05-28-08 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

W L�Gr Of Sttke MAYOR Bill Blesener COUNCIL Rick Montour Barbara Allan John Keis Michael McGraw 515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 ADMINISTRATOR (651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766-4048 Joel R. Hanson www. ci.little- canada.mn.us MEMORANDUM TO: Little Canada City Council and Planning Commission FROM: Jim Morelan, Fire Chief and Jim Lee, Deputy Fire Marshal DATE: May 6, 2008 3J�il RE: 3101 Spruce Street and31-76-Ryan Drive Outdoor Storage Fire Chief Jim Morelan and I have reviewed the CUP applications for these properties. These plans appear to comply with the current city ordinance relative to access lanes. However, regarding vehicular access lanes of 10 feet, the Fire Chief and I have discussed this issue and we feel this is inadequate. A fire truck has a width of 8 plus feet plus a working area around the fire truck for the fire fighters is necessary. The concerns Chief Morelan and I have with 3101 Spruce are the distance from the fire hydrant to the furthest area on the property. We also feel that the 400 plus feet is not a reasonable working distance for the fire fighters from the apparatus. The concerns of 3176 Ryan Drive are basically the same with some differences in that there are areas that will be locked with limited access. I have talked with Lee Rossow about an access width of 20 feet at 3176 Ryan Drive, and he stated that 20 feet might not be adequate for his intended use either. The Minnesota State Fire Code requires a 20 -foot fire department access road Minnesota State Fire Code definition of fire department access road. 1. Fire access road is a road that provides fire apparatus access from a fire station to a facility, building or portion thereof. This is a general term inclusive of all other terms such as fire lane, public street, private street, parking lot lane and access roadway. 2. The fire code official shall have the authority to require an increase in the minimum access widths where they are inadequate for fire or rescue operations. Consideration also needs to be given to the distance from the water source to the fire apparatus and the fire apparatus to the fire, the material in storage, the time of year and the difficulty in gaining access to all areas of the property. The time of year must be considered because of the accumulation of snow in the winter. It is our recommendation that the Minnesota State Fire Code requiring a 20 -foot access road should be required for both of the above referenced CUP's.