Board debates Wintergreen fire-marshal appointment; supervisors ask for more information

Nelson County supervisors discussed a request from Wintergreen Fire Department and Wintergreen Property Owners Association to appoint Joshua A. Dean as a local fire marshal with limited authority inside the Wintergreen Master Plan area.

County staff presented a draft resolution that would authorize the county to appoint a local fire marshal under Virginia Code § 27-30, limiting authority to the Wintergreen Master Plan area and vesting police powers (including arrest authority and summons powers) upon completion of required training and an oath. The request was presented to the board as a way to improve fire investigations, enforcement of fire-safety laws and insurance-related deficiencies identified in recent inspections.

Chief Sheets of Wintergreen explained the request was driven in part by insurance-inspection follow-ups and the department’s desire to collect investigative data on smaller fires that outside investigators do not always examine. “One of the areas … is this fire marshal’s position,” Sheets said, adding that the role would be a dual assignment for an existing captain rather than an entirely new position. Sheets said the appointment would improve the department’s ability to track trends and recommend building- or condo-level safety changes.

Several supervisors raised concerns and asked for more detail. They requested legal and procedural clarifications on whether a sworn Wintergreen police officer could be designated as a local arson investigator instead of creating a separate board appointment; they also asked county counsel and staff to research whether similar resort or private communities (for example, Massanutten or Lake Monticello) use comparable arrangements.

Supervisor concerns included possible countywide implications, whether the county could incur liability, and the effect on the county’s ISO ratings and insurance classifications. County staff explained that ISO ratings apply only near pressurized hydrants and that Wintergreen’s master-plan area is one limited portion of the county where ISO can affect premiums; staff also said mutual-aid responses could create situations where the marshal’s expertise might be requested outside the master-plan area, and that such requests would be governed by existing mutual-aid agreements.

The Board of Supervisors did not adopt the resolution at the meeting and asked staff to return with written answers to specific legal, liability and comparative-practice questions, and to bring examples of how similar resort communities implement local fire-marshals or arson-investigator arrangements.

Ending: Supervisors agreed to table the item for one month and directed county staff to provide additional legal and comparative-practice information before reconsideration.