NC fire marshals accuse state senator of self-dealing

The North Carolina Fire Marshals’ Association sent a letter last week to Gov. Roy Cooper, asking him to veto the Farm Act, authored by Senate Agriculture chairman Brent Jackson, R-Sampson. Cooper signed the bill into law Friday over the group's objections.

At issue is a provision that would allow storage buildings not located on farm property to still be classified as farm buildings as long as they’re mainly used to store commodities or “agricultural materials.” Farm buildings are not subject to fire inspections, and the land they sit on can be taxed at a lower rate because they’re used for agriculture.

The provision, the marshals say, would allow any building, even in highly populated areas, to be used to store potentially hazardous contents like fertilizer, ethanol or other chemicals used in farming, while exempting them from fire and safety inspections, as well as any requirement for fire sprinklers.

“He was told by a local fire inspector that he had to maintain the fire protection equipment in the 300,000 square foot building. Instead of complying with our fire prevention maintenance code, he chose to write a bill that would exempt his personal building from compliance,” the letter states.

Jackson said he found about the letter Tuesday when an anonymous sender forwarded it to him.

“For them to just personally attack me like they do in this letter, I was furious to be honest with you,” Jackson said in an interview with WRAL News. “This letter has nothing to do with the legislation.”

Jackson said his company, Jackson Farming, bought the building in foreclosure in 2019. He said it was originally an office furniture warehouse but was used for the past decade for sweet potato storage, which is what he says it’s being used for now.

Jackson didn’t deny that his company has been in talks with the fire inspector in Chadbourn, trying to come to agreement about required changes to the property.

“We're trying to get that building reclassified as an agricultural building,” he said. “It did have sprinkler systems in it, but, you know, to my knowledge, they haven’t worked in decades."

The local fire marshal group had asked for changes to the bill to maintain annual fire inspections and to limit off-farm storage in populated areas to non-hazardous materials. Jackson wouldn’t accept them.

“What they were wanting was far greater than I was willing to do,” he said. “Plus, what they were wanting, if it had been enacted in the law, would have put farm buildings in a worse position than they are today.”

Jackson said he instead followed the recommendation of the State Fire Marshal, who is not part of the state association of local fire marshals, to require signs on exempted buildings as well as 60 feet of clearance around them.

“They tried to get their policies enacted, and they failed. And so now they've gone to attack me personally,” Jackson added. “It’s sour grapes, in my opinion.”

North Carolina Fire Marshals’ Association President Adam Cloninger didn’t back down.

“The story we told was all accurately depicted. There is no untruth in that letter,” Cloninger told WRAL. “Our primary goal is the safety of our firefighters and safety of the public.”

According to Cloninger, when he was at the legislature recently to speak against the bill, Jackson approached him and others in his group in the hallway after the meeting, asking why they opposed it.

Cloninger said he told the senator it would put firefighters and public safety at risk. He told Jackson that there’s already a process in place to change the zoning of a building from commercial to agricultural, which would exempt it from fire and safety inspections.

“Senator Jackson said, ‘Have you ever had anything personally rezoned?’ I said, no, sir,” Cloninger recounted. “He said, ‘Well, it takes a lot of time and a lot of money. And this gets rid of that.’”

Another member of Cloninger’s group, Durham Fire Marshal Jason Shepherd, corroborated that comment.

Jackson insists his property issue was not the impetus for the bill. He said he and state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler have gotten calls from farm and farm suppliers around the state, “having these same issues with fire marshals coming in and requiring this, that and the other.”

“This is, I found out, an issue that is being interpreted in all different ways across our state by fire marshals. So bottom line is, this legislation will actually clarify what is allowable and what is not,” Jackson said.

Jackson also dismissed Cloninger’s assertions that the bill will put firefighters at higher risk, noting that the North Carolina Firefighters’ Association has not taken a position on the bill either way.

NCFA President Quentin Cash told WRAL that his group primarily focuses on firefighter benefits and education rather than safety, but he confirmed that the group was neutral on the measure.

Cloninger said there's still danger in the bill, though.

“It's not if, but when, something happens, and somebody gets seriously hurt or dies,” he added. "We'll be here to say, 'Hey, we've tried to fight the fight. Let's go back and look at this again and work with you, and make sure that we can keep the firefighters and the public safe.'"

Under legislative ethics rules, lawmakers can file and vote for bills that benefit themselves as part of a class, like farmers, teachers or insurance agents. They just can’t advance or vote for legislation that would benefit themselves personally, like a government contract or purchase agreement.

Jackson freely admits that his annual Farm Acts are, in large part, regulatory reform measures aimed at helping the agricultural sector.

“It’s no different than an insurance person in the General Assembly, or a car dealer or an attorney,” he added. “We are a part-time legislature, and I am a farmer. And so some of these bills do benefit me.”