#67: Then the Fire Marshall Threatened to Arrest Me ...

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns/counter/counter67.phtml

Summary:

Owning a retail store can have insane hurdles.

Go to the column for more information.

[MadWritter]

Originally Posted by RPGnet Columns

http://www.rpg.net/columns/counter/counter67.phtml

Summary:

Owning a retail store can have insane hurdles.

Go to the column for more information.

Ouch. I thought that kid was bad from column #60 was bad! This adult in this column just stole the cake away from the kid.

[Rafe]

Hmm - had a slow afternoon so decided to go in search of this legislation - and I think I found it! In the Kalamazoo Ordinances online at http://ecode360.com/?custId=KA2666 (relevant bits bolded to make it decipherable from the legalese):

CHAPTER 15 FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION

ARTICLE III 15-40

Amended 12-22-1986 by Ord. No. 1397; 3-12-1990 by Ord. No. 1487; 4-18-1994 by Ord. No. 1574; 2-26-1996 by Ord. No. 1613; 7-18-2005 by Ord. No. 1789]
Pursuant to the authority granted in the Home Rule Cities Act, MCLA § 117.3(k), there is hereby adopted, for the purpose of regulating and governing the safeguarding of life and property from fire or explosion hazards arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, and from conditions hazardous to life or property in the occupancy of buildings and premises in the City of Kalamazoo; and providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; that certain code known as the "International Fire Code," being particularly the 2003 Edition thereof, including Appendix Chapters, as if set forth fully herein. Any previously adopted fire codes are hereby repealed. The Chief of Public Safety, with the approval of the City Manager, is authorized to make and enforce such other rules and regulations for the prevention and control of fires and fire hazards as may be necessary from time to time to carry out the intent of this code. A copy of the code shall be filed with the City Clerk and shall be in effect upon filing and shall be available for public inspection and distribution at the Office of the City Clerk, 241 W. South Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

So, going to that document (http://www2.rigov.org/pdf/inspection...alFireCode.pdf) we find:

SECTION 506

KEY BOXES

506.1 Where required. Where access to or within a structure
or an area is restricted because of secured openings or where
immediate access is necessary for life-saving or fire-fighting
purposes, the fire code official is authorized to require a key
box to be installed in an approved location. The key box shall
be of an approved type and shall contain keys to gain necessary
access as required by the fire code official.

506.1.1 Locks. An approved lock shall be installed on gates
or similar barriers when required by the fire code official.

506.2 Key box maintenance. The operator of the building
shall immediately notify the fire code official and provide the
new key when a lock is changed or rekeyed. The key to such
lock shall be secured in the key box.

I like the very vague "Where required" at the start, which sounds a bit like "when we feel like it". Also, only needed "Where access to or within a structure
or an area is restricted because of secured openings or where
immediate access is necessary for life-saving or fire-fighting
purposes" - so if you have large, breakable windows then perhaps that doesn't apply (pass on that, IANAL)?

Regarding a variance, according to the Kalamazoo Ordinances:

CHAPTER 15 FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION

ARTICLE III 15-44 Modifications.

The Chief of the Department of Public Safety shall have power to modify any of the provisions of the Uniform Fire Code adopted by this article, upon application in writing by the owner or lessee, or his duly authorized agent, when there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict letter of such code, provided that the spirit of the code shall be observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done. The particulars of such modification, when granted or allowed, and the decision of the Chief of the Department of Public Safety thereon, shall be entered upon the records of the department and a signed copy shall be furnished the applicant.

So sounds like you need to contact the Chief of the Department of Public Safety! As far as I can tell, this is still Jeff Hadley (http://indiana.typepad.com/fwob/2008...hadley-is.html), but it seems to me like you should probably contact the department to determine if you should submit the modification request to him directly:

150 E. Crosstown, Suite A
Kalamazoo, MI 49001
(269) 337-8120

TalktoKDPS@kalamazoocity.org


Phew! Nice to get a good workout of my Google Fu! /flex :-)

[smascrns]

What amazes me from my little corner in Portugal at the Western face of Old Europe is... that a fire marshal has the power to arrest a person.

