The St. Joseph City Council added a new tool to its fire prevention arsenal Monday at City Hall.

No, not the firetruck parked out front. Something less flashy, but every bit as important.

The City Council approved a set of rules that will increase the department’s ability to enforce health and safety violations.

Fire Chief Mike Dalsing explained that the department lacked the means to enforce the city’s laws without giving property owners prior notice of a violation. For example, the department responded a few years ago to a complaint of overcrowding during a boxing match at the Mayes Memorial Armory. Fire inspectors found an overflow crowd, but could not issue a citation for 30 days. Another scenario related to storage of chemicals in warehouses that lacked permits for hazardous materials.

“We don’t have any teeth right now,” Mr. Dalsing said. “Any one of you could go into any vacant building and set up shop and the only thing we could do right now is tell you to stop and come back and check on you in 30 days.”

The new ordinance — which the council passed 9-0 — gives inspectors the authority to issue citations without warning for certain “willful and wanton” violations, such as overcrowding, assorted fire hazards, and illegal storage of hazardous materials.

Council member Bill Falkner initially was skeptical about the bill.

“I’m afraid some people will look at this as a revenue generator,” Mr. Falkner said. “I just don’t want the next thing I hear to be that we need to hire more personnel to enforce this.”

Mr. Dalsing and City Manager Vince Capell assured Mr. Falkner the Fire Department would carry out the inspections without adding payroll — a sticky subject with current employees who face an immediate future with no raises and climbing health insurance costs.

“If the word gets around, maybe fewer people will try to break the law and the need for enforcement will decrease,” Mr. Capell said.

The council heard from local businesses during a finance committee meeting last month. Many said the stacks of paperwork they must fill out to disclose each and every chemical they had in storage would be a burden on both businesses and the city staff members.

Mayor Ken Shearin said he wanted the city to show lenience to local businesses early in the process.

“It’s not going to be a Gestapo-type get-it-done-now thing. It has to be a gradual process,” he said.

Clinton Thomas can be reached at

clintonthomas@npgco.com.