Title
FY25 Mecklenburg County Fire Ordinance Changes
Action
ACTION:
Request BOCC approval to accept changes to the Mecklenburg County Fire Ordinance
Staff Contact: Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi, Director, Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA)
Patrick Granson, Director, Code Enforcement (LUESA)
Presentation: No
BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION:
This is a request to modify the current Mecklenburg County Fire Prevention Ordinance to align with the newly adopted state codes that will be effective January 1, 2025. The 2024 North Carolina State Building Codes, including the NC Fire Code, have been updated to require the Fire Marshal's Office (FMO) to coordinate with other partner agencies such as Medic, Law Enforcement, Towns, State Police, etc. for mass gatherings over 1000 people.
The purpose for the code’s modification is to ensure that the Public Safety and Emergency Plans and strategies for these types of events have been reviewed and approved by all relevant departments and agencies.
Currently, FMO is responsible for the overall fire and life safety compliance process as related to large public venues, which includes reviewing the site egress plan and ensuring that all necessary resources are available to respond. This includes conducting public safety reviews and performing the venue inspections.
With this change, for mass gatherings of over 1000 people, the revised ordinance will define the process where the host event organizer will need to submit applications, plans, and event details for all the relevant agencies to perform adequate review for compliance with the code, in order to ensure overall public safety.
PROCUREMENT BACKGROUND:
N/A
POLICY IMPACT:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A