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HomeMy WebLinkAboutInterlocal Agreement East Jefferson Fire Rescue - 010614rA ., Ct INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN JEFFERSON COUNTY AND EAST JEFFERSON FIRE RESCUE DISTRICT #1 FOR DEPARTMENT OF FIRE PREVENTION SERVICES This Agreement is entered into between Jefferson County (the County), a municipal corporation, and Jefferson County Fire District Number 1 (the District), doing business as East Jefferson Fire Rescue, a municipal special purpose district, for the purpose of providing Department of Fire Prevention Services to unincorporated areas of Jefferson County. RECITALS WHEREAS, Chapter 39.34 RCW authorizes local governmental units to enter interlocal agreements with other governmental units for their mutual advantage; and WHEREAS, the Legislature, through the adoption of RCW 19.27.031, has put the International Fire Code (IFC) into effect in Jefferson County; and WHEREAS, RCW 19.27.110 gives the fire protection districts the ability to enter into an inter- local agreement under RCW 39.34 for the purpose of assuming all or a portion of the responsibility of administering and enforcing fire codes and regulations; and WHEREAS, the County and the District agree it is in the best interests of the citizens of the County to enter this interlocal to achieve certain benefits and efficiencies, including increased level of service delivery for fire code official services without increasing costs to the County and - without increasing the workload for County staff; and WHEREAS, the Department of Community Development (the Department) is the administrative department assigned the responsibility of issuing and finalizing building permits and collecting fees associated therewith, and WHEREAS, the International Fire Code (IFC) requires various reviews, investigations, code interpretations, approvals and inspections of new and existing buildings; and the District is able to provide these services; and WHEREAS, RCW 36.43.030 authorizes the Board of County Commissioners to appoint fire inspectors to enforce fire regulations adopted by them; and WHEREAS, the County Board of Commissioners is the legislative body for the County; and WHEREAS, Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 ("District") also known as East Jefferson Fire Rescue has the competence and ability to provide the services included in this interlocal agreement; and WHEREAS, RCW 43.44.050 gives the Jefferson County Fire Marshal, or other fire official so designated by the county legislative authority, the responsibility to investigate the origin, cause, circumstances and extent of loss of fires in all unincorporated areas of the County; NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION OF the foregoing recitals and the promises and covenants of the parties hereinafter set forth, they agree as follows: it 1. Department of Fire Prevention. The District is hereby delegated to perform the authorities of the Department of Fire Prevention for all of unincorporated Jefferson County, pursuant to the International Fire Code, Jefferson County Code, and as modified herein; provided that certain duties are reserved to be performed by the Department; unless specifically delegated to the District; as identified in Section 2. With written agreement from the County through the Board of County Commissioners, the District may delegate certain Department of Fire Prevention responsibilities of this Agreement to other Fire Districts. A copy of such agreements shall be provided to the Department. The County, after consultation with the District, may rescind, in whole or in part, any authority delegated to the District or to other Fire Districts. The District shall nominate to the County a specific District employee to be considered for designation by the County Director of Community Development [DCD Director] in separate written action as the Designated Fire Code Official [DFCO]. The DFCO shall carry out the duties of the Fire Code Official, as specified in Section 104 of the International Fire Code, as adopted by Jefferson County Ordinance No. 12-1203-12. The County DCD Director retains discretion at any time, after consultation with the District, to rescind the designation of a specific individual as DFCO, in which case the District shall nominate another employee for consideration for designation. The DFCO, with permission of a fire district, may also assign certain DFCO powers to other qualified employees of any County fire district that holds delegated Department of Fire Prevention authority, which employees shall be Associate Designated Fire Code Officials [ADFCOs] with authority to perform those delegated powers specifically assigned to them. The DCD Director may, after consultation with the District, rescind any ADFCO assignment, and the DFCO, with permission of a district, shall have full discretion to appoint one or more other qualified employees of a district as ADFCOs. 2. Administration of Fire Codes and Regulations. A. The District, as delegated by the County, shall perform all services necessary to carry -out the duties of the Department of Fire Prevention, pursuant to the International Fire Code (IFC), now in existence or as amended, as adopted by Jefferson County Ordinance No. 12-1203-12, or as amended, in all unincorporated areas of the County, on behalf of the parties to this Agreement; provided that certain duties are reserved to be performed by the Department, unless specifically delegated to the District, as identified in paragraphs B., C. and F. below. Only those sections of the IFC specifically adopted by Ordinance No. 12-1203-12 shall be implemented by the District and any other County fire districts that have been delegated certain Department of Fire Prevention responsibilities pursuant to this Agreement. B. Upon request by the County, through the Department, the District shall provide review of building permit plans that require pre -construction fire safety review under the International Fire Code and the District shall make every effort