Town & County Interaction Committee

Town & County Interaction Committee Agenda Friday, May 22, 2026 at 9:00 AM Culpeper Community Pool, Activity Room 16390 Competition Drive, Culpeper Page 1. CALL TO ORDER By Chairwoman Brown 2. PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES 3 For Reference Only - Minutes from January 23, 2026 01-23-2026 Interaction Committee.pdf 3. AGENDA APPROVAL Motion to approve or amend the agenda. 4. DISCUSSION ITEM 4.1 The committee will continue discussions regarding a Culpeper County Fire 5 Inspector. Supporting Documentation for Fire Inspectors.pdf CCVFD Cabinetworks Walk- Through Notes_12Mar2026.pdf 5. TOWN ITEM 5.1 Staff will provide an update on the Architectural Review Board's Historic District Guidelines Update. 6. COUNTY ITEMS 6.1 The committee will discuss a proposal to reduce the Culpeper County Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Fee. 6.2 The committee will tour the new Culpeper Community Pool Facility with Andrew Hardy, Director of Parks & Recreation. 7. ADJOURNMENT Committee Members: Page 1 of 24  Town: Frank Reaves Jr. (Chairman), Jamie Dyke, Joe Short County: Mandy Brown (Chairwoman), Gary Deal, DeWayne Payne (alternate) Page 2 of 24 01-23-2026 Town & County Interaction Committee 9:00 a.m. Economic Development Center, 803 S. Main Street Town Members Present: Chairman Frank Reaves Jr., Pranas A. Rimeikis (alternate for Jamie Dyke), Joe Short Town Members Absent: Jamie Dyke County Members Present: Chairwoman Mandy Brown County Members Absent: Gary Deal, Dewayne Payne Town Staff Present: Ashley Clatterbuck, Chris Hively, Andrew Hopewell, Paige Read County Staff Present: Kim Ellis, Paul Howard, Sam McLearen Others Present: Junior Perryman, Janie Schmidt CALL TO ORDER Chairman Reaves called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES There were no changes to the September 26, 2025 minutes. AGENDA APPROVAL Mr. Short moved, Ms. Brown seconded, approval of the agenda as presented. The motion carried by voice vote. DISCUSSION ITEMS The committee discussed the status of the Joint Planning Advisory Committee (JPAC). Mr. Rimeikis stated JPAC was put together as part of the Water/Sewer Agreement in 2011 and he noticed that there are no current members appointed by the County. Mr. Hively stated it’s very difficult to change the Agreement to eliminate JPAC and it would be easier for the County to appoint two of their existing Planning Commission members. Discussion ensued. Mr. McLearen stated he would consult with Chairman Underwood. The committee continued discussions regarding a Culpeper County Fire Inspector. Ms. Schmidt stated the idea of having a Fire Inspector is to prevent situations and is a good thing. Mr. Perryman stated a Fire Inspector could be part-time and easily kept busy for 24-29/hours a week and could report to the Culpeper County Building Official. He stated that being proactive now is a reduction in community risk. Mr. Hopewell stated that under the Virginia Maintenance Code, which was not adopted by Town Council, a residential rental inspection district could be created to have property inspections every 5 years. Discussion ensued. Page 3 of 24 Interaction Committee January 23, 2026 – Page 2 of 3 Mr. McLearen stated he would like to see an increased role in Culpeper from the State Fire Marshal, who is currently coming from Lynchburg when called. There was consensus for Mr. Perryman to reach out and have the State Fire Marshal attend the next committee meeting. COUNTY ITEMS Staff provided an update on the courthouse renovation project. Mr. Howard stated that Moseley Architects is refining their study and would be presenting again to the Board of Supervisors on March 3, 2026. The new presentation will include: • Current jail needs for the County and whether the jail stays where it is or gets moved. • A completed parking survey from people arriving and leaving the Courthouse, showing how parking is currently functioning. • An economic impact study that is currently underway with partners at Virginia Tech and the Town to show the Courthouse’s impact on the Downtown. Mr. Howard also stated that once the new County Attorney starts at the end of February, he will be discussing the aspects of a Referendum and what that would look like. A brief discussion ensued. TOWN ITEMS None There was consensus for the next committee meeting to be held on Friday, April 24, 2026. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:52 a.m. Page 4 of 24  Town & County Interaction Committee Meeting 22 May 2026 Fire Inspector Discussion Points Evidence Provided by Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department Charles W. Perryman, Jr., Fire Chief 1 Page 5 of 24 Concerns raised by Charles W. Perryman, Jr., Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief, on the number of life safety violations for businesses in the Town and County of Culpeper. Below you will find my experiences, over the past eighteen months, the documentation highlighting concerns, escalations to both the Town and County Building Officials Office, as well as to the State Fire Marshals Office. I commend my town/county building officials who are very supportive, quick to respond, address concerns found, and ensure the necessary follow-up is conducted. Additionally, we have established a great working relationship with Division 2’s State Fire Marshal’s Office and staff. As the Town and County grow, we must begin the efforts of being more proactive in calling out hazards, neglect of life safety controls, and be more vigilant in ensuring our public establishments remain safe for our visitors, patrons, and those who are employed in these places of business. Duties of a Fire Inspector: 1) Routine / scheduled inspections of buildings/businesses 2) Fire Code Compliance 3) Testing of fire safety equipment (alarms and sprinklers) 4) Providing fire safety education 5) Participate in fire investigations for root cause 6) Enforce regulations, issue warnings, citations, and conduct follow-up visits 7) Become a partner, ally, while providing subject matter expertise for businesses, fostering goodwill, while promoting a community risk reduction approach to the people of the Town and County. 