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Local storage owner objects to extinguisher rule as city cites fire-code requirement
Summary
A Casper Discount Storage owner told the Mills council he was denied a business license for lacking a fire inspection and says portable-extinguisher requirements would cost his business about $3,000; city staff cited International Fire Code section 906 and said extinguishers must be reachable within 75 feet.
Marv Kristofferson, owner of Casper Discount Storage, told the City of Mills council during public comment that he was refused a business license last year because he lacked a fire inspection and declined to install portable fire extinguishers he says are not required for his drive-up storage units.
“I was refused my business license because I did not have a fire inspection done,” Kristofferson said. He told the council that meeting the requirement would force him to buy roughly 16 extinguishers at a cost he estimated at about $3,000, and that his business “only makes $6,000 a year,” making the expense burdensome and threatening planned expansion.
City staff responded that self-service storage facilities are classified in the International Fire Code as a moderate-hazard occupancy and that section 906 outlines where portable extinguishers are required. A city/fire staff member said, “portable fire extinguishers shall be installed in all of the following locations…in existing groups and occupancies” and clarified the accessibility rule: “The extinguishers do not have to be placed every 75 feet. They have to be placed so that no matter where somebody’s at, they can get to one within 75 feet.”
The staff member offered to work with storage owners to measure facilities and minimize the number of extinguishers while meeting the intent of the code. The city also noted a recent vehicle fire at a storage yard that was controlled by a law enforcement officer’s extinguisher before it spread to buildings, offered as an example of the potential safety benefit.
Council members and staff said they would verify compliance across local facilities. A council member noted buying six extinguishers recently for about $220 and framed extinguisher purchase as a basic safety obligation for business owners. The council indicated it enforces the code adopted by the city, regardless of whether neighboring jurisdictions interpret or apply the same standard.
The exchange included a claim by Kristofferson that other facilities nationally and regionally lack similar extinguishers; city staff and council said they will follow up to confirm local compliance. Kristofferson also referenced conversations with a person named Will and mentioned offers on adjacent land from Steve Lofton during his remarks.
Next steps: council members said they would inspect local storage sites and follow up with owners about compliance and potential enforcement actions. The council did not take formal action during the meeting on this matter.
