The Fire Limit That Couldn't Stop a Rebuild
Newport's council tried to block repairs to a burned wooden building — only to discover its fire ordinance had no power over rebuilding.
The Koch building recently damaged by fire is being repaired by the owners. The council had hoped to stop the repair of the wooden structure, but it was discovered that the fire limit ordinance did not cover the repair of buildings. A new fire limit ordinance is now on its way through the council, but before it can be made law the repairs on the building will be completed.
“The council had hoped to stop the repair of the wooden structure but it was discovered that the fire limit ordinance did not cover the repair of buildings.”
A century before modern building codes and fire districts, Newport's council learned the hard way that a fire limit is only as strong as its loopholes. The same race — rules written after the fact, while construction outruns them — plays out today in every fast-growing town debating wildfire codes and grandfather clauses.
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