Reviews
If your driveway is longer than 150 feet from a county roadway to your building, then your permit will be reviewed by the Fire Marshal’s Office to ensure a fire truck can make it to your building in the event of an emergency. Items that our office reviews are:
Grade & Surface
The Fire Marshal has the discretion to withhold approval of access roads or driveways for any site specific conditions that make passage of fire apparatus and emergency response vehicles impractical, difficult, and/or hazardous.
12% Grade
Any portion of a fire apparatus access road or driveway at 12% grade or greater is required to have a hard surface, i.e. asphalt or concrete.
An automatic sprinkler system, which meets the requirement of NFPA 13D and includes a fire department connection located within a fire department staging area, shall be provided for all buildings. The automatic sprinkler system(s) shall be monitored.
15% Grade
Any portion of a fire apparatus access road or driveway at 15% grade or greater is required to have a hard, grooved surface of Portland cement per the Whatcom County Development Standards (Chapter 5, Road Standards, Section 505, Tables 1 and 2, Footnote 3).
An automatic sprinkler system, which meets the requirement of NFPA 13D and includes a fire department connection located within a fire department staging area, shall be provided for all buildings. The automatic sprinkler system(s) shall be monitored. All sections of the fire apparatus access road or driveway over 15% grade shall be provided with and approved form of heat or melt system.