Atascosa County moves to adopt 2024 International Fire and Building Codes with local amendments

The Atascosa County fire marshal recommended that the commissioners adopt the 2024 editions of the International Fire Code (IFC) and International Building Code (IBC) with local amendments to address modern construction and emerging hazards.

In a detailed presentation the fire marshal said the 2024 codes include new, comprehensive standards for battery energy storage systems, better guidance for data centers, updated firefighter radio communication standards and other life‑safety measures. “Our recommendation is to adopt the 2024 international fire code, adopt the local amendments specific to Atascosa County,” the fire marshal told the court. The proposed local amendments include requiring pre‑incident emergency response plans, fire department coordination, enhanced water‑supply and fire‑apparatus access, hazardous‑materials inventory statements, annual inspections and data‑center/BESS‑specific requirements.

Commissioners asked about the implementation timeline and whether the court can make the code more stringent than the model code; county legal staff explained local amendments are allowed within statutory authority but the commission cannot exceed state statutory limits without further enabling law. County counsel and the fire marshal told the court the adoption can be made effective immediately but will be finalized after formatting and a short legal review; county staff said the finalized resolution would be returned within 48 hours for record keeping. The court moved, seconded and the motion carried to adopt the 2024 IFC and IBC with the presented local amendments, pending final legal review.