to comply with these requests within the time 2 frame requested. The Department shall issue applicable permits required under the IFC and adopted County fire codes. C. Upon request by the County, through the Department, the District will perform building permit inspections during construction on new or renovated buildings for fire safety permit compliance pursuant to the IFC and report fire safety findings and recommendations to the permittee, with a copy to the Department. D. Upon request by the County, through the Department, or upon its own initiative, the District will perform fire safety inspections of commercial buildings, including tests of automatic fire suppression systems and fire alarm or detection systems that need such a test per the IFC. The County and the District will work cooperatively on enforcement actions under this section. The District will be responsible for follow-up actions for any code violations noted as further described in Section 2G, subject to approval of said follow-up actions by the County. All inspections shall be performed in accordance with the County's "Inspection Guidelines", as attached to this Agreement. E. Upon request by the County, through the Department, or on its own initiative, the District shall investigate the cause of fires. Pursuant to RCW 43.44.050, if any such investigation indicates the cause of the fire is suspicious or criminal in nature, the District shall immediately report such information to the Jefferson County Sheriff's office, who may assume responsibility for leading the investigation of any fire deemed suspicious or criminal in origin. F. Upon request by the County, the District shall advise the Department Building Official on the administration of the International Fire Code. Final authority over interpretation of the Building Code and Fire Code in the County lies with the County, through the Department. G. In the event of any alleged, suspected or real violations of the IFC occur, the following process will be followed, consistent with the provisions of Section 109 of the IFC: i) the DFCO will investigate the situation, and determine whether a violation has occurred. If no violation is found, a report will be prepared and the case closed. ii) if a violation is found, then the DCFO will prepare a written report and provide it to the Department. Additionally, the DCFO shall serve notice of violation on the property owner ordering remedial action and specifying a time for reinspection of the violation. The DCFO shall endeavor to cure the violation through voluntary measures. iii) if the notice of violation is not complied with promptly, and the violation is not cured through voluntary measures, the DFCO may request the County's Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to institute legal proceedings to restrain, correct or abate such violations. The County Prosecuting Attorney or his or her designee will determine whether to institute any legal proceedings. iv) if the DCFO determines the structure is an unsafe building as defined in Section 110 of the IFC, then the DCFO may order an immediate abatement of the violation or evacuation. 3. Compensation. A. For construction plan review, construction field inspection, and fire safety inspections of commercial buildings, the District will be entitled to compensation for these services, charged at its hourly rate, currently $ 150.00 per hour, for actual time spent, and invoiced directly to the applicant for payment to the District, with a copy to the Department. The District shall not bill the Department for mileage or other incidental expenses. Any change to the said hourly rate will require separate agreement by both parties. B. For all other duties under this Agreement, services rendered by the District shall be considered part of the services provided by the District, funded through monies received by the District's taxing authority or other source, and no charges shall be made to the County for providing said duties and services. 4. Real and Personal Property. A. To perform the duties and services under this Agreement, the District shall use its own resources and assets, including any real or personal property required for said duties and services; and no County assets shall be used, unless by separate agreement signed by both parties. B. Any real or personal property acquired by either the County or the District in the course of performing the duties and services under this Agreement shall remain the sole property of the party that acquired the property. 5. Hold Harmless and Indemnification. Each party hereto agrees to be responsible and assumes liability for its own negligent acts or omissions, or those of its officers, employees, volunteers or agents to the fullest extent required by law, and agrees to save, indemnify, defend, and hold the other party harmless from any such liability. The obligation to hold harmless and indemnify requires the indemnifying party to pay for all costs, including attorney's fees and court costs, incurred while defending the indemnified party. In the case of negligence of both parties, any damages allowed shall be levied in proportion to the percentage of negligence attributable to each party, and each party shall have the right to seek contribution from the other party in proportion to the percentage of negligence attributable to the other party. 