Fatal Butte blaze brings borough regulations into focus

PALMER — It’s still unclear what, exactly, caused a mobile home fire that killed five girls ages 3 to 12 in Butte Sept. 7.

But one thing is certain: if the home’s structure was unsafe, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough residential building codes would not have protected the family from the tragedy.

That’s because there are no such rules in the borough.

“We do not have residential building codes in the Borough,” said Alex Strawn, the development services manager who oversees the Borough’s ordinances and regulations. “So there you have it.”

What the Borough does have, Strawn said, is a set of ordinances that focus on land use issues — not an electrical, plumbing or fire safety perspective.

“We’re looking at it from its impact on neighboring properties, or water quality, or things like that,” he said. “We are not looking at it from the perspective of fire safety.”

The Borough does have a fire safety code, but according to the Borough fire code’s website, residential housing smaller than a triplex, such as a mobile home, is exempt from any inspections or enforcement.

Strawn said whether or not the Borough develops a residential building code is up to lawmakers. But any decision on whether or not to do so has to take into account both residents’ rights and the need for safety, he said.

“I think all of this really comes down to a balancing act of giving people the freedom to enjoy their properties while having some reasonable regulation,” he said.

Jim Sykes, assemblyman for District 1, which includes Butte, said he is in favor of starting a discussion of residential building codes and related zoning matters in the Borough Assembly. He said he does not think introducing any kind of change right away is the right answer. Instead, he said the Assembly should ask for input from the public.

“I think that, in a general sense, we should always have that discussion if we can be more aware and educated,” he said. “The method I really have found useful is to really outline what the problem is and be open to ideas of discussing it, and trying to discuss one that is going to work.”

He also worried that any changes would only impact future construction — not the existing home and structures that pose the most danger.

“In this particular case, this terrible tragedy that happened, I don’t know that either a change in zoning or updating of building codes would've changed anything because they are already pre-existing construction,” he said.

One factor that could keep the Borough from instituting a new residential building code system is funding, Strawn said. Putting rules like that in place would not just require action by lawmakers — it would require staffing to make sure the rules are enforced.

“I don’t think that we’re ready, at this point, to adopt residential building codes,” he said. “We would have to hire on a considerable amount of additional people and we’re pretty tight budget wise as it is. … We would either need to find revenue source or we’d need to find new cuts.”

Sykes, however, said that if we truly a change that needed to be made the Borough would find the funding.

“It we wanted and if we want to make this a priority, I think we could find the money to do it,” he said.

Amy Bushatz is a freelance writer who lives in Palmer.