Fire District open to alternatives for Big Mine crowd issue

But there are questions
and concerns

While the Crested Butte Fire Protection District board of directors is amenable to possibly moving forward in conjunction with the town to allow large groups in the Big Mine Ice Rink, it is not without some concern. The board met Tuesday, February 12 to discuss a letter sent by the Town asking them to consider allowing a so-called “Fire Watch” during events at the arena.

Under the International Building Code, such an action would allow more than the current limit of 299 people to attend events at Big Mine. Unless a fire suppression sprinkler is installed at the facility, Town code prohibits larger groups in the steel structure. Local non-profits have asked the town to amend the code or find a work-around to allow large summer events under the roofed ice rink. Big Mine could easily hold 1,000 people.
In a letter from their attorney, the CBFPD board was given the green light to consider such alternative safety measures such as a “Fire Watch” that would lift the crowd limits under the current code adopted by the Town. But the CBFPD board wanted to get several questions answered by the Town before making any decision. Not the least of which was how long would it be before the facility was sprinkled if it was going to be used for big events. And the board made it clear they wanted to make sure the responsibility and liability for any “Fire Watch” decision came from the Town.
“After looking closer at the code, it seems to me it is the responsibility of the owner of the facility or the organization renting the venue to provide the Fire Watch,” said CBFPD chairman Paul Hird. “It doesn’t have to be the fire district. They can provide the personnel to address the issues until the structure is updated. They can hire firefighters if they want but we don’t usually provide that.”
“Can we provide it and they pay for it or would they hire trained personnel like a moonlighting situation,” asked board member Jack Dietrich.
“It’s the Town’s ultimate responsibility,” said Hird. “They can hire firefighters but not under our auspices. I’d be happier with them taking the responsibility. That can satisfy them and satisfy us and keep it simple.”
Fire Chief Ric Ems voiced consistent concerns with the idea throughout the meeting. He said he doesn’t have the authority to lift the code or change the classification of the building to allow more people in the facility. “We allow Fire Watches frequently but we’ve never supplied the people. I usually sign off on any special event permit that comes through the Town,” he explained. “But I don’t have the authority to sign off on a Town code that is still in place.”
CBFPD executive director Mike Miller said the district’s attorney Richard Lyons opined that substitute safety measures could be implemented if a proper analysis of the situation is made and adequate substitute action is implemented. “There would be other components to the safety plan besides just fire suppression,” he said. “They may want to take the boards down to provide adequate exits. Signage might have to be installed. There are other issues.”
Ems agreed that other issues besides fire suppression would have to be addressed in a safety plan if the building was to be used for major events.
“What scares me is that you would be setting a precedent with this,” said Ems. “Everyone else will want the same thing. People will want to go back to packing the Lacy Arena. It’s life-safety issues.
“I want to be very clear and on the record that I am not comfortable with this at all,” Ems emphasized.
“The Lacy Arena offers different circumstances,” said Miller. “The determining factor is what is the situation on the ground. Each circumstance could be very different. You might be okay with one but not another. There could be different circumstances in the same venue depending on what is brought in as part of the event.”
“It would be on an individual review basis,” added Hird. “That makes sense. The fire district can be a sounding board and strategies can be worked out with Ric and the staff.”
“The town has to have the responsibility of complying with the plan and having the responsibility at Big Mine,” said Miller. “But frankly, if the venue generates a lot of use, it would just be easier to sprinkle it.”
“The sooner a sprinkler system is installed, the less any of us have to worry about it,” said board member Doug Wiley. “That should be the ultimate and quick outcome. Perhaps we need a hard date for when a sprinkler would be put in there.”
“We discussed this scenario with the town before the roof was constructed,” said Ems.
Resident Kent Cowherd suggested the board put an upper limit on the number of people allowed in the facility.
Miller said the town building department would set that limit based on circumstance.
“Are we just allowing a ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’ with this?,” asked Wiley. “We need to know if the town really wants to sprinkle the building or continually use this step-around.”
“I like the idea of a cap and getting a feel for how long it will be before the town installs fire suppression,” said Hird. “We are doing what we can to keep people safe and we have the okay from (our) attorney that we can do this without incurring additional liability. We could take things out to the extremes and be absolutely safe and not let any events happen ever.”
No one from the town or the council attended the CBFPD meeting. Hird said he would get together with Crested Butte mayor Aaron Huckstep to discuss the situation and get clarification to the board’s questions. The board took no official action.