6. Insurance. Each party shall maintain during the duration of this Agreement a policy of insurance for comprehensive general liability in an amount of no less than $ 2,000,000 for combined single limit bodily injury, including wrongful death, and of no less than $500,000 for property damage with an commercial insurance carrier protected under the State of Washington Guaranty Fund or with a risk pool approved by the Insurance Commissioner. Additionally, each party shall maintain all necessary insurance for its officers, employees, volunteers or agents to comply with ►N state Labor and Industry requirements or other federal or state laws applicable to maritime operations or employers. Each party shall provide the other with a complete copy of its policy and the name and address of the broker who issued it. The parties agree that with respect to the negligent acts and/or omissions of its officers, employees, volunteers or agents its insurance or self-insurance (if through a state -approved Risk Pool) shall be primary and the insurance or self-insurance of the other party shall not be contributory. Each policy shall be endorsed to reflect the primacy of their coverage with respect to the alleged negligence of their insured entity or its officers, employees, volunteers or agents. The parties agree the insurance or self-insurance a party maintains as one of its obligations under this Agreement shall not in any manner limit or qualify the liabilities or obligations under this Agreement of that party. Each party to this Agreement shall maintain Worker's Compensation coverage as required under the Washington State Industrial Insurance Act, RCW Title 51, for all of that party's officers, employees, agents and volunteers eligible for such coverage under the Industrial Insurance Act. 7. Dispute Resolution. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be resolved by a face- to-face meeting between the County representative (Director of DCD) and the DFCO or a representative of Jefferson County Fire Rescue. This Agreement shall be governed by laws of the State of Washington, both as to interpretation and performance. 8. Term/ Termination. This Agreement shall commence upon signature by all the parties and remain in effect unless amended by mutual written consent of the parties, or cancelled by either party. Either party may terminate this agreement with or without cause by giving sixty (60) days written notice to the other party. 9. Spirit of Cooperation. The District's and County's joint goal shall be to work with one another at all times in an open, reasonable, and fair manner, and in a spirit of mutual cooperation, so any disagreements, or potential disagreements, that arise between them regarding any aspect of the subject matter of this Agreement may be settled as quickly and fairly as possible. 5 10. Administration. The Designated Fire Code Official and the Director of the Department (or his or her designee) shall jointly be responsible for the administration of this ILA. Their contact points, including business e-mail addresses, business phone numbers and business USPS mailing addresses are as follows: For the County Carl Smith, Director of Community Development 621 Sheridan Street Port Townsend, WA 98368 360 379-4493 csmith( _)co.iefferson.wa.us For the District Gordon Pomeroy, Chief 40 Seton Road, Suite A Port Townsend, WA 98368 360 381-0359 gpomeroy(u)-eft.om 11. Independence: The Designated Fire Code Official (or his designees) shall at all times relevant to this Agreement be and remain employees of the District. Similarly, the Fire Code Official for the County shall at all times relevant to this Agreement be and remain an employee of Jefferson County. 12. Waiver. The parties agree that on any occasion where they waive one of their rights or waive a duty or obligation imposed on the other party that they have not permanently waived that right, duty or obligation. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the County and East Jefferson Fire Rescue have executed this Agreement as of the date and year last written below. JEFFERSON COUNTY, a Washington Municipal Corporation By: C) a John A V tin, BoCC Chairperson Date: 110 IN _ Philip Morley, o/ ty Administrator Date: 4 6l �Ct' Atte Authenti e Carl Smith, DCD Director A roved as to l al form: I'La David Alvarez, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jefferson County East Jefferson Fi and Rescue: By: ,r Gordoil Pomerout-Chief Date: l ��/�►r Rich Stapf, Jr., Chairman of the Board 12 z -a 2013 Jefferson County Fire and Life safety Inspection Guidelines The District will perform fire and life safety inspections at commercial buildings in unincorporated Jefferson County (County) in a manner consistent with these guidelines. 1. The goal of inspections is to promote fire and life safety through a combination of providing information, assistance and voluntary compliance with fire codes. 2. It is the intent of this program to use a common sense approach to achieving a reasonable degree of fire safety when applying fire code requirements. 3. It is the goal of this program to perform fire safety inspections on commercial buildings on an annual basis. 4. Inspection personnel shall be in approved uniform, have appropriate identification, and conduct themselves in a professional, courteous and helpful manner with the public. 5. Inspection personnel shall be properly trained and certified by the District to perform fire safety inspections. 6. Inspection personnel shall attempt to contact the building owner, tenant or representative prior to arriving for the inspections. Inspections shall be conducted during normal business hours unless other arrangements are agreed upon with the building representative. 7. Inspections personnel should encourage the building representative to join the inspector during the inspection. At the conclusion of the inspection, the inspector shall make a written report and go over any recommendations with the building representative. 8. In situations where an apparent fire code violation is present, whenever possible, inspection personnel will seek voluntary compliance measures with the building representative. The priority will be on measures that are common sense, lower cost and as non -disruptive as possible to the on-going operations of the establishment. However, violations of an "extreme hazard" shall be abated immediately. Copies of all inspection reports shall be sent to the County Community Development Department (Department). 9. The District will follow-up on any required fire code violation action deemed necessary, except that the County shall retain final authority on interpretation of the code, appropriate follow-up, timeframe for correction, code waiver and code enforcement.