Woodland Park officials push to adopt 2021 fire code to align energy rules before June 30 deadline

Woodland Park officials convened a joint work session of the city council and the board of review to discuss adopting the 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) with locally proposed amendments, citing a tight state deadline that would otherwise force automatic adoption of a more recently published state energy code.

Fire Chief Tyler Lambert of the Northeast Teller County Fire Department told the council the city currently operates under the 2003 IFC and that keeping code versions in sync with neighboring jurisdictions is the primary goal. "We want to catch up with the IFC," Lambert said, arguing that aligning the IFC with the 2021 International Residential and Building Codes will reduce confusion for builders and inspectors who work across the pass. He added the proposed amendments mirror language already approved by 18 fire departments and four El Paso County municipalities.

Lambert and board members highlighted a specific substantive gap in the local code: the 2003 IFC lacks provisions for alternative energy sources and energy storage systems (ESS), commonly described in the model codes as batteries or "energy storage systems." "We don't even right now in our current fire code talk nothing of alternative energy sources or energy storage batteries if you will," Lambert said, noting the IRC/IBC cross-reference to IFC section 1207 in newer code editions.

John Welton, deputy building official with the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, told the group that state policy is driving the urgency. He said Colorado House Bill 1362 and a Colorado Energy Office interpretation mean that when a jurisdiction adopts a building code, it also triggers the state minimum energy-code requirements. "The Colorado Energy Office determining that a fire code was a building code" created the effect that adopting a fire code can trigger compliance with the state's current energy code, Welton said. He explained that if the city adopts the fire code before the June 30 deadline, Woodland Park can remain on the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (the current minimum state energy code); if it adopts after that date the city could be compelled to use the model low energy and carbon code published in September, which Welton described as a heavily modified and more restrictive standard that, among other changes, limits the use of fuel gas for appliances.

Council members sought technical clarifications, including whether standpipes serving multistory buildings risk freezing. Lambert replied that standpipes must be located in heated areas to prevent freezing and cited a parking/stairwell example at Caris Bible College as a compliant installation.

City staff outlined the procedural timeline needed to meet the state deadline: the Board of Review will deliver a formal recommendation at a public meeting scheduled for May 12; city council first reading is slated for May 21; and a public hearing (second step) is scheduled for the June 4 council meeting. Karen, a city staff member, emphasized the schedule is tight: "we really are down to the wire and cannot deviate from that timeline I just spelled out for you." The work session concluded with no formal vote; staff and the building department are to finalize the ordinance and follow the stated schedule.

The items to watch next are the Board of Review recommendation on May 12 and the council's first reading on May 21; the city must complete the ordinance process before June 30 if it wants to remain on the 2021 state energy code and the proposed 2021 IFC adoption.