Published: November 17, 2009 01:35 pm      

SOUTH COUNTY NEWS: Is Branford out of code when it comes to fire?

County fire marshal says yes; Town Council to address issue

Much of Branford is out of compliance with the state fire code, Suwannee County Fire Marshal Paul Haas told the town council at a meeting last week.

"It is pretty serious," said Haas. "I walk into this room today and I see about ten fire code violations."

Haas asked town council to consider modernizing Branford's interlocal agreement with the county in order to begin making improvements and bring Branford up to code. The current agreement has not been updated in nearly twenty years. Haas called the current situation a "great liability" and referenced out-of-state fires resulting in numerous fatalities. Through the current interlocal agreement, the Suwannee County fire marshal and fire department does not have the power to intervene.

"Loss of life is what I'm here to prevent. It is what this code is here to prevent," said Haas. "One day, God forbid, we are going to have a loss of life here."

Fire insurance is also an issue when discussing fire code violations, said Haas. If the town of Branford is not up to code, business owners will have to pay higher insurance rates.

"We cannot use the small town excuse as a reason not to make our buildings safe," said Haas during last week's council meeting at Branford's Town Hall. As a municipality, Branford is bound by the National Fire Code. Currently, the majority of downtown is not up to code, according to Haas.

Town Council President Shirley Clark said she was not aware of this issue. The council was anxious to fix the problems. "We want to get going and make sure our businesses and our people are safe," said Clark. The council formed a fire committee and agreed to hold a meeting to discuss the fire code violations. The council members also discussed holding a workshop with county officials to further discuss the issue.