Members Asked to Contact Administration to Stop Costly Misapplications of Fire Codes

For years, invalid and unenforceable provisions of the International Fire Code have been allowed to remain in Virginia’s Statewide Fire Prevention Code.  This has resulted in ambiguity and uncertainty with regard to which sections apply and the division of responsibility between building code and fire officials.  This lack of clarity has further led to numerous examples of misapplications of the fire codes by local officials wherein building owners have been ordered to perform costly and unnecessary building upgrades not required by Virginia’s Uniform Statewide Building Code.

The Board of Housing & Community Development has initiated a code change to remove these invalid and unenforceable provisions from Virginia’s Statewide Fire Prevention Code.  Your engagement is needed to help ensure that the proposed change is approved by the administration. 

The Virginia Fire Prevention Association (VFPA) has launched a campaign to stop the removal of these provisions.  After three years of study and evaluation, they allege that more time is needed to consider the potential impacts of the proposed change.  Failure to approve these changes now would effectively defer action for another three years, to the 2018 codes development cycle, thus perpetuating the ambiguity in the codes and fostering further misapplications of the codes that could cost you and your company significantly.

AOBA has weighed in with the Secretary of Commerce to support the immediate removal of the invalid provisions, condemning the VFPA’s disingenuous push to further delay.  Click here to see a copy of AOBA’s strongly worded letter to the Secretary.  Other likeminded business organizations are also joining with AOBA in speaking out in favor of the change.  However, VFPA is making a strong effort to engage their grassroots supporters to oppose the removal and call for additional review.  The administration needs to hear from affected businesses and property owners to balance out this campaign.  Please take just a quick moment to click here and send a message to Secretary of Commerce asking for the administration to approve the removal of invalid and unenforceable provisions of the Statewide Fire Prevention Code.