Local News in Brief : Fire-Retardant Roof Ordinance Put Off

Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday put off consideration of a proposal to require fire retardant roofs in unincorporated areas, voting instead to form a committee of government and industry officials to review fire safety standards.

Citing a need for additional input, the board voted 3 to 2 in favor of a motion by Supervisor Mike Antonovich to direct acting Fire Chief Earl Fordham to organize the committee, which is to make its recommendations within 90 days.

The action put off a vote on the fire retardant ordinance introduced by Supervisor Kenneth Hahn in the aftermath of a series of wind-whipped fires earlier this month.

Hahn’s motion, which he called a “common sense” approach toward reducing the annual devastation caused by fires, would have instructed the county counsel to draft an ordinance requiring fire retardant roofs to be part of all new construction and reroofing in unincorporated areas.

The committee is to include officials from the Fire Department, the Department of Public Works and members of the construction and roofing industries.