South Sound Times

Fires are incredibly damaging to a business. In addition to losing your physical building, livelihood, and economic stability -- a fire can have devastating impacts on our entire community. Ripple effects of even a small fire can impact a neighborhood for years, especially in downtown Shelton. Proactive fire prevention and life safety inspections are key to ensuring the safety of your customers and employees.

Every fire prevention and life safety inspection is an opportunity to identify and provide education on potential safety issues and proactively invest in our public safety.  It’s also possible that your insurance rates decrease with a completed fire inspection – check with your insurance provider.

Here at the City, we are currently working on reviewing our Fee Schedule to accurately reflect the actual costs of providing essential municipal services. Reviewing and updating our Fee Schedule is imperative to ensuring we can continue to provide these municipal services for decades to come.

Fire inspections are required by the International Fire Code (Sections 107.1 and 107.2), which have been a part of the Shelton Municipal Code for decades.

While the fire prevention and life safety inspection process has previously been supported by the City’s General Fund, this is not a sustainable practice as Shelton continues to grow.

What is Changing?

Beginning Tuesday, February 21, City staff will create fire inspection permits using EnerGov, our online permitting portal, in partnership with the Fire Marshal, an employee of Central Mason Fire & EMS. Permits will include expiration dates of either one or three years.

The City will send invoices to business and commercial property owners identified on our inspection schedule, approximately 120 businesses per quarter.

Businesses that are identified as “business offices”, for example a lawyer or accountant, only need to be inspected every 3 years. Other businesses will be inspected annually.

Invoices will be for a flat fee of $100 per inspection (and a note that properties over 5,000 square feet will incur additional charges).

Once business and commercial building owners have paid their invoices, a representative of the Fire Marshal’s Office will complete an inspection for your business or property. Code Enforcement will follow up with uninspected properties as needed.

This new fire inspection process goes into effect Tuesday, February 21. You can find more information on the City’s website, sheltonwa.gov, or Central Mason Fire & EMS’s website, cmfe.org.

Original source can be found here.