GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Fire Department has been working with the state Fire Marshal’s Office to come up with solutions within the fire code that will help food vendors afford to return to the Franklin County Fair this year.
Last year, Fire Chief Robert Strahan told about a dozen vendors that they would have to install range hoods and fire-suppression systems if they’re going to fry foods in deep fryers or cook on grills, which could cost them upward of $5,000, to comply with National Fire Prevention Association codes.
Most of those vendors include restaurants, local clubs, churches and other local nonprofits, and complained they could not afford the investment for once-a-year charitable fundraisers.
“How do you justify that when you’re open only four days out of the year?” Franklin County Agricultural Association President Fred Steiner said Thursday. “That was really cutting into the welfare of the fair. The majority of local vendors weren’t planning on opening this year.”
However, Strahan said his department has been working with the Fire Marshal’s Office since last fall to come up with solutions — within the fire code — that would ease the financial burden on vendors of the September fair.
“It is an ongoing work in progress. We have made some decisions in regards to our local fair and some of the code requirements that we ran into last year,” he said. “Still working within the scope of the codes, we have come up with some solutions.”
Strahan said that within the fire code, there are some alternatives that can be made based on safety considerations and other conditions. In the case of the fairgrounds, he said it’s been acknowledged that because the fire department is there with a truck during the fair, some alternative accommodations can be made in the case of the vendors’ buildings.
“There are some conditions that can be made differently based on alternative protection. In the case of the Franklin County Fair, that is the fact that there is a fire department presence during the fair.”
Although Strahan said it’s too early to go into detail about what upgrades the vendors will be required to make, he said guidance to the fairgrounds on corrections to hood and suppression systems should be coming from the fire department in the near future and will allow the vendors a year to become compliant from the date of the order.
Steiner said information has already been distributed to vendors on what they’ll have to do to comply with the code, and said nearly all of them have responded that they plan to return this year.
He expects vendors will be able to make the necessary upgrades for $1,000 or less.
“These guys went beyond what they needed to do. I can’t say right now enough nice things about our fire department,” Steiner said. “They didn’t need to do this, they could’ve just let this thing ride.”
You can reach Aviva Luttrell at: aluttrell@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 268
On Twitter: @AvivaLuttrell