Eddy County’s Board of County Commissioners approved a new fire code Oct. 19 designed to speed up fire inspections and educate people on fire safety.
Eddy County Fire and Rescue (ECFR) Deputy Chief of Fire Administration Jarrod Zuniga said in a memorandum to commissioners, the new code would expedite work currently performed by the State of New Mexico Fire Marshal’s office.
“Which will allow us to do the inspections at our level instead of having to wait on the State,” he said.
Per County Commission records, Eddy County’s Planning and Development Advisory Committee met Sept. 8 to discuss and develop the fire code. The committee recommended adoption of the ordinance by commissioners.
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Eddy County’s ordinance was based on the 2015 edition of the International Fire Code (IFC), which contains regulations to safeguard life and property from fires and explosion hazards, read IFC’s website.
“We’re looking to adopt the same fire code that is in effect for the State of New Mexico. This will bring the oversight to the county government level,” Zuniga said.
ECFR Chief Joshua Mack said the County’s new fire code could boost Insurance Service Office (ISO) ratings.
Zuniga said ISO is used to establish insurance rates of Eddy County residents.
“The county adopting the fire code is worth 40 points overall,” Zuniga said. “Forty points counts quite a bit in the full spectrum. Just adopting it gives us that.”
Along with fire inspections at the county level, Zuniga said the ordinance allowed ECFR to educate people and businesses on safe fire code etiquette.
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“Last week I walked into three businesses all three had fire code violations. Two were major life safety codes,” he said. “Without us having the regulation we can’t enforce those. We can’t change them.”
Before the Oct. 19 approval, Zuniga said ECFR notified the State of possible fire safety violations and hoping action would be taken.
“Where if its our code we can take care of that immediately,” he said.
Zuniga said one business had problems with a fire alarm and another had blocked emergency exits.
“One with a machine that couldn’t be used. One that was padlocked and one that had stuff in front of it on the inside and outside,” he said. “That’s our thing to walk in and educate and show them why those violations are such a big deal.”
District 1 Commissioner Ernie Carlson said he wanted to see the ordinance used as a teaching tool.
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Zuniga said enforcement was a last resort and education was a priority.
Per County Commission documents, the ordinance applies to areas outside of Carlsbad, Loving, Artesia and Hope.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at [email protected] or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
