Stockton Fire Chief Bryan Carr led a discussion recently during a meeting of the city council’s legislative and environmental committee meeting concerning what the Stockton Fire Department believes is a preventable issue – improperly stored pallets.
A sample ordinance was brought to the committee, to introduce the issue and discuss further steps. The committee includes chairperson and Councilmember Mario Enriquez, Councilmember Michele Padilla and Vice Mayor Jason Lee.
The flammable nature of wooden pallets pose a universal risk to establishments around the city who use them. In a recent series of fires at the Stockton Emergency Food Bank, many pallets were set ablaze, creating a much more difficult fire to put out.
About five years ago, the city even gave several pallet yards cease-and-desist notices for allowing their stock to pose a uniquely challenging fire risk. However, no compliance existed if a business simply owned a few pallets here and there.
Then in 2022, a new fire code was adopted to combat these kinds of dangers, requiring pallet stacks to be at least 10 feet from property lines and 25 feet from structures. An approved fence must also surround pallets.
There are also several rules mandating nearby water supply be available.
The ordinance Carr presented would require that pallets be within 10 feet of a building, and locked behind a gate. Pallets unsecured may be left unsupervised for up to 90 minutes. Locked facilities could also be shared between establishments, such as with strip malls
Carr says there’s two steps to this ordinance, education and enforcement.
When someone applies for a license, the community development and the fire department could inform the business owner of the ordinance. Should pallets still be found incorrectly stored, then code enforcement will be notified. Annual building inspections could “certainly” become a part of that, Carr said.
When it comes to enforcement, the fire department does not hold the position to be proactive about code violations, meaning any unsecured pallets are discovered reactively.
“But certainly if we have something in place, it gives us some teeth to then refer when we see a problem,” Carr said.
Matthew Van Fleet, the city’s code enforcement field manager, agreed that with an ordinance in place, any complaints received would be inspected.
Padilla made it clear that the proposed rules aren’t meant to target grocery stores, but it’s about minimizing the fire risk and labor on the Stockton Fire Department.
Enriquez wants to make sure any new compliance rules follow the county’s for jurisdictional alignment, which Carr says will be brought to them so county pockets may receive the same safety measures.
“What happened originally was the city created a more stringent pallet ordinance with regard to the pallet yards and how they’re stored,” Carr said. “They don’t have anything else related to pallets.”
Following more discussion between the fire department and county about enforcement practices, a new discussion will likely be held at a future city council meeting.