Mecklenburg County and Charlotte Fire - Government Overreach

Seems Charlotte Fire Department and the Mecklenburg County Fire Marshal have lost their collective minds over garden gnomes. 

Obviously, everyone should be aware of fire safety. Overcrowded restaurants and bars, movie theaters with blocked exits or sprinkler systems that are uninspected, and fire extinguishers that have not been serviced. Homeless camps with open fires and space heaters in homes. 

All should be priority concerns

Then there are apartments with charcoal grills on balconies or generators in garages which are clearly critical issues affecting fire safety. 

But CFD and the Mecklenburg Fire Marshal have taken these concerns to a new level - garden gnomes. 

Bill Parsons lost his wife last year; she loved garden gnomes. The only trouble is when they moved into a retirement community in Matthews they gave up their garden, trading their Providence Plantation home on a well-manicured 1 acre lot for a two bedroom condo in an upscale retirement community.

Says Bill; "The first thing my wife did was unpack "Edgar" her favorite garden gnome and placed him by our new front door". The couple gave away most of their garden gnomes to family and neighbors when they moved. But Edgar was special, a gift from Bill to his wife of 62 years on their first anniversary.

The move into the Matthews retirement community was a hard choice but as 87-year-old Bill says it was time.

Well, apparently Charlotte Fire noticed that old people like to "fancy up" the area outside of their apartment home doors with just a little something extra. In most cases it's a personal memento or potted plant. Some have Christmas decorations, wreaths, a tiny Santa, or glitter reindeer. 

Some have sundials, or small benches, others have small tables with flowers. A quick survey of one building determined that every one of 18 doors in the 3-story building had some small momento, a personal touch added to the entrance of each senior's home.

But these small items are apparently enough to cause a VIOLATION and the Mecklenburg County Fire Marshal is threatening fines and jail time for seniors who violate the rules.

(Wait until they find out people in retirement communities feed squirrels.)

In a letter shared with Mr. Parsons Chief Fire Marshal Ted G. Panagiotopoulos states:

Section 315 of the NC Fire Code prohibits combustible storage from being stored or kept within the common means of egress in occupied buildings. This includes furniture, planters, fixtures, and/or any other contents that can be potentially ignited or be exposed to a fire, as this would jeopardize the means of egress and possibly impede occupants from using the common exit areas to evacuate the building.

Section 1031 of the Code also prohibits storage of contents within the means of egress because this creates obstructions or impediments to the building’s designed egress, in case of fire or other emergency. If these furnishings, fixtures, or other contents were not originally approved as part of the design package for these buildings, then these items must be removed from the common areas, therefore I would greatly appreciate if you can advise the residents of the complex that placing or keeping furniture, fixtures, and/or other contents within the common areas of these buildings violates the fire code.

The letter from Panagiotopoulos goes on:

Given the upcoming holiday season and understanding that residents may require some additional time to remove or relocate their contents, I’m approving an extension of time for compliance, which will expire on January 15, 2025, at which time we will conduct a reinspection of these building areas. 

If these contents or items have not been removed from the common areas, we will have no choice but to issue a citation to any resident(s) failing to comply with this directive. A fine of $200 will be issued for each remaining violation.

Cedar's Take:

I get it, the rules are the rules. But these people, most in the final years of their lives, could use a little compassion and joy. 

Most of these residents if not all, have given up their homes to live in a far different place and with that they have given up much of themselves. These small items at their front doors are the last measure of personal freedom before they are confined to a nursing home bed or a cemetery plot.

The idea that the interior corridors of an apartment building should be without anything and each just like the one across the hall seems to be just another government overreach.

Maybe Mr. Parsons needs a new garden gnome outside his front door?