2 Page 6 of 24 1 Jan – 30 Sep 2025 – Buffalo Wild Wings The Fire Department dispatched to this business 26 times in 9 months. The history goes back to 2024 with excessive false fire alarms. • Action: Worked with the Town Building Officials to eventually resolve. 17 Jan 2025 – Family Dollar – Southgate Shopping Center Dispatched for burning smell. Arrived and found work performed on rooftop HVAC units. Found the rooftop units in a disarray… nothing buttoned up prior to technicians leaving, no handover to store management on status. Major concerns as far as life safety compliance, as noted below: • No smoke detectors, no audio fire alarm, and no visual strobes in the store to alert staff and patrons of a fire emergency. • Clearance in front of the MDP1 did not meet safety standards. Numerous shelving components are stacked in the emergency egress corridor in front of MDP1. The area would certainly be a trip hazard if the lights were off or in the event of a panicked exit through the emergency door. Recommended to Mr. Brown that this clutter be removed soonest due to safety concerns. • The Gas Hot Water tank in the adjacent room nearly inaccessible due to clutter in the hallway and the room in front of the Gas Hot Water Heater. My recommendation is that this clutter be cleared for maintenance and safety access. • There is the perception that the rooftop units have needed much attention, either repairs or replacements. It looks more to have been neglected and/or not well-trained HVAC technicians failing to perform adequate maintenance and/or repairs. • There was NO handover to Mr. Brown/Store Manager at the time the HVAC technician departed. I had requested that the HVAC technician return or call us and let us know where things stand. Mr. Brown advised only Corporate could open a ticket with the HVAC Contractor and he would NOT be coming back tonight. 3 Page 7 of 24  • Labelling of the sub-panels is dated and poorly maintained. sub-panel • One sub-panel has small stickers adjacent to a majority of the breakers in the panel that state: Shut off at night. It seems odd that staff would turn off 20 individual breakers at night! This is not safe and can weaken the breakers if over-exercised daily. Based on the labeling, this is a normal daily activity. • Several of the panels had what appeared to be HVAC sheet metal that was cut to cover breaker openings where breakers were removed. These were screwed into the panels. Where this was not done, tape was placed over the openings, beginning to peel off due to age. • Plywood observed on top of the MDP1, which should be NOT blocked to exhaust the heat out to the three cabinets making up the MDP1. • Observed Sprinkler Risers/Valves/Back Flow Preventers in a cage. The cage was not locked but did have a J-Hook through an eye, latching the door. I noticed the Back Flow Preventers were last checked in April of 2024. However, I did not see any inspection tags on the sprinkler system itself. I asked the store manager about the sprinkler inspection, and he said that it happened last year and the paperwork is in the front office. Shared, this is not industry standard; tags should be on the sprinkler indicating inspections. • The emergency exit in front of the MDP is not marked/illuminated with an exit sign. While I know this may be for emergency egress for the electricians, I think it still may need to be marked. • In speaking with Mr. Brown, it appears there is a long history with his corporate office and the building owner in addressing some of the issues I have raised. Action: Town Building Official worked with the State Fire Marshals’ office to address concerns 4 Page 8 of 24 25 Jan 2025 – Manufacturing Facility – 751 Old Brandy Road – Tyco/Rochester Corporation Dispatched for a fire alarm in a commercial building, commercial fire alarm - wire mill #2 north wall water flow AUDIBLE. While troubleshooting the water flow, this is what was found: • Facilities staff were not as familiar with troubleshooting fire panel messages • Drawings indicating critical fire suppression systems out of date. Unable to shut the water off to a failed overhead sprinkler. • While troubleshooting, I found the sprinkler riser that the PIV in the front yard, which controls water flow to this part of the sprinkler, was marked as failed TWO years prior by the sprinkler vendor. • Access to the sprinkler risers was partially blocked due to clutter. Poor housekeeping. • Reliance on Town Public Works to locate and isolate the water main to the facility. For more than two hours, we searched. • Building Office requested the contractor’s permit so that correct permitting could be issued and inspected by local building officials. Based on the troubles and other concerns raised in the report, the State Fire Marshal’s Office was notified to perform a visit. • Heat tape had been placed around the pipe, but it failed due to a lack of maintenance. 11 Oct 2025 – 167 E. Davis Street – New shop overloading receptacles With the business change from a tea-room to an ice cream shop, the electrical power demands increased, causing the failure. The due diligence by my Engine Company to locate the root cause was excellent work. If this had gone unchecked, the outcome could have been much different after hours. 