by JENNIFER BRENNOCK
Special to the Sounder
As Orcas Island prepares for a seasonal rise in population, San Juan County and Orcas Island Fire Department continue to perform commercial fire prevention inspections and educate business owners on hazards.
“We go into a commercial establishment and look for fire and safety hazards – that the exiting is not blocked or locked, that the hallways are clear and not stacked with boxes. That the exiting lighting is working and extinguishers are hung and tested,” San Juan County Fire Marshal Robert Low said.
Commercial fire inspections are required for any business where the public may enter. They typically occur on an annual basis. Vacation rentals are currently excluded. The most common hazards concern extension cords, exit lighting and access, breakers, smoke detectors, and extinguishers.
Low said a small percentage of the businesses on Orcas have complained about the fee for fire inspection.
“It’s not that the inspection bothered them, but the fee,” Low said.
Kathleen Speed of Smith and Speed Mercantile in Eastsound wants fire inspections funded between the county and OIFD, rather than through fees charged to business owners.
“I’m not against fire and safety or the program. It’s about the fee. It’s double taxation. The county is already putting money into it,” Speed said.
The amount of the fee charged to the individual business is based on the square footage of the building and its specific use.
Fire Commissioner Clyde Duke acknowledged inspections were necessary and the commission’s duty is to communicate with business owners about them.
“The public has to know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Duke said.
“Our job is to keep increasing the value of the program,” OIFD Chief Mike Harris said. “When we leave, the business owner needs to know what they received and why we’re there.”
In conjunction with San Juan County, OIFD offers no-cost, chemical-free instruction on proper use of a fire extinguisher. The training takes place at the business site and can include employees.
“We have a portable fire extinguishing prop that uses water and air and computerized gas flames,” Low said. “We offer that training to all businesses and to anyone who wants to learn.”
Harris said, “We want to show people what we have to help them. This thing is fabulous. It’s gives people a feeling of confidence. We’re willing to educate business owners this way and pretty excited to do it.”
The Orcas Board of Fire Commissioners is currently evaluating how fire inspections are funded. The next OIFD meeting is Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30p.m. in Eastsound.
“We’re out there to make sure they have a business and that the people who are in there, including the owners, are safe,” Low said.
“They can do it in a manner that they have allocated funds in the budget, where it is mutually beneficial for all,” Speed said.
