Enforcement: Code Adoption and Administration

The second principal function of a comprehensive prevention program is enforcing fire and life safety codes (and helping to develop model codes). Enforcement is the mechanism used to obtain compliance with codes and laws during the construction process and afterward, when buildings are occupied. Enforcement after construction means regulating people’s behavior.

Laws and codes developed with the best of intentions accomplish nothing if they are not followed. Most people will comply with laws and codes if they understand the need, but nowadays not everyone sees the same need for fire safety codes, even though each of the model codes is rooted in fire disasters, such as the fire on May 28, 1977, at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, which killed 165 people, and the one at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1980, which killed 85 people and injured another 600. Most people never hear about the Rhythm Nightclub Fire that occurred in April of 1940 in Natchez, Mississippi. That fire, which started when flammable decorations were ignited, killed 209 African Americans and still ranks as the second worst nightclub fire in U.S. history. More recently, in 2003 the Station Nightclub Fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, occurred when a rock band set off fireworks indoors without a permit; and the fireworks ignited flammable foam installed on the walls and ceiling to help with sound acoustics. That fire killed 100 people.

All these fires, and others before and since, have taught lessons about fire safety that have been incorporated into modern fire and building codes. As mentioned above, laws requiring smoke detectors and codes requiring fire sprinklers and adequate exiting in case of emergencies stem from these lessons. It is important, therefore, to ensure that everyone complies with the codes. Codes are often paired with standards that provide more detail and regulations. For example, a code may require that fire sprinklers be provided in an occupancy; but the specific installation and hydraulic requirements necessary to make sure that the sprinklers will function properly will be in the accompanying standards. Thus, not only fire codes but also accompanying standards must be enforced as part of a comprehensive prevention program.

Enforcing codes and standards means adopting them and administering them, and fire officials and local decision makers must understand the limits and the foundation of their authority to do precisely that. Administering codes requires identifying and drawing up an inventory of properties to be inspected, maintaining a database and a record-keeping system, training and selecting personnel, and managing the appeals process. (Evaluating the performance of enforcement personnel and the enforcement program is also necessary and is discussed near the end of this chapter in the section titled “Using Performance Measures to Evaluate Prevention Programs.”)

To understand the legal issues involved in adopting and managing a code enforcement program, those who administer the codes should obtain legal guidance about the extent of their authority, and about their liability, when enforcing fire codes. Local and state codes are usually based on the model codes produced by ICC (iccsafe.org) or NFPA (nfpa.org). Fire officials should participate in the development of these model codes as much as possible to help ensure that the codes are in alignment with local needs. In doing so, however, they must recognize that the globalization of codes and standards (concomitant with the globalization of trade and commerce) will challenge U.S. practices and their ability to influence code development.

*This section continues with information on the authority to adopt and enforce codes, laws and standards; the scope of model codes; administering code enforcement through record keeping, selection and training of inspectors, and managing appeals; and legal issues in code enforcement.

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Excerpted from Managing Fire and Emergency Services, the newest title from ICMA Press (Jan. 2012) and the latest in the seminal series on fire services. Read the first excerpt, "Comprehensive Prevention Programs Far, Far Beyond Code Enforcement and Coloring Books," which appeared in the January 10, 2012, issue of Local Government Matters.