Business seeks fire sprinkler exemption

A Conroe businessman came before the City Council Wednesday seeking an exception from a sprinkler system.

John Sebastian, owner of Conroe Golf Cars, has an 18,000-square-foot building in the rear of his property the along northbound Interstate 45 feeder road. Originally constructed in 1973, the building was leased to the Ark Church for several years.

While it was not removed during the buildings construction, the exemption was lost when the Ark Church occupied and installed a sprinkler system.

In a letter addressed from City Fire Marshal Mike Legoudes to Chief Ken Kreger, Legoudes stated, It is my position that once installed, the system should have been maintained for the life of the building, regardless of its current use, as the building itself meets current requirements for a system.

Sebastian has since complied to a reinspection by installing emergency lighting, no smoking signs, fire extinguishers and exit signs. But the sprinkler system remains out of service.

Sebastian contends the purpose of the building is strictly that as a golf car warehouse.

There will not be any customer traffic and offices, he said. Everything was removed from the building.

Since the building no longer has insulation or heat, We were concerned the system might freeze during extreme weather conditions, Sebastian said.

I made the decision to have the sprinkler removed. We were unaware that this was an issue with the city, he said. The cost to replace the sprinkler system would outweigh the value of the building.

Kreger said the citys ISO (insurance) rating also could be affected.

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Business seeks fire sprinkler exemption