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Council adopts ordinance requiring firefighter air replenishment systems in qualifying high-rises
Summary
The council approved an ordinance (Council Bill 24-1020) replacing the 2006 firefighter equipment-room requirement with Code language allowing Firefighter Air Replenishment Systems (FARS) in qualifying high-rise buildings. Presenters said FARS reduces the need for manual air-bottle resupply and may be retrofitted into existing structures.
Coeur d'Alene ' The City Council on Dec. 17 adopted an update to the municipal code to accept Firefighter Air Replenishment Systems (FARS) in larger buildings, repealing the older 2006 firefighter equipment-room ordinance. The change is intended to improve firefighter safety and operational efficiency in taller, denser buildings.
Bill deRider and fire department staff explained that FARS functions like a standpipe for air: fill stations located in stairwells and other protected locations allow firefighters to refill SCBA air bottles in place, reducing the need for manual "air-bottle brigades" to carry replacement bottles up stairwells. Presenters said the systems can be a cascade (building-supplied) system or supplied by the fire department's mobile air unit; FARS can refill bottles in two minutes under full respiration, they said.
Council members asked how the systems would be maintained and tested. Staff said FARS would be treated like other fire-protection systems (sprinklers, alarms): building owners would bear maintenance responsibility under the fire code, and systems undergo regular testing and monitoring similar to compressors and SCBA maintenance. Presenters indicated the system operates under pressure and has alarm monitoring.
Council also discussed retrofit potential for existing towers and financing options, including C-PACE or tax depreciation incentives that may make retrofits more economically feasible for owners. Staff said the code language ties triggers for FARS to existing water standpipe requirements in the International Fire Code so the new requirement will apply where water standpipes are already warranted.
After discussion council dispensed with the rule to read the ordinance by title only and adopted Council Bill 24-1020 by roll call vote.
What it means: New high-rise construction and qualifying existing buildings will face code requirements that allow, and in some cases require, the installation of air replenishment infrastructure; maintenance and testing responsibilities will be handled as part of normal fire-protection system requirements.
