Bobby Haymore has been hauled into criminal court at least six times in the past year and a half over a fire-code violation at his family's business, Raymond Supply Company.
The company stocks heating, air-conditioning and roofing supplies in a warehouse on Old Northwest Boulevard. Haymore has been charged with stacking combustible materials more than 12 feet high, a misdemeanor. A District Court judge recently dismissed the case, but Haymore's problems are not over. He can still face fines, and ultimately, he said, the city could shut his business down.
"It's like a python," he said. "It never eases off. Every year it's a little more and a little more."
Haymore, 53, said that his battles with fire regulations have taken a toll on his health. He has been put on three different types of blood-pressure medication and medication for panic attacks since last year.
Since 2004, when the city began its move to more thorough fire inspections, city business owners say they've been told to make thousands of dollars worth of improvements over issues that had never before been a problem.
Numbers bear out the change. In 2001, the city's fire department found 12,271 violations of the state fire code. In 2008, the last full year in which the city has records, there were 20,850 violations, a 70 percent increase.
Bucky Frye, commercial-plans examiner for the city-county inspections department, often acts as a mediator to help businesses understand and comply with city and state codes.
"You're putting the business owner in a difficult situation,'' he said, "even though the inspector may be correct.''
Under the old system, business owners might be told to add a fire extinguisher or get the trash away from the door. Now, a more experienced inspector is coming in and the owner may have to fork out thousands of dollars to get into compliance, Frye said.
The ultimate goal to create safer buildings is good, he said, but it must be done in a way that allows businesses to stay in business.
The fire department says that more thorough inspections are needed to ensure that there aren't any severe fires at the businesses.
"Our goal is not to convict anybody; our goal is not to hit anybody upside the head with the safety regulation book," said Robert Owens, the city's assistant fire chief and acting fire marshal. "Our goal is the safety of the building and the occupants thereof."
After hearing complaints for months, Mayor Allen Joines earlier this year formed the Fire Code Task Force of the city of Winston-Salem. Seven businesses are on the task force along with four city representatives.
The task force's goal is to get business owners and fire inspectors to agree on the regulations of the fire-inspection program and to improve relations. The group has met several times, with the goal of wrapping up early next year, said Greg Turner, the assistant city manager.
Levels of inspections
Until five years ago, most fire inspections of businesses were done by firefighters working out of local fire stations. They were done annually.
Then came a spectacular fire at P&B Distributors on Northwest Boulevard in July 2002.
Fifty firefighters battled the daytime fire, which sent up a black cloud visible throughout the city. No safety inspector had ever inspected the warehouse to see that chemicals were being stored safely.
In the aftermath of that fire, the city decided it wanted inspectors with more knowledge about the code going to businesses in hopes of avoiding more industrial fires, Turner said. So city officials turned to the inspectors in Owens' department for the more comprehensive inspections.
"You get a more thorough inspection from someone with more knowledge of code," Turner said. "That person is looking for more things than the first person might have because they know more about the code."
The state sets three levels for fire inspections, with level one being the easiest and level three the most complicated. Level three includes places that store hazardous materials, institutions such as hospitals and cases such as Haymore's, which start out at a lower level, but have not been resolved.
Firefighters are only certified to perform level-one and level-two inspections. The 14 inspectors that Owens oversees in the fire prevention bureau are the only ones trained to perform level-three inspections. It is those inspectors who, since soon after the fire at P&B, have been gradually taking over all fire inspections.
The eventual goal is to have those inspectors conduct all fire inspections in the city, Owens said.
Turner said that many business owners have been frustrated because they are being cited for problems that have been ignored for 20 years.
"Part of it is this new, more stringent requirement coming shortly before the economy went bad," Turner said. "Some of it may be personalities."
Longtime practice
Haymore, who is the secretary-treasurer of Raymond Supply, said he has been storing material in cardboard boxes stacked on a platform over 12 feet tall for 13 years. He's never had a fire. His business has sales of between $3 million and $5 million a year and he has nine full-time employees and one part-timer. He has been able to avoid laying anyone off during the recession.
He said he could come into compliance with the state fire code if he installed a sprinkler system, which would cost $150,000 to $200,000. He could take the materials that he's storing out of their cardboard boxes, which the fire code classifies as combustible, but no one wants to buy materials that have sat out in the open. He could bring everything down below 12 feet, but that would clutter the warehouse and mean reconfiguring his storage. Or he could put up a firewall to create a smaller area to house the combustible material, which would cost $20,000 to $40,000. That would make his business more labor intensive, during a tough economic year, he said.
"We've generally been a profitable company, but this year has been historically bad for everybody," Haymore said.
Judge Denise Hartsfield recently dismissed Haymore's case for lack of evidence. She said that she was reluctant to see a successful businessman hassled unnecessarily and dragged into criminal court.
The fire department failed to prove its case, she said, although she is concerned that the potential exists for a fire that could damage Haymore's business and others in the area.
Haymore said that it's not just the regulations, but the manner in which fire inspectors approach the job that has gotten under many business owners' skin.
He used to feel that fire inspectors were there to help him, he said.
"Now they look at you as if you're a criminal," he said, "or you're too stupid to know what's best for you and they're going to tell you."
Harold Day, the president and owner of David Day Painting, said that he got so upset with fire inspectors last March that he picked up a fire extinguisher and sprayed an inspector's car after being cited for not having some extra fire extinguishers mounted on a wall.
Day was charged with destruction of city property for the damage to the car, Owens said. The charges were dropped and Day wrote a letter of apology.
Day said that other business owners told him they understand his frustration.
Owens said as a result of that incident, some inspectors are concerned about their safety.
Owens said that he has checked into reports that inspectors were overbearing and obnoxious in their manner, but he has not found those reports to have any merit.
The Winston-Salem fire department conducts more than 11,000 inspections a year, which makes it the third highest in the state, Owens said.
Enforcing the code
Once fire inspections uncover problems, the city has an obligation to enforce the code. Inspectors have tried to work with people to find inexpensive solutions, Turner said.
For example, one business owner was told that he had to have an exterior door that opened outward all the way. The door he had was hitting a DOT fence outside the building. The fire marshals worked with the business to install a door that opened inward, he said.
"We often will consult with the state department of insurance if there is a gray area or we think there's an opportunity to help out a business," Turner said.
Turner said that the city has changed the length of time that businesses have to comply once they are cited to 30 days, up from 10, to ease the pain of inspections.
Business owners on the task force have asked the city to go back to the old system of having firefighters based at stations do the inspections. That would require a vote by the city council, which voted to enact the new system five years ago, Turner said.
Any proposal to switch to another system would have to show how that proposal would help the community, Turner said.
Business owners such as Haymore said that the city needs to figure out how to balance safety with the businesses that it says it needs and wants.
Haymore said that he knows he may have to comply. He also knows that he can move his business anywhere he wants.
"What's going to happen with us when business picks back up?" he said. "We'll leave and move to a place that's more friendly to do business."
mgiunca@wsjournal.com
727-4089
Top 5 fire hazards
Unsafe use of extension cords
Extension cords cannot be used for fixed appliances, devices or other long-term use.
Fire extinguishers
They are either improperly mounted or maintained, they're obstructed or they're missing.
Electrical hazards
Damage to electrical wiring or equipment such as a broken electrical receptacle or damaged panel box.
Electrical junction boxes
Left open, they pose a hazard.
Emergency lights
They are either nonfunctioning, missing or have not been regularly tested.
Source: Winston-Salem Fire Department
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