One size fits all is not going to work
To the editor:
I wrote the following letter to the Lee County commissioners on Sept. 18:
The recent charge to reduce the various community plans to one size fits all is not going to work because of Florida adopting the fire safety standards NFPA 1.
The adoption of NFPA 1 by Florida for Fire Prevention Code on aerial fire apparatus states a building 30 feet in height requires an aerial access road. The access road has to be a minimum 26 feet clear view.
The roads in Matlacha and Pine Island do not meet any 26-foot road width. The main roads are 20-foot and the offshoot roads are approximately 18-foot.
The fact that FEMA requires the building to be several feet or more off level ground for flood problems doesn’t change the fact that roads under 26 feet can’t be used by an aerial apparatus to put out a fire in a building that is 30 feet or taller.
There are also restrictions on taller structures, which are required to meet certain distances from the road itself. If it’s too far from the road, it will not meet the NFPA 1 code.
The Matlacha Fire Control District purchased a Stephen’s ladder truck at a cost of close to $2 million with financing. This showcases pure expense and the no place to go legally for a building fire for a house 30 feet tall and no NFPA 1 access road.
To sum up, the NFPA 1 minimum road for aerial fire trucks is 26 feet width. This has to be put into the thoughts of not changing the current building heights on Pine Island and elsewhere.
Leo Amos
Matlacha