AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin emergency personnel are sharing concerns about a resolution approved by Austin City Council earlier this year regarding proposed code changes to allow single staircases in multifamily residences.
Austin City Council approved May 2 a resolution directing the city manager “to evaluate and provide options for Council to adopt building code updates that would allow a single stairway for multifamily developments up to at least five stories.” That resolution cited both Seattle and New York City as well as communities in Europe and Asia as places with similar regulations already adopted.
However, officials with the Austin Fire Department, Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Development Services Department found multiple issues with the prospect of implementing those code changes locally. Tom Vocke, assistant chief of the Austin Fire Department, addressed those concerns during Monday’s Austin Public Safety Commission meeting.
Vocke said AFD along with other emergency response entities shared a letter with the city on June …