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Board updates fire civil-citation resolution to add fines as enforcement option
Summary
The board approved an update to Resolution 2025-26 allowing the fire marshal to issue civil citations for noncompliance as an intermediate enforcement tool; the county attorney and deputy clarified that shutdown authority remains for major safety violations.
Washington County commissioners voted to update the county’s fire civil‑citation resolution to provide an intermediate enforcement tool for noncompliance.
Greg Carteret, director of Permits, Inspections and Fire Marshal, told the board the county has received complaints that require inspections and that adding civil citations would give the office “another option, without having to go to the extreme option of shutting them down immediately for noncompliance.” He said the code already allows some citation authority but the change would add clarity and an explicit citation step under Resolution 2025‑26.
Commissioners pressed Mr. Carteret on liability concerns if the county issues fines but does not immediately shut a location that later experiences a fire or injury. Deputy County Attorney Rosie Pascual responded that civil citations can be handled in court similar to municipal infractions and do not remove the fire marshal’s ability to close a structure where imminent danger exists. “I do not believe that limits his ability to shut down a location if it really got to the point where it's an unsafe structure,” Pascual said.
Carteret said many complaints involved businesses; the county code (NFPA 1 and 101) does not apply to single- and two-family homes. He cited prior examples, including a motel with more than 100 violations that was brought into compliance after enforcement action. The board approved the resolution update by voice vote.
The change allows the fire marshal to use a correction-notice authority that sets time frames appropriate to the violation’s severity: major life‑safety issues still permit immediate shutdown, while lesser violations can be addressed through citation and corrective action.
