Fire marshals and county building staff briefed the Larimer County Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 25 about coordinated local amendments to the 2024 fire code for several fire protection districts, and staff said the county will consider the codes on a consent agenda the following day. County building official Eric Creed told commissioners the four fire districts — Loveland, Berthoud, Front Range (Front Range Fire Rescue), and Windsor (Windsor-Severance Fire Protection District) — are aligning amendments to reduce differences among neighboring jurisdictions.

Creed said state law requires the commissioners’ approval for a fire code to take effect in a fire district within unincorporated parts of the county. He told the board he reviewed the submitted codes and did not identify provisions that should give “great concern.” He noted sprinkler requirements for single-family homes are not broadly imposed; in these local amendments single-family sprinklers are required only when a home is more than 60 feet beyond a dead-end access, a threshold Creed said matches a provision in the county’s land use code.

Representatives confirmed that Windsor has some local amendments on building size thresholds for sprinklering, and that Berthoud Fire Protection District approved recommended impact fees at its board meeting on Aug. 12. Battalion and fire marshal staff described efforts to coordinate monthly and to make amendments consistent across jurisdictions to ease permit and development review for builders who work across district lines.

Commissioners praised the regional coordination and asked about fees and equitable approaches. Fire representatives said fee setting is separate from the fire code amendment process but that districts have comparable fees and that some communities are moving toward tiered residential impact fees calibrated to home size.

Creed said the four fire codes and related materials would be included in the administrative matters consent agenda for the next day’s meeting, and that no additional board action was required at the work session unless a commissioner wished to remove the item from consent.