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Fire district proposes Appendix L amendments to add firefighter air replenishment for taller buildings
Summary
Staff proposed local amendments to Appendix L to require firefighter air-replenishment systems (FAR) at defined intervals in taller buildings and discussed trade-offs, maintenance and non-retroactivity for most existing structures.
District staff introduced a proposal to amend Appendix L to permit or require firefighter air replenishment (FAR) systems in taller buildings, describing both the tactical and logistical benefits for high-rise responses.
Assistant Chief Nearings explained that FAR systems mimic a standpipe but deliver breathing air for SCBA bottles, allowing personnel to refill without descending to a remote supply. Nearings said a fill station can refill two bottles in under two minutes and support up to 50 bottles, freeing personnel to return to suppression tasks more quickly. Staff proposed layout amendments tailored to local building heights: fill stations at the third floor and every three floors above that, with a similar spacing below grade for basements.
Nearings said the system uses compressed atmospheric air (not enriched oxygen) with filtration and monitoring and acknowledged maintenance and testing needs for bottles and hoses. Staff noted most Wasatch County buildings do not currently meet the high-rise thresholds that would trigger FAR requirements (St. Regis was cited as an early example), and said the district will seek legal feedback and produce draft amendment language for a future meeting.
Board did not adopt the amendment at the meeting; staff recommended drafting formal language and returning for board consideration.
