Cape May Fire Prevention Bureau Marks 1st Year; Education not Fines

CAPE MAY – In January, Cape May City Council established a city Fire Prevention Bureau. In so doing the city resumed responsibility for fire inspections and code enforcement, a function that had been performed by state fire inspectors. 
At the governing body’s last meeting of the year Dec. 18, Fire Prevention Bureau head Jerry Inderwies Jr. provided council with a report on the first year of operations.
At the time the bureau was formed, city officials had been hearing complaints about “overzealous state inspectors” who did not understand how to balance their role enforcing the state codes with the unique circumstances of historic structures in the country’s only National Landmark City.
Inderwies, speaking at the formation of the bureau, promised compliance through education rather than heavy-handed enforcement.
He also promised that the bureau would pay for itself, presenting no additional bill to the taxpayers.
Cape May’s special environment, in which the population of the resort expands exponentially in the summer, means the tourist trade depends on the availability of a stock of rental properties, B&Bs, and hotels.
It is also a community with a large inventory of wood frame buildings, many irreplaceable architectural treasures from the Victorian era.
Fire safety in the resort must be a paramount goal. Enforcing the code with sensitivity to that unique environment is an ongoing challenge.
In the first year of operation for the Bureau, Inderwies said 1,636 structures were inspected, with 1,072 of those seasonal or annual rentals. In addition, 130 B&Bs, guesthouses, hotels, churches and the city’s elementary school were also covered.
Most notably, 988 violations were cited and were either cleared or are being cleared without the need to resort to monetary penalties. 
The violations that would otherwise put residents and visitors at risk have been identified and dealt with in an environment focused on education rather than punishment.
Inderwies also said that the bureau paid its way with all expenses covered by inspection fees.
Reporting on the types of violations cited, Inderwies noted missing or old smoke and carbon dioxide detectors, absent or no longer functioning fire extinguishers, areas of excessive storage, and over-reliance on extension cords as among the most common.
The bureau has also been able to keep up to date with the sale of property inspections required under the city code. In 2018, over 150 such inspections took place.
Completed inspections of 238 commercial properties and apartment buildings are also part of that year to date total.
The bureau is set to move into year two.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.