TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Jason Martin, Deputy Chief
REPORT BY: Stacie McCambridge, Staff Services Manager
SUBJECT: American Canyon Fire District Fire Code Adoption
RECOMMENDATION
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Deputy County Fire Chief requests adoption of a Resolution ratifying Ordinance No. 2022-02 of the American Canyon Fire Protection District adopting the 2022 California Fire (Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 9) and related model codes with appendices and amendments.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 13869.7, et seq., a fire protection district may adopt building standards relating to fire and panic safety that are more stringent than those building standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal and contained in the California Building Standards Code. If a more stringent ordinance is passed, it must be either ratified, modified, or denied by the legislative body in which the fire district is located. American Canyon Fire Protection District adopted such an ordinance with amendments to the 2022 California Fire Code and staff is recommending adoption of a resolution ratifying the district’s action.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Choose an item. |
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Where is it budgeted? |
N/A |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
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Discretionary Justification: |
N/A |
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Is the general fund affected? |
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Future fiscal impact: |
N/A |
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Consequences if not approved: |
N/A |
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County Strategic Plan pillar addressed: |
Effective and Open Government |
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Additional Information |
N/A |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Consideration and possible adoption of a Categorical Exemption Class 8: It has been determined that this type of project does not have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. [See Class 8 (“Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment”) which may be found in the guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act at 14 CCR 15308.]
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The State of California revises it Building Standards Code on a triennial basis, which includes the California Fire Code. Pursuant to Health & Safety Code Section 13869.7, et seq. (Code), a fire protection district may adopt building standards relating to fire and panic safety that are more stringent than those building standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal based on local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions. The American Canyon Fire Protection District (District) adopted the 2022 California Fire Code with certain amendments pursuant to District Ordinance No. 2022-02.
The Code also requires that the legislative body in which the fire district is located must either ratify, modify, or deny the district’s ordinance. Staff has reviewed the amendments and recommends the Board ratify the District’s Ordinance, and delegate enforcing this Ordinance to the Chief of the District. The amendments are more stringent due to the urban environment and include:
1. Climatic: The American Canyon Fire Protection District experiences periods of high temperature, accompanied by low humidity and seasonal high winds. These conditions create an environment in which the Fire Department would need to fully commit available firefighting resources to control and extinguish wildland fires. During such periods, the limited available firefighting resources may have greater difficulty in controlling fires in structures not having built-in fire protection.
2. Geological: The American Canyon Fire Protection District is in a region that contains active fault zones: the San Andreas, Hayward, Calaveras and Healdsburg-Rogers Creek. Three active faults are located within Napa County: the Cordelia, Green Valley, and West Napa. After a large seismic event, like the one experienced in 2014, the potential for multiple fires occurring simultaneously will tax available firefighting resources. Built-in fire protection will assist in extinguishing or controlling fires in structures, which will increase the availability of firefighting resources after a seismic event.
3. Topographical: The American Canyon Fire Protection District is divided geographically into three parts by the north/south orientation of State Highway 29. The east and west portions of the city contain steep hillsides with residential development intermixed. These natural and manmade barriers can serve a severe impediment to delivery of public safety services due to increased response times and delays in fire suppression efforts due to flooding or traffic congestion. An extended response time allows fires to grow beyond the control of initial attack fire suppression resources. Built in fire protection in the form of automatic fire sprinklers has proven effective in Controlling and extinguishing fires in their early stages.
Adopting the resolution will also transmit this information to the district and to the Department of Housing and Community Development. If approved, the effective date of these new regulations will be January 1, 2023.