Escambia County board finds probable cause in Apex Plumbing permit complaint

The Escambia County Contractor Licensing Board voted to send a complaint against Apex Plumbing (operator Brett Smith) to a formal disciplinary hearing after finding probable cause that work was performed without a permit.

Staff said the case (contractor competency complaint number 250993COM) involved the installation of a tankless water heater. Investigator Melissa Reber told the board that Smith paid for the permit on February 2 and that a follow-up inspection on February 1 failed because the exhaust termination was too close to an openable window and did not meet the manufacturer’s specifications.

Smith told the board he had done a “direct swap out” of the tankless unit and believed the installation matched the previous setup. He also said the missed permit occurred during an internal transition and “it just slipped through,” adding that he would have pulled a permit if he had realized his licensure status.

Board members discussed options including whether the fact a permit has since been pulled and inspection records exist affected probable cause. The board’s question was whether probable cause existed that a violation occurred at the time of the incident. After discussion, a motion to proceed to disciplinary action carried; the chair recorded the vote as five in favor and one opposed.

The board advised Smith he will receive formal notice of the disciplinary hearing and invited him to submit evidence of corrective work and inspection results for the board packet.

What’s next: The department will issue a hearing notice with the date and the remedies the board may impose. The disciplinary hearing will consider the permit violation and any separate complaint items about workmanship if further complaints are filed.