Fire chief asks county to expand annual life-and-fire-safety inspections for rentals and businesses; commissioners cite staffing and funding limits

Daniel Medina, Henryville's fire chief, told the commission he compiled town ordinances and recommended that municipalities and the county establish an annual inspection program focused on life- and fire-safety standards for short-term rentals, bed-and-breakfast operations and higher-risk commercial occupancies.

"The primary purpose of this was for the fire life safety and code enforcement," Medina said, describing instances where responders found code violations that posed risks to occupants and firefighters.

Medina pointed the commission to several potential funding sources (PILT, county fire allocations, inspection fees) and suggested a small percentage of those revenues could support a supplemental inspection program. He also said some towns perform self-audits, but that the current county practice does not include routine annual inspections outside of initial permitting or short-term rental checks.

Commissioners acknowledged the safety concern but said the county and towns lack the staffing and budget needed to stand up an annual county-run inspection program. One commissioner noted that many commercial inspections are performed at insurers' request and that private companies carry out annual checks for sprinkler systems and extinguishers in county facilities.

Outcome: No ordinance or county program was adopted at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to re-check exact funding figures (including last year's PILT receipts) and to advise whether current county funding streams could support a pilot or a town-led approach. Medina and commissioners agreed towns should lead initial interest and requests before the county commits to a countywide inspection regime.