Permitting Services Podcast

Fire Code Compliance Permits: What's Changed and Why It Matters

• Gail Lucas • Season 3 • Episode 4

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In this episode of the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) Podcast, we spotlight the new online application process for Fire Code Compliance (FCC) permits. Leading the conversation is Gail Lucas, chief of the DPS Customer Support and Outreach division, and FCC Manager Patsy Warnick, who is also the County Fire Marshal.

 

Every commercial building and tenant space in Montgomery County must have an FCC permit issued by DPS to ensure compliance with life safety and fire prevention standards. This episode covers who needs an FCC permit, how to check your permit status, and where to find more information. Plus, learn about a new requirement for multifamily apartment building owners to submit Emergency Safety Plans as part of the FCC permitting process.

 

Previous DPS Podcast episodes have explored topics such as accessory dwelling units, building safety, contractors, eSolar, new codes, residential fast-track permits, special event permits, use and occupancy certificates, and vendor licenses.

 

Do you have a question or idea for a future DPS Podcast episode? We want to hear from you. Email us at dps.podcast@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Gail Lucas:

Welcome to the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services podcast. I'm Gail Lucas, your host. I'm also the division chief for the Customer Support and Outreach Division here at DPS. Joining us on the podcast today is Fire Code Compliance and Fire Marshal Patsy Warnick. Thank you for being here today, Patsy. Thanks for having me. Great to be here. Today's discussion is important, especially for anyone with a commercial building or commercial tenancy in Montgomery County. We're talking about fire code compliance permits and the new requirement for multifamily apartment buildings to file emergency safety plans that must be approved by DPS. These are two different topics, but they're related. And so we're going to start with the Fire Code compliance permit, which is required to ensure commercial buildings meet established fire safety standards. Patsy, please tell us what an FCC permit is, who needs one, and what this new year is going to bring for FCC permits.

Patsy Warnick:

So a fire code compliance permit from permitting services is required by county law for all businesses and tenant spaces in the county. This includes everything from retail stores, business offices, tenant suites, in those business offices, gas stations, restaurants, adult and child daycare, doctor's offices, schools, groups, group homes, hotels, apartment buildings. And so all of these places need to get a fire code compliance permit, an FCC permit. And for this year, what's new is that we have gone fully online with uh DPS e-Plans.

Gail Lucas:

For our listeners who may not know, ePlans is our electronic plan review program, also called Project Docs, that Patsy just mentioned. Patsy, how do we find the status of our FCC permits? How often do they renew and all of that good information?

Patsy Warnick:

To find the status of your permit, or even if you have a permit, go to the DPS website and you can click on the data search button and enter your address. You look for your FCC permit, it'll say whether it's expired or active, and you'll know whether you need to renew it. You need to renew it every year. So whether you're a suite in a larger building like a strip mall or office building, or you have a standalone location, you're required to get a permit. You have to renew every year, and once you're in the system, as everything's online. So once you're in the system, you're going to get notified by email 90, 60, and 30 days ahead of when it expires.

Gail Lucas:

Please walk us through the new permitting process you mentioned for FCC permits. We've talked about using e-plans or electronic plan review. Can you break down and explain what the applicant must do to obtain or renew a permit?

Patsy Warnick:

So every applicant will need to apply online to renew their permit on the DPS website. Once you apply and pay, you'll receive an email which allows you to upload any reports, documents, uh, or anything you need to renew your permit. So those might include uh reports for annual inspections and testing and maintenance of your fire protection systems if you have them in your building or in your suite that you're responsible for. So uh those reports are generated by fire and sprinkler contractors typically for those systems. And we have a list of those contractors uh on the DPS website in the data search feature, the same feature you use to look up to see whether you had a permit.

Gail Lucas:

How would I know in my commercial tenancy if I'm responsible for the fire protection system or I'm responsible for a piece of equipment? How would I know that as a tenant?

Patsy Warnick:

So typically the building owner is responsible for the fire protection systems. But you may have systems like a fire alarm or a hood and duct if you have a restaurant that's specific to your space. Okay. In which case you're responsible for its maintenance, its inspection and testing, and those things. So whether you own the building and the systems in it, uh, or you lease a portion of the building and you're responsible for systems specific to that uh leased tenant space, then uh that that's how typically you figure out whether you're responsible for it or not.

