The Kenai City Council enacted ordinance 3333-2023 amending the 23-page Kenai Municipal Code 8.05.010 which addresses the adoption of fire prevention standards. The result of the approval of the fire ordinance repeals and replaces current Kenai Municipal Code (which includes the local amendments to the 2009 International Fire Code with the 2021 International Fire Code with local amendments).
Despite the jump from 2009 to the 2021 codes, there are minimal changes. Kenai Fire Marshall Jeremy Hamilton gave a brief overview of the differences between these two codes.
“We are jumping quit a few years from 2009 (code) to 2021 (code), The changes are mostly upgrades in technologies, processes, things that moved around. The state used to have 71 amendments to the firs code; they’ve actually reduced the amount of amendments that are in the fire code. Some of them are do just to items being added into the code that weren’t in the code before. But, for the most part, there ae changes but I don’t think there are significant changes in the fire code.
According to Hamilton, the passage of the fire code ordinance cleans up the codes.
“We used to copy and paste the states amendments and write them into the Kenai municipal code. This year we are doing it a little different ; we are adopting the fire code as adopted by state law which cleans up our end.”
The State of Alaska adopted the updated International Fire Code 2021 Edition in October 2022, with local amendments. The Administration recommended the adoption of the 2021 Edition of the International Fire Code with certain amendments.
Hamilton reveled a specific change to the Kenai code.
“There is one change that is specific to the city of Kenai that is in the fire code as far as permits. We don’t have permitting inside the city. The state deletes the permitting. I am adding just the wording of plan review and inspection just to give me that ability to bring those individuals to the fire code official to kind of review a process or a specific permit that’s in the fire code.”
The Kenai City Council Ordinance 3333-2023 takes effect on March 3rd, 2023.