Fire chief urges new fire safety ordinance

Sisters Fire Chief Don Rowe wants the Sisters City Council to adopt a new fire safety ordinance.

"Deschutes County has been developing a wildfire hazard map," Rowe told the council at its Thursday, July 12, meeting. "The county recently passed an ordinance which adopted the map.

"The ordinance will change building codes to better promote fire safety, mainly specifying what roofing materials will be allowed," Rowe said.

The ordinance allows for existing shake roofs to remain; it only prohibits the building of new ones.

Rowe went on to say that the ordinance didn't cover incorporated cities. He was hoping that Redmond, Bend, and Sisters would consider adopting the ordinance and ban the use of shake roofs.

"There would be three benefits for the city of Sisters in adopting this ordinance," he said. "Number one, Sisters would be more fire safe. Number two, it would help out the fire department by slowing the spread of house fires, and, three, it would give you a better chance to get grants."

Rowe noted that most houses that are destroyed by fire in Central Oregon have shake roofing.

Rowe speculated that both Bend and Redmond would okay the ordinance. Mayor Steve Wilson asked for a copy of the ordinance, promising that the council would consider the matter.