Gail Lucas:

Okay. Will everyone need to schedule a fire inspection?

Patsy Warnick:

Not necessarily. So when you renew or apply online, FCC is going to determine whether you need a fire inspection. Not all businesses need a fire inspection every year. Some places do, um, but some places can go a year or two or three without having one. Okay. Um so if you need one, a fire inspector will reach out to you to schedule one. Uh, if you receive the inspection and you pass it, the fire inspector, who is also a fire marshal, uh, will provide you with a letter that you can upload into e-plans to help process your permit.

Gail Lucas:

Okay. Do you need an FCC permit from DPS if you live in municipalities like Gavysburg or Rockville?

Patsy Warnick:

No, the cities of Rockville and Gavysburg are exempt from the FCC permits. We do inspect the uh the schools, public schools, MCPS in those cities, but uh everything else, typically, the Rockville and Gaysburg have their own permitting offices.

Gail Lucas:

Where can our listeners get more information about how to apply for this FCC permit or check the status of their existing FCC permit?

Patsy Warnick:

So please go online. And the DPS webpage is extremely useful. On that homepage, you can select the permits in that big blue bar that goes across the top. And on the right-hand side of the menu, you're going to see FCC permits. The site has step-by-step instructions and helpful links with what documents you might need to upload to help process your permit.

Gail Lucas:

And as a reminder to our listeners, our website is www.montgomerycountymd.gov forward slash DPS. And that'll bring you to our homepage where you can find all of this information. What happens if the FCC permit is not renewed?

Patsy Warnick:

Because this is a law-required permit, if you don't apply or renew annually, you, the business owner or your designee, is going to receive a notice of violation. We call it an NOV. And on that notice of violation, it will have instructions on how to apply andor renew. And so if you don't do that within the 30 days that we give you, then you may receive a civil citation that has a fine. It's typically a $500 and a mandatory court appearance.

Gail Lucas:

Okay. The County Council has passed Bill 724, also known as landlord tenant relations, tenant protection and notification, to strengthen tenant protections by requiring apartment building managers to clearly and rapidly communicate information to tenants during emergencies. This includes having an emergency safety plan that is approved by DPS. Patsy, please talk a little bit about what an emergency safety plan is, what kind of information should go into that, and what kind of emergencies would that cover?

Patsy Warnick:

Emergencies happen, and we want residents to be prepared if one happens at home. Many buildings are not protected by sprinkler systems. And if there is a fire, a flood, power outage, uh, or other kind of emergency, we want people to know where to go and what to do. So DPS has worked with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Office of Emergency Management to put together this program and really mandate that thousands of the apartment buildings that the county has have a written emergency safety plan that's approved by DPS and uh it's provided to their tenants. It's the most important thing. So the bill requires the operators of these multifamily rental buildings to submit emergency safety plans as part of their annual FCC permit. So multifamilies are buildings that have three or more dwelling units, which are like apartments. And uh we've put together um a best practice guide, which is now posted on the website to help landlords and property managers create that ESP. This doesn't apply to condos, condo apartment style buildings, uh townhouses, things like that. This is really for rental apartments.

Gail Lucas:

Okay.

Patsy Warnick:

And uh the ESP guide has um requirements in it like emergency contacts, what fire protection systems are present in the building, egress capabilities, which is just fancy for how do we get out of the building, uh, which might include fire alarm systems that have phased evacuation. So some fire alarms um have a method of partially evacuating a building. The alarm goes off on certain floors and doesn't go off on others, areas of refuge for the mobility impaired, notification methods for the deaf and hard of hearing, evacuation maps, relocation um plans, and alternative housing information. So uh we really want um management to know what they're going to do in the event of emergency, and tenants to feel comfortable knowing who to contact and where to go.

Gail Lucas:

So tenants should expect this to be a comprehensive plan. It's giving contact information, egress information, rallying point information, not just for fires, yes, it's for all other kinds of emergencies.

Patsy Warnick:

All kinds of emergencies.

