Providing for servability, providing for inclusion of the code, and providing for an effective date. We also have a short presentation prepared if needed.

27:57Pas just ball.

27:59I wouldn't mind saying it. I wouldn't mind saying it.

28:05We have anyone signed up to speak to someone?

28:07I want to signed up.

28:08Does anyone in the audience wish to speak to this uh

28:12You you're gonna do a pre if you're gonna do a presentation.

28:14Well let's do the presentation before we yeah, I've got someone back here wanna speak. All right. Do the presentation. So

28:20if we could advance to the next slide. So uh previous slide, please. So under state statute 63312 and Ford Administrative Code 69A, that brought us to a position where any third-party fire protection contractor is required to report their findings and reports to the local authority having jurisdiction. We recently found the software that would uh process, improve the means, and measures. Mechanism that set to 321 subsection 3A references by means of reporting to the authority

28:50have a jurisdiction that'll streamline that process for all of our customers and there'll be a consistent flow for all of our employees and staff on getting those. This software that we found has a direct interlink to our current RMS system. So real-time our men and women in the field will have those third. Party reports as well regarding fire protection systems, alarm systems, sprinkler systems, any deficiencies that any third party contractor may find. We reached out to Mr. Steinsnyder and his staff to seek their

29:20recommendation. And in those conversations, attorney parks, we've discovered several areas that didn't parallel the language of our local ordinance into state statute and Florida Administrative Code. So your strike throughs of markups is reference changes to what we originally had as fire safety inspector to the fire marshal as the authority having jurisdiction and then identifying fire safety inspectors as the reports to the fire marshal for carrying out their roles and responsibilities. Next

29:51slide.

29:55Um as the the Changes to article or Chapter 46 Article 2 as those language changes referenced the addition of the uh 12 subsection 12 collection reports from the third party inspections to include that uniform summary inspection report. And next slide is uh Chapter eighteen, Article Three. Uh this was under the building permit section and it again is just changing that language from fire safety inspector to fire marshal and correcting the uh spelling on Marshall to Marshall.

30:28Is that your alias? Sir? Is that your alias? Sometimes sir.

30:34Mm-hmm.

30:37So,

30:45Did I see a hand raised or not? Okay.

30:49Mr. Chairman Mari So the way it's set right now, you guys have a system as far as when you're gonna go out and check on these systems? Like go out maybe once every two years, three years, four years, five years, how how does

31:02that work? That that's correct. So we're we're charged statutorily by code, ordinance and statute um to perform Routine fire and life safety inspections. Part of that inspection process is ensuring that the business owner or the property owner is keeping all their private protection systems inspected and certified through a third party. So hood suppression systems in the kitchens, commercial kitchens, sprinkler systems, uh fire alarm systems, extinguishers have to be certified and inspected annually. That's beyond the scope of our staff and our team.

31:33Part of our process is ensuring that they are doing that. um that that third party contractor whenever they perform that on an annual or even uh uh every six month period They are charged with reporting that to the authority having jurisdiction and we've getting those in the means of telephones, emails, fax, transmittals. This system that we would like to put in place would streamline that for all of our customers. There's one single platform for reporting and it all funnels to our RMS

32:03system on that location or the property.

32:06Now from what I understand talking to a citizen who just went through A inspection, uh went through it and certified as fire extinguisher then lasts for a year and the company, third party company comes out to go certified again the next year. Doesn't mean they change the fire extinguisher, Sharon, from what I understand. Those those things can last like five years.

32:26Correct. Depending on the type in the manufacturer, um every five through ten years they are due for hydrostatic testing. Um on their annual inspection, they're ensuring that it's intact, it's labeled appropriately, it's charged, and it's hung correctly. Um we ensure that they have the right number for that type of occupancy and that their their sticker is current. Um and then if it needs to recharge, if the tamper seal is replaced, that's all in the third party.

32:51Is it an is it a state mandate that makes you do it every year? Yes. Or is it us? Yeah, the state. So every every year someone's gonna have a fire restinger. Under

33:00state statute, administrative code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code, those are required annually.

33:06No. So then if this third party inspector with the fire extinguisher was to go check it and certify it. Yes sir. Can he just said the third party now send it to you so that you know so you'd have to go out there and go check.

33:18So be beyond the extinguishers we're checking for means of ingress, egress, um any other outstanding fire and life safety hazards such as electrical hazards, um any interior build outs that would re re Reconfigure the fire life safety floor plan. uh access as far as knox ass for after hours, access for our crews, um our fire department access around the building, uh private protection systems, hydrants, Um

33:46So it it's beyond that the the component of the an extinguisher being certified is a small component of our overall the totality of our overall inspection.

33:56But so is your plan to go uh so by state statute you tell me you have to go out there every single year to every single business and check 'em all over?

34:02For the extinguishers or for our our For your own inspection. For our own inspection our goal is annually, yes sir. Wow. Um That's that's your goal. What I'm saying is is the state mandating you do it every year? Yeah. This the state in the state statute and fortify prevention code it says periodic. Um there is an industry standard that the the goal and the benchmark is annually, but to afford uh To afford a mechanism for jurisdictions with that are understaffed and the NFPA changed

34:32that standard to a one, two, or three-year review. Um, to go in in that technical committee, it was all spoken by the AHJ that that was charged with doing them annually and didn't have the resources. We are fortunate enough a few years ago with full support of the commission to implement the fee schedule that increased our FT. e counts and we're able and we're on track to to provide those annually.

