Fire marshal urges county to adopt building code to complement fire code

Aug 24, 2026

Fire Marshal Carl Fowler briefed commissioners on the case for adopting the International Building Code to close gaps in construction oversight—particularly for large facilities such as data centers—and commissioners asked legal staff to review options for plan review and regulatory authority.

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Fire Marshal Carl Fowler presented the case for adopting the International Building Code (IBC) to complement the county's fire code, saying the building code addresses construction type, fire resistance, egress and other structural matters that the fire code does not fully regulate. He said such a framework would be especially important as large commercial and industrial projects, including data centers, come to the region.

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