After two fires at two pet businesses within the last six months killed animals and heavily damaged buildings, Lawrence Mayor Jeremy Farmer said city commissioners will discuss code provisions at their meeting next week.

Fire and medical crews treat dogs after a kennel fire at Christal K-9, 3115 W. Sixth St., on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014.

Lulu and Jig, who died in a kennel fire at Christal K-9 on Nov. 29, 2014.

Pet World staff and volunteers and area veterinarians give oxygen to reptiles rescued from the store by Lawrence firefighters after an afternoon fire on Monday, May 25, 2015.

A Lawrence firefighter carries out animals from Pet World, 711 W. 23rd St., during an afternoon fire, Monday, May 25, 2015.

On Monday, a fire at Pet World, 711 W. 23rd St., charred much of the business and killed numerous animals, including a number of customers’ boarded pets, while the store was closed for Memorial Day. The owners of the pet store have declined to publicly disclose the number of animals killed in the fire. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical officials ruled the fire accidental Thursday and said that “an electrical event in the main breaker panel” caused it. They estimated damages to be around $500,000.

On Nov. 29, 2014, an accidental fire at Christal K-9, 3115 W. Sixth St., killed at least three of the 23 dogs boarded at the pet services business during Thanksgiving weekend and injured even more, the Journal-World reported in December. Fire officials determined that a motor froze inside a box fan at the business, causing it to overheat and catch fire. The damage estimate was about $60,000, not including hospital costs for the injured animals.

Neither business had fire sprinklers nor monitored fire alarms that would have alerted an alarm company, and thus the fire department, to the smoke and flames inside. Those safety features are not required by city code or state law for animal-housing facilities.

Pet World co-owner Sherry Emerson had previously told the Journal-World that the building had a monitored alarm system, but Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Marshal James King said Thursday that was not the case.

Farmer said in light of the second fire, a discussion regarding code provisions for pet businesses has been added to the coming week’s City Commission agenda.

“We can’t keep having stuff like this happen,” Farmer said. “It is devastating to our community, those who lose pets and those of us who love our own pets as well.”

After the Christal K-9 fire, city spokeswoman Megan Gilliland said city staff had been instructed to review city codes to determine whether officials should consider improving animal-housing business standards. Then-city Commissioner Farmer and then-mayor Mike Amyx said that commissioners would be discussing changes to the code.

Brandon McGuire, assistant to the city manager, said that in December city commissioners instructed city staff to research, “engage stakeholders and provide recommendations” for animal-housing business code changes.

City codes regarding animal businesses have yet to change since the research phase began. But McGuire said that the process was “in no way tabled” and that the Pet World fire is just “bringing (the issue) back into the public’s eye.”

“I feel that given the review of city code, fire code and speaking with those involved (with pet services,) we’re moving at a fair and aggressive pace,” McGuire said. “This is not a speedy process.”

King said that the city is focusing on changing codes specifically for animal-housing facilities — which include all pet-related businesses that house animals — because animals are among some of the most helpless of fire victims.

“Unlike people, who are capable of self-preservation, confined animals do not have that capability,” King said. “They are dependent upon us for their rescue.”

After reviewing the International Fire Protection Association’s latest international fire code guidelines and recommendations, King said he and other city staff are proposing the following code changes:

• Require all new and existing animal-housing facilities to have a monitored smoke detection or fire alarm system.
• Require all new and existing facilities with gas-fired appliances to have a carbon monoxide detector.
• Require all business employees to be trained in the use of fire extinguishers.
• Require all new and existing facilities to have emergency plans and staff drills.
• Require all new facilities larger than 3,000 square feet to have automatic fire sprinklers.

McGuire said city staff met with local animal service businesses — mainly kennels and veterinary hospitals — about possible changes in March.

Lawrence Humane Society Executive Director Kate Meghji said she plans to meet with McGuire on Monday. She said she “expects her recommendations to be stronger” than those that city staff provided.

Some city officials worry about enforcing new codes that would push considerable expenses on existing business owners, McGuire said. For perspective, Meghji said that it would take an estimated $60,000 to outfit the 16,000 square-foot Humane Society with sprinklers. The Humane Society houses more animals than any other facility in Lawrence.

Still, McGuire said that, overall, stakeholders have been open to the idea.

“We have talked with different groups; most were boarders or kennels. We also talked with the Douglas County Veterinary Medical Association,” McGuire said. “The feedback was supportive (of code changes) as opposed to pushback.”

One such stakeholder is Pet World’s Emerson, who on Thursday released a statement vowing to use “a more comprehensive fire plan, regardless of code and regardless of expense” when the store is rebuilt.

King said that Pet World was in compliance with code standards at the time of the fire and had a “clean inspection record.” King said there is “no fault or blame to be placed on anyone” for the Pet World fire.

Still, Emerson said that she feels that she and her co-owner, husband Tim Emerson, let “27 years with no incident lull (them) into complacency regarding due diligence of fire prevention.”

“It’s not enough to meet the minimum requirements in fire prevention; we must exceed the standard,” Emerson said. “It’s not about city code; it’s about our code.”

Emerson said that she and her husband had been renting the building where Pet World was located and that without monitored alarm or sprinkler requirements, “it’s very difficult to convince property owners to install them for their tenants.” Emerson also said that accidental drownings of caged pets by “faulty sprinklers” add to the difficulty of deciding to install sprinklers.

But King said that although there was no fault for the fire because Pet World had met city standards, the fire’s damages would not have been as extensive had the Pet World building been equipped with a monitored alarm, which allows for quick detection and response, or automatic fire sprinklers, which help to control the flames.

“Had one or both existed, in my mind it would have ended differently,” King said. “(Alarms) are much faster than waiting for it to be noticed by someone outside the building.”

Emerson said that, looking back, she wishes the store had gone beyond the city requirements.

“It reminds me of a school bus with no seat belts — which seems perfectly fine until it’s not — but yet they still have no seat belts,” Emerson said.

Representatives of Christal K-9, which, according to its website, plans to reopen Monday, refused to speak with the Journal-World. It’s unknown whether it will have a sprinkler system or monitored alarm system when it reopens. Christal K-9 did not have such fire protection systems at the time of its November fire.

Christal K-9’s fire was not noticed until people at a neighboring business smelled an odor coming from next door. Eric and Vanessa Elcher, who lost dogs Lulu and Jig in the fire, told the Journal-World in December that Christal K-9 co-owner Cedric Devin told them firefighters were at the scene “within an hour,” yet the nearest fire station was just a half-mile away.

King said Pet World’s Monday fire was initially reported by bystanders who saw smoke escaping the building.

McGuire said that city commissioners have asked city staff for an update at their meeting Tuesday on their progress toward assessing possible code revisions. Farmer said he did not know what specific action would be taken Tuesday, “but we definitely need to talk about it.”

McGuire said he plans to ask commissioners Tuesday to “provide more guidance” on what steps to take next regarding fire and city codes.

Emerson said that within two weeks, Pet World will open a “temporary location” in the former Hume Music space at 711 W. 23rd St.