Daphne is looking at rewriting its fire code again. City council introduced an ordinance regarding the matter during its meeting on Monday, Aug. 17.

Changes to the city's fire code were previously approved in July and have been in effect since then. However, the city determined that repealing and replacing the ordinance in its entirety rather than through individual amendments "will provide a single, complete ordinance for ease of reference by the public, design professionals, contractors, developers and city staff."

Many of the amendments, which have been in effect since July, are aimed at builders and contractors within city limits. They include:

• Numbers for houses and businesses must be at least 5 inches tall, readable from the street in numerals or letters contrasting with their background and cannot be spelled out. Buildings located on a private driveway or port require a post or sign on the road to mark it.
• Key boxes are required to be installed at every building with two or more units and in any building with a sprinkler system, a fire alarm and any sort of alarm system that would summon the fire department. Key boxes are small lockboxes and contain keys that allow firefighters to enter a property without breaking down a door.
• Unauthorized work, where any work begins before a fire permit is properly obtained, will result in the permit fee being double plus $100. Failures to comply carry a fine or jail as set by the municipal court judge and each day a violation continues after notice counts as a separate offense.
• Sprinkler and fire-alarm system designs are required to be signed and sealed by an Alabama-licensed professional engineer and contractors are required to file a Daphne business license along with a $1 million general liability insurance policy.

The ordinance will be presented to city council for a second reading during its next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8.