[ahalavais]

Originally Posted by smascrns

What amazes me from my little corner in Portugal at the Western face of Old Europe is... that a fire marshal has the power to arrest a person.

It is possible that he doesn't have this power. From reading the story, there's a good chance that a person like this would have actually performed an arrest rather than simply threatened it had he had the power to do so.

However, a "fireman" performing arrests is not that uncommon in the states. Persons whose primary job is firefighting but who also have additional duties or hardships or are remote are often deputized. Some examples of this are fire patrols in state and national parks, beach and lake lifeguards in some locations, and so on.

On topic, the local store which I no longer work at moved recently. Along comes a city inspector. The owner finds out that 1) he needs to submit a properly drafted architectural plan for the building, showing not only the building. but also where all of his furniture is. 2) One of the two spaces for employee parking needs to be designated handicap, despite there being no handicap employees and no way for non employees to park there. 3) He may have no neon signage hanging in a place visible from the exterior. After hearing this third thing, the owner pointed down the street to no less than five other neon open signs. Said owner is still having problems with the city.

Petty men with power are still petty men.

[ffs6]

I'm a volunteer firefighter and a paid EMT. In both areas we have knoxboxs. In our area we have not had a problem with people breaking the boxs. We also have them on apartment buildings. They are so we dont have to break down your doors just to find out that its a false alarm. I'm quite sure you would be upset about that. Plus some doors and windows are very difficult to break. I do agree that the fire marshall could have handled the situation better.

[Ace]

And people wonder why a lot of people have no confidence in anything the government does.

As a side note though the Fire guy apparently hasn't gotten the memo yet its very unwise for any community to discourage bricks and mortar businesses..This is the Internet age and a business goes away , well it won't be replaced. You see its nearly possible to buy everything online. Make it costly to do business and you can push a business out. Even if it stays around you can push a business to cut back people -- say hello to self checkouts or outsourcing and goodbye to the tax base.

as a last note, if communities think that things like food service is immune, its not. I've lived in and visited sizable towns with nary a restaurant in sight. Its sucks

[Dal Thrax]

http://www.kalamazoocity.org/portal/...php?page_id=35

Link to Kalamazoo city ordinances. I can't find anything about a Knox Box in here, maybe you can. Personally I think Marcus might want to get a large, friendly, and most house broken dog to leave at the store overnight (or check his insurance). Sure sounds like he's being set up to have his store cleaned out.

Contacting a local attorney (awards of attorney's fees can be made in government abuse of power cases) and possibly the FBI might also be a good idea.

[rabidbob]

Funny I was posting about this kind of thing elsewhere today. Be careful in the future, please. Once the system gets you in its sights it'll keep going until it's royally put a boot in your nethers. It does not care that you employ people, that you provide taxes, a community space or anything else; it'll only care that you dissed it. Mr Fire Marshall will mention that (he thinks) you're a jack-**** to his cop buddy, who'll mention it to his counsellor friend, who'll see what he can do to get a disrespectful local business owner to "learn his lesson". Yes, the system is that corrupt, but you'll never find that out unless you cross it; I speak with the experience of seeing friends go through similar experiences.

My advice: Put the box up, put "a" key in it, a copy of your garden shed key or something, not your business key; offer the fire marshal a coffee or something next time he's around and be nice to him. Find out his name and then get his address from the local phone book and post him some dog poop if you must, but don't get him angry at you again.

[Etheric]

Let's not overreact here. Mr. King did his best to respectfully stick to his guns and, to any halfway decent policeman, attorney or judge, that will be plain as day. This is not a case where "the system" has singled him out for punishment -- it is a case where one arrogant official has forgotten for whom a public servant works.

Rafe's well-researched post above has detailed how Mr. King needs to go about getting his variance. I would also suggest that if the variance application process seems to be going less than smoothly, to consult a local lawyer who has experience with this kind of regulation. If it looks like the variance will not be approved before the 90 days, follow the request to the letter while documenting everything with a copy for aforesaid attorney. The system has checks and balances built into it for exactly this reason: That some public servants get big-headed.