Council advances ordinance creating fire-code appeal steps after debate over third-party review

The Fairbanks City Council on July 27 moved to advance Ordinance 6,353, which inserts an appeal process into the city's local amendments to the 2018 International Fire Code.

Councilmember Cleworth, who introduced concerns based on work-session discussion, said the measure as written sends first appeals to the local fire marshal and would ultimately route the final appeal to the State Fire Marshal. Cleworth urged the council to consider "a 2nd order review" that would involve either the mayor, an existing building-department appeals board, or another outside, neutral arbiter so residents would have "somebody outside the system" to review contested orders.

The City Attorney said the State Fire Marshal had agreed to provide an appeal review on a courtesy basis and that the ordinance language on the 10-day appeal windows is drawn from state regulation. The attorney cautioned that the city cannot require a state employee to act; "the city cannot require a State employee to do something," he said, and noted the State's role is part of an existing delegated authority relationship.

Council discussion focused on clarity of the ordinance language and the mechanics of a potential appeals board. Councilmember Cleworth said he did not propose immediate amendments but recommended further work in a future session to determine whether the city's existing appeals board could serve in that role. After discussion, the council voted to advance the ordinance; the motion to advance was made by Councilmember Cleworth and seconded by Councilmember Ringstad and passed with no recorded objection.

The ordinance now returns to the council at a later meeting for additional readings or further consideration. The administration signaled it would return with clarified language and information about whether referencing an agreement with the State Fire Marshal is appropriate.