Fire stations and building permits

[ex-commish 490]

Do fire stations require building permits when work is being done in the station like residential houses or other properties?

[antiquefirelt 994]

Do fire stations require building permits when work is being done in the station like residential houses or other properties?

There certainly do here, in fact because they are generally public buildings there are more hoops to jump through. It's never good when any governmental body puts itself above the rules and laws of the common folk.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Do fire stations require building permits when work is being done in the station like residential houses or other properties?

Yes, NYS UFP&BC has the same requirements for all buildings. The only difference is the Building official may wave any fees on public buildings.

Failure to meet all UFP&BC requirements places a huge liability on the FD if anything ever goes wrong. I have seen many municipalities ignor this and it always results in an issue later on (maybe not liability, but egg on the face).

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

Let me talk ta ya about permits and CO's.... We did [town building] for a two story addition and elevator. Held up the CO for months because our company owned building [museum] behind headquarters didnt have building permit and it was 20 yrs old.

[wraftery 1,275]

Let me talk ta ya about permits and CO's.... We did [town building] for a two story addition and elevator. Held up the CO for months because our company owned building [museum] behind headquarters didnt have building permit and it was 20 yrs old.

sorry, but it looks like the delay was your fault (the Co's fault)

[Bnechis 3,961]

Do fire stations require building permits when work is being done in the station like residential houses or other properties?

We did for a two story addition and elevator. Held up the CO for months because our ......headquarters didnt have building permit and it was 20 yrs old.

Point proven. Who 20 years ago considered that violating the law (it would be in NYS, dont know about CT) would ever cause an issue?

So if you do a project now with out the proper permits someone will have to clean up your mess later.

[42121FD 5]

Do fire stations require building permits when work is being done in the station like residential houses or other properties?

Ultimately Yes... Fire Stations require Building Permits. The municipality that has jurisdiction will ultimately enforce the building code unless it is a county fire department, which the county assumes jurisdiction and will provide a permit and enforce the code on their own buildings no matter which municipality they are in.

Whether it's a Fire Station renovation or a new station, the Building codes and the American Disabilities Act need to be addressed. Fire Stations under the current codes are broken down into differant occupancies. Apparatus Bays are considered Storage, Meeting Halls are considered Assembly, Fire Dept. Office areas are Business and if your department has sleeping quarters for career or volunteer duty crews, they will be considered a Residential occupancy. The key thing about this is that there are fire rating issues and sprinkler issues that arise when dealing with occupancies and their square footages. Make sure your projects are up to code!

[NWFDMedic 58]

I believe schools have their own process and don't necessarily have to go through the town but I'm not 100% sure about that. Fire districts, however, must follow local code.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Point proven. Who 20 years ago considered that violating the law (it would be in NYS, dont know about CT) would ever cause an issue?

So if you do a project now with out the proper permits someone will have to clean up your mess later.

In CT regardless if the building is owned by the city/town/borough, the fire company or fire district, a permit still has to be pulled for any major renovations to the building. If its some minor thing like removing knotty-pine from a basement wall and replacing it with sheetrock yes you can get away with out one. But as soon as you start changing the wall and floor plans, ect. then you can get into trouble without one.

But your right, who would have though many years ago that what they though was a minor renovation / change to a room in a firehouse, ect. whould cause so many problems down the road? Back then, unless it was something major being done, permits were rarely pulled.

[16fire5 693]

Not only are building permits required but in most cases the planning and zoning process dependent on local code must also be followed.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Not only are building permits required but in most cases the planning and zoning process dependent on local code must also be followed.

Failure to get Zoning board, Planning board &/or historic/archatecter board approval can result in 1 angry citizen (like the one who moved in 1 year ago, accross the street from every fire house and wants us to move) going to court and stopping your project.

You will lose this one in court.

[ex-commish 490]

Thanks everyone for your responses.