Fire
Sprinklers in Los Osos?
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| Fire Sprinklers are
not automatically required in Los Osos for existing building remodels or
for new construction. Many home and business owners may have heard
that, "the fire department wants every building to be protected
with a fire sprinkler system." This is not the case!
Even though the adoption of the District's Fire Code went through many public information meetings, public hearings, and had numerous educational articles published about it, some residents of Los Osos are still confused regarding the requirements for fire sprinkler systems. The most recent Fire Code became effective in May of 2002, and many of the requirements were amended to make them less restrictive and more user/community friendly for Los Osos. By Ordinance, the fire department is required to review building plans to make determinations regarding fire and life safety and to enforce the requirements of the Fire Code where necessary. For buildings less than 3/600 square feet in area, the Fire Code requires a fire hydrant be available within 300 feet of the property frontage with a minimum fire flow of 750 gallons per minute. If this requirement cannot be met, then alternate means for fire and life safety protection must be provided. This can include fire sprinkler systems, and fire sprinkler systems supplied by water tanks. Additional requirements may apply to major new developments and subdivisions. In order to save you time and money, we strongly encourage you, your contractor, or your architect to contact Fire Marshall Greg Nuckols during the initial planning stages of any building project so that he can assist you with specific information. He can be reached at 528-1053 during regular weekday business hours. |