A step being taken by Osage Beach and Mid-County fire may end up saving local lodging establishments a big chunk of change.     

    Osage Beach Fire Marshal Ed Nicholson detailed the circumstances of the move last night at their district board meeting.  After a meeting in Representative Wayne Cooper's office this summer, lodging establishments were told they would have new fire code requirements coming out of the state health department.  Nicholson says hard wired smoke detectors and sprinkler systems would be mandated after a fire at a group home in Anderson, Missouri, back in November of 2006.

    Nicholson says the lodging establishments would have been under financial stress to meet the new requirements.

    "It was the cost," Nicholson said. "They were afraid in the downturn times that they would not be able to meet the financial burdens that the state was going to put in as requirements. We felt that they were meeting our fire code and they are safe establishments."

    Nicholson says the county health department originally assisted on fire code inspections with the local fire districts signing off on the joint inspections.  If local officials sign off. The fire district will continue to inspect using its own codes.

    "We're really not changing anything. Basically we are going to be operating how we have been in the past. It's just that we are going to be operating under our fire code not under a state cherry picked code," Nicholson said. "Our international fire code is a nationally recognized code and we feel that it does address all the safety issues in the lodging establishments."

    Mid-County Fire Marshal Chris Bachman and Nicholson have sat down with city of Osage Beach officials and Camden County officials to get the codes adopted. 

    "Basically we just have to get all the language correct in the adopting ordinances and then the commissioners and then the board of aldermen for the city will have to do their first and second reading. We've gotten all positive feedback from both commissioners and the board of aldermen so i don't think it is going to be a problem."

    Osage Beach fire covers the majority of local lodging establishments with over 20 in their 105 square mile district.