Gail Lucas:

Okay. You've talked a lot about what this plan includes. Talk a little bit about how DPS receives that plan. We're receiving these through our e-plans process as well. Is that correct?

Patsy Warnick:

Yes. So it will be part of the FCC permit. And so with the FCC permit number and your account, you will upload those uh ESPs into e-Plans.

Gail Lucas:

When do folks have to start submitting those? Should they have them now? Is there a deadline for when that should be submitted?

Patsy Warnick:

We are uh looking at them now, so you're welcome to submit them now. There's no deadline right at this moment, um, but there is an executive regulation making its way through uh the works, and it's uh as soon as that comes out, then we will start uh notifying as many uh apartment buildings as we can that they need to submit them.

Gail Lucas:

And I've heard you talk about a template, so people don't have to create these ESP plans themselves. You will give them guides on what needs to be included, yes?

Patsy Warnick:

Yes. So we did create a template that goes along with that best practices guide uh that the managers, property managers, uh landlords can use to create the ESP. So once they create the plan and submit it, uh we'll work with them to make sure that the plan is complete and adequate. Okay. And um it'll be part, like I said, part of the FCC permit. Um and that template and a link to submit it are both on the DPS website. So everything is online. Um and it'll include again all the items that we just talked about and be reviewed by fire protection engineers on staff. Once it's approved, tenants must be provided with the emergency plan when they sign their lease, when they renew their lease, or anytime they request it. Uh so we're accepting them now. Um, but again, it's still a brand new process. So hopefully, in doing this podcast and other mailers that we're doing, uh, we're trying to get the word out so that apartment owners can get started.

Gail Lucas:

So, how often do these plans have to be updated? I assume that that conditions in a building can change, management may change. How often are we required to update our emergency safety plans?

Patsy Warnick:

So we're requiring them to be renewed minimally every three years. Uh if there are major changes, if it's changes to the emergency contacts, uh the relocation plans, the type of evacuation, anything like that that's going to change, uh, we we would like you to re reprovide those plans for review so that we can look at it and make sure that every all the information that we need and that the tenants need is in there. So again, uh the FCC permit gets renewed every year, but the ESP minimally is every three years.

Gail Lucas:

So if my building makes cosmetic changes, they paint the door, they lay new carpeting, that's not necessarily going to give rise to the need for a new ESP, right? Right. But if they do some kind of construction work, they put up walls or they change the configuration of the building, that would require an update to their ESP plan. Yes?

Patsy Warnick:

Certainly, yes.

Gail Lucas:

Okay. There is an addendum to the plan that must be submitted if a building has more than 10 fire-related calls to 911. Can you talk about what that means for tenants in the building and what that means for building owners?

Patsy Warnick:

Sure, yeah. So some apartments may receive a large amount of calls from actual fires, hopefully not. Malfunctioning fire alarm systems, which happens, uh, or malicious acts, sometimes uh there are children that like to pull pranks and like to pull the fire alarm, unfortunately. Uh, and we're not counting medical calls. So once we hear, we get from the fire department that that call data, once we see that there have been more than 10 calls uh in a year's time. So over a 12-month period, just kind of a rolling period, uh, we're gonna require that an addendum uh be submitted with the ESP. And the addendum is just an additional piece uh of the ESP. And FCC will let the owner know that they need to file that. So they don't need to come up with this requirement on their own. Again, there's a template and uh it there's information in the best practices document, and FCC will certainly let them know that they need to file this addendum so that we can uh go over what they're doing, what actions they're actively taking to reduce those 911 calls.

Gail Lucas:

Okay.

Patsy Warnick:

Uh so those, you know, evacuating during a false alarm uh for the elderly children, uh those that might be medically fragile, uh is is risky and they can risk injury going down the stairs or standing in the parking lot. Nobody wants that.

Gail Lucas:

Sure.