34:55Uh so again I don't know if I wanna you you guys think about this, do you wanna have your business people to spend a hundred dollars every year for every inspection and then another seventy five dollars two hundred dollars on top dollars.

35:05How much is the in isn't it two hundred dollars? Uh

35:09for our our fee? Your uh what is your fee? Our our minimum is one hundred dollars. But

35:13what is it? That's the minimum, but what do you charge?

35:17One hundred dollars. Covers up to fifteen thousand square feet.

35:20Yeah, I thought it was two hundred dollars. No ma'am. So a

35:23hundred

35:23or

35:24so this is every for fifty

35:25thousand.

35:25You're doing a several business every year. Is that correct?

35:28Yes, sir. And commissioners if I could just interject for a second. Okay. We we've we've recognized that um you know that we have some some rub with some of the business owners and we are working with the fire monster right now to prioritize some of the low occupancy, low risk buildings to where we attend those every two. to three years and then of course the high risk, high occupancy buildings expecting those every year. So we are working with Fire Marshall at this time to kind of prioritize the scheduling so that we can kind of

35:55'Cause 'cause 'cause it the thing that bothers me about it is you can do an inspection every year, you can pay the hundred, pay the seventy-five, and it can go on and on every year. And all you're changing is someone marking it a stamp on a fire extinguisher for another five years. To me those things should be if they needed if the state mandated every year for the fire extinguisher, so be it. But if that was the case it was mandated, they should just even send a quick email saying this thing's been checked over, save our guys from coming in there and deal

36:25with other bigger issues.

36:26Yes sir. And we agree. And you know that that would fall on place if you know if we inspected a business and they were compliant, they had their everything, you know, their fire extinguishers were certified and everything was uh up to code, then we would probably revisit those and in a three year time, two year time, depending on their occupancy level and and their risk level. Sounds like a better way to go. Thank

36:46you. Part of part of the issues we've had with some of our citizens, they feel Like they're being uh Maybe they feel like they've been targeted or something because they seem like they're getting these inspections all the time and other people are not getting inspected and that's that's an issue we have out there that people think that. Um if where it be true or not, they they still think that they're maybe being targeted on some of that. But fact of it is This this inspection is more

37:16than just a fire extinguisher up to up to par. The fact of it is we have to have make sure nobody's done additions inside that break where they did not get a permit for electrical and things of that nature that may cause a hazard in that business. And that's that's the purpose of the inspection I believe. So

37:35absolutely yes sir. And that's that's our ultimate goal is is safety of the of the citizens inside of a public building. So you know Chief Rum does a fantastic job. I don't know if he told you or not, but he was elected fire marshal of the year this year because of the job that he does. So um but we are going to look at prioritizing some of those processes that we have. The businesses that are compliant we can you know look at extending out their periods of inspections if we have to. And then you know those who aren't You know, of course following through with the life safety codes that we are required to follow

38:05through with.

38:06But the state actually requires you to do once a year annual inspections. Or is that our

38:13It's one to three year. They leave it on the state. Yes,

38:16sir. For for clarification, it it is periodic by the state language. And then there is a standard set by the NFPA that that affords that flexibility.

38:27Okay.

38:30Any other questions

38:31here?

38:31I'd like to say congratulations.

38:35Yeah, holding back on us Chief. Uh so it wasn't my

38:39award, it was a team award. Uh it was well deserved and uh we're excited to be recognized by the state and then in the uh spring by the by the at the Capitol.

38:48Right. And who's that guy standing next to you? He didn't announce who he was in the

38:51right-of-way.

38:51This

38:51is the the fire chief of Casco County Fire Rescue, right? And uh we also thank you for your confirmation that's more.

38:58But he's dressed down for the afternoon. It's hot,

39:02sir. Oh yes. Um Well we just want to make sure it's right and we want to make sure our citizens are treated right and we're doing the right thing.

39:14And that's the overall interest, Chairman, the the protection of the citizens as well as of the property owners. You know, it when we find ourselves in the business and it is year after year, um, and it's the same violations year after year, something as simple as the extinguishers, um it you know, it's a matter of time getting in those businesses, keeping them educated and informed, and then the accountability component of making sure they're complying for the overall interest. Very nice.

39:37Right, I understand that. Any other questions by the board? Does anyone in the audience wish to speak to this item?

39:45No one has signed up.

39:47No one signed up. Okay. Seeing no one? Pleasure of the war. Mm-hmm.

39:52Segue. It's a real call.

39:54That's a roll call vote.

39:56District 2, Commissioner Weightman. Aye. District 3, Commissioner Starkey. Aye. District 4, Commissioner Yeager. Aye. District 5, Commissioner Oriano.

40:03Aye.

40:04District 1, Chairman Oakley.

40:05Aye. Motion pass 5-0. Thank you, General. Uh we move now to public hearing. Mr. Steinsteiner, would you give us procedures?