5 Page 9 of 24 15 December 2025: Kitchen Fire/Fryer: 559 James Madison Highway – Taco Bell • Gas line catastrophic failure. Fire was quickly extinguished. Repairs made and verified by Town Building Officials. 15 December – Sprinkler failure at FT Binns School – Second incident in one year Questions on the misinformation being reported by the Fire Alarm System, two recent failures, are they related? Other concerns listed. • Why was the dry sprinkler system's air exhausted, causing the sprinkler system to charge with water? • Why was the drain tube not aligned with the drain to take the water outside the facility? • Need to check if the keyholder was the correct number on file. Unverified, but I thought I overheard the Keyholder did not get a phone call. It was a neighbor who called her to report a problem at the school, and she responded. It would be helpful to confirm the sequence of actions taken; this was not communicated directly to me. • Discrepancy in Fire Alarm Reporting to dispatch: Message sent versus actual alarm does not match (Zone 9 versus Zone 5) as reported on the alarm panel in the lobby. Control points need to be checked/aligned. The initial report was inaccurate. This resulted in checking the building in the wrong area. 6 Page 10 of 24  • Do we have an update on the KNOX BOX keys for the Fire Department? • CCSO deputies in the field are not allowed to access their master key to the CCSO’s Knox Boxes (stored in a realtor's lock box in the trunk of their car) unless it is an Active Shooter incident taking place. A few phone calls were made to obtain approval to release the CCSO KNOX Box key. Once obtained, this enabled the Fire Department to perform its investigation and take immediate action to prevent additional damage to the school. 25 February 2026 – Ruby Tuesday Restaurant As a patron, I have noted several concerns and escalated to Town/County Building Officials. Below is what I shared. • Roof leaking in the bar area in multiple places • Fire extinguisher not mounted in the appropriate locations – sitting on floor. (I took the initiative to hang the extinguisher; the staff had tried to hang it in the incorrect position. • The main door handle is broken, with a large screw protruding that could be dangerous to a child due to the height. • An employee shared with me that a Tea and Coffee pot had shorted out a while back, smoke came from the outlet, it appears part of the appliance plug is still stuck in the outlet, and no repairs have been made. • Emergency exit facing Ira Hoffman is obscured and blocked by shrubs/trees adjacent to the structure. • Roof ladder blocked by shrubs/trees adjacent to the structure. • 16 of the 32 exterior lights are out. Replacement of bulbs for safety is recommended. 7 Page 11 of 24  • HVAC issues persist in the restaurant. Unsure of the safe operation of the roof top units. 17 March 2026 – Regal Cinema – No Fire Alarm System Contacted by Town/County for me to stop by the Regal Cinema and check in on the presence of a fire alarm system. I stopped in the same day and found that the Fire alarm system had been disconnected/removed, and the business had been operating with NO Fire Watch while occupied. No annunciator, no strobes, no audible working. I requested that a Fire Watch Log be implemented and maintained while occupied. The manager reported to me that he has no such form and asked if I could provide him one, which I had planned to do. Before my departure, I was asking questions to the front-end clerk. He immediately produced a Fire Watch Form, with their name at the top, with all appropriate requirements on the form to be checked, highlighting dates, times, what areas checked, and initialed hourly. They implemented that immediately. Over a couple of weeks, the fire alarm was replaced, checked, and verified by the County Building Officials, and myself verifying it was operating correctly. 6 April 2026: Poor Farm Road Mulch Storage Facilities – Multiple responses Following the multiple fires, I was able to report what I thought to be violations of a bulk mulch storage facility based on experience. The concerns were escalated to the State Fire Marshals’ office for follow-up. Below was the feedback. SFM Adam Tutor was contacted, visited, and inspected the site. Upon completion of the inspection, the following violations were observed: • Several mulch piles exceed the maximum allowable dimensions. • Required separation distances between piles were not maintained. The average separation distance measured approximately 15 feet, which is below the required minimum. • No records were available to verify that temperature monitoring of mulch piles is being conducted. 8 Page 12 of 24 The conditions observed present an increased risk of spontaneous combustion and fire spread due to excessive pile size, inadequate separation, and lack of internal temperature monitoring. Immediate corrective actions are required to bring the facility into compliance with the Virginia Fire Prevention Code. A Notice of Violation was issued to the responsible party. Applicable codes: Section 2808.3 – Size of Piles Mulch piles shall not exceed the following dimensions: • Height: 25 feet (7,620 mm) • Width: 150 feet (45,720 mm) • Length: 250 feet (76,200 mm) Violation: Multiple piles exceed the maximum allowable size. Section 2808.4 – Pile Separation • Piles shall be separated from buildings, property lines, and adjacent piles by a distance not less than one and one-half times the height of the pile. • A minimum separation of 30 feet between rows is required. • Fire apparatus access roads must be provided within the separation space in accordance with Section 503. Violation: Required separation distance was not achieved. Average spacing between piles was approximately 15 feet. Section 2808.6 – Static Pile Protection