Patsy Warnick:

Uh so you know, frequent alarms can cause complacency too. If they hear them too often, people stop evacuating because they assume that it's that it's a wrong or a false alarm. Um and then, you know, with that comes the the boy who cro cried wolf assumption that when the alarm does go off and it is an emergency, no, now nobody's going to evacuate. So if there is a false alarm and we're um you know pulling emergency responders away from real emergencies, we're affecting the lives of not just the people that live in that building, but people in our community that need those emergency responders' attention elsewhere. Uh so it's really important to us to reduce and eliminate as much as possible these false alarms where we can. So the addendum template, like I said, is on the website and it's with the ESP process page, and all the information is online.

Gail Lucas:

Okay. This has been a tremendous amount of information, and it's it's a tremendous amount of technical information that folks may not deal with every day. We don't we don't necessarily want to think about emergencies every day and what we do in an emergency, but it is so important that folks are prepared and that tenants are prepared in these apartment buildings. So I'd like to recap a little bit. Uh, what are the three most important things for listeners to remember about emergency safety plans?

Patsy Warnick:

Right. The purpose is to know what to do in an emergency. Okay. So when in doubt during an emergency, evacuate and call 911. Know who to contact from the leasing office to receive follow-up information on if and when it's safe to re-enter your building. Okay. Practice your evacuation with all members of your home, even if you just talk about it. Make a meeting point for you and your family for emergencies when cell phone communication might not be available. And just note that you have the right to see your building's emergency safety plan. You can do that at any time. Once it's been approved, you should be able to get it from your leasing office.

Gail Lucas:

Is there anything else we should mention about fire safety and apartment buildings in Montgomery County? What's the latest on fire safety and fire sprinkler signs?

Patsy Warnick:

Signs. So high-rise buildings, we have a good handful in the county that don't have sprinkler systems. And so those high-rise buildings are going to be required to install signage on the front of their building by the entrance that says that they're not protected throughout by a sprinkler system.

Gail Lucas:

Okay.

Patsy Warnick:

The low and mid-rise buildings don't have to install the signs, but they do have to disclose this information as part of their emergency action plan, their emergency safety plan. So if you live in an unsprinkled building and there is a fire, please evacuate to a safe location. Know what to do and who to contact ahead of time. Preparedness saves lives. These buildings are also, the high rises are going to be required to install smoke detection in the corridors. Okay. And that is a big step forward knowing that some of these buildings are very unprotected. So the FCC inspectors are out there actively making those notifications now and really doing their best to prevent disasters where we can.

Gail Lucas:

Okay. This has been an information-packed podcast. We've talked about two distinct areas of fire safety. One is the FIRECO compliance permit that all commercial buildings, commercial tenancies, are required to have yearly to make sure that their building is compliant with fire safety standards, correct?

Patsy Warnick:

Yes, ma'am.

Gail Lucas:

The newest thing on the block is the emergency safety plan, which is a bill that just got passed where these apartment buildings, multifamily apartment buildings, not condos. Okay. Multifamily apartment buildings are required to have an emergency safety plan that all of their tenants are aware of. That helps during emergencies, knowing how to evacuate, knowing where to rally, knowing who they need to contact, correct? Yes, that's it. Thank you, Patsy. Thank you. A lot of information. You may have to listen to this podcast a couple of times, folks, to make sure that you catch it all. But a lot of information in this one. Remember, we are here to help you, our customer, succeed. It's important to know when you need a permit. It's important to know how to get a permit. And it's important to know who you can contact with all of these questions for answers to all of these questions. If you have questions about our permitting process, you can reach out to our customer support team by calling 311 if you're in Montgomery County or 240-777-0311 if you're out of the county. Or you can stop by our office at 2425 Reedy Drive. We're on the seventh floor, and we are here Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 o'clock p.m. And we have folks that are in the office ready to answer your questions, ready to give you some assistance. You don't need an appointment, you can just come in. Thank you, Patsy Warnick, for joining us on the podcast. And thank you, listeners, for tuning in. Please check out the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services website, MontgomeryCountymd.gov forward slash DPS, to find information and resources to help you with your next project. Do you have an idea for the podcast or have a question you'd like to hear answered on our podcast? We want to hear from you. Email your suggestions and questions to dps.podcast at MontgomeryCountymd.gov. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it with others and subscribe so you can get our latest episodes. Until next time, I'm Gail Lucas. Remember, DPS is your project partner.

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