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Port Washington chiefs ask commission to back change allowing annual fire inspections with quicker reinspections
Summary
The Fire Department won Police and Fire Commission backing to ask city council to amend local inspection ordinances so routine inspections occur annually while allowing faster follow-up reinspections for violations, officials said. The commission approved a motion of support by voice vote.
Port Washington Fire Chief presented a proposal April 14 asking the Police and Fire Commission to support revising municipal language that currently requires semiannual fire inspections so the city can move to annual inspections while conducting quicker reinspections for serious violations.
The change would not eliminate reinspections, the chief said, but would shift the cadence of routine inspections from twice a year to once a year and free staff time to return sooner to properties with identified hazards. “What we are looking to do is change that process to the wording of that code to annually,” the Fire Chief said, adding the department plans to use saved time to develop pre-incident building plans and perform timely follow-up visits when violations are found.
Nut graf: The department told commissioners it currently lists about 675 inspectable properties, which under the semiannual requirement amounts to roughly 1,350 inspections per year. Inspecting large, complex facilities can take several hours; the chief said the current cadence leaves limited time for reinspections and that the department found roughly 550 violations in the last round, about 200 of which were repeated items when inspectors returned months later.
In discussion, commissioners asked whether the state-rebate program for fire departments (referred to at the meeting as the state 2% rebate) would be affected and were told it would not. The Fire Chief referenced Wisconsin administrative rule SPS 314 as the state guidance used to inform the proposed language change and said several nearby municipalities have already moved to similar inspection schedules. A city council member present asked that the ordinance go through city attorney review before council consideration; the Fire Chief confirmed that review is planned as part of the next steps.
Commissioner concerns focused on process and timing: one commissioner said they would have liked earlier notice to prepare questions, and another cautioned about protecting confidential information when follow-up reports are shared. The Fire Chief said the department will supply proposed ordinance language and that the typical next steps are review by the General Government and Finance Committee and then the Common Council.
The commission voted to support sending the ordinance change forward to the council process. The motion was made and seconded on the record; the vote was taken by voice and recorded as "Aye" with no roll-call tally provided at the meeting.
Ending: If approved by the council after legal review, the change is intended to preserve inspection coverage while allowing the department to perform timely reinspections and develop digital pre-incident plans for complex facilities.
