Beginning April 1st Everett To Charge Businesses For Fire Safety Inspections

“There’s been zero fee structure for the Fire Marshal’s office.” That’s a quote from Everett Fire Marshal Kurtis Brown to the Everett City Council Public Safety Subcommittee earlier this month. “These fees are going to be an impact to business owners because they went from zero to something.”

Most businesses will pay around twenty to forty dollars for a basic safety inspection. The longer an inspection takes, the more the cost will increase. On March 13th Brown and Everett Fire Chief Dave DeMarco briefed the committee on the introduction of fees to business owners in Everett, Washington. Starting next Monday the fees will begin. Here’s a further explanation and link to the new fee schedule released by the City today.

Starting April 1, Everett Fire Department’s Fire Marshal’s Office will implement a new fee schedule for annual building inspections and system testing.

The fee schedule covers fire and life safety inspections, multi-family buildings, vacant buildings, building shells, shared spaces and systems. A similar fee schedule was implemented in January for construction permit fees, which incorporate plan review and field inspections conducted by the Everett Fire Department.

“Regular fire and life safety inspections are a critical part of fire prevention,” said Fire Marshal Kurtis Brown. “The inspection process is intended to assist property owners and occupants in preventing potential loss from fire and other safety risks by identifying potential issues and developing a plan to reduce hazards.”

The Fire Department conducts inspections of the City’s commercial buildings to ensure compliance with the adopted Fire Code. The new fee schedule is designed to offset the cost of conducting inspections and system testing, which are outside of the normal operation and response activities and services of the fire department. The cost of providing inspections will be allocated to the individuals or businesses that require those services, rather than being funded by regular public safety taxes.

Fees correspond to the square footage of the building or business. Additional fees may be added if hazards exist that require operational fire permits as defined in the 2015 International Fire Code. If deficiencies are located and not corrected after the first complimentary re-inspection visit, additional compounding fees will be assessed until the deficiencies are corrected. The Everett Fire Department is one of the last departments in the region to implement these fees; other comparable departments use a similar fee structure for safety inspections.

The Fire Marshal’s office will provide information to and meet with community groups, businesses, associations, and other stakeholders that are interested in learning about the new fee schedule.

To contact the Everett Fire Marshal’s Office for clarification or questions, call 425-257-8120 or email fmo@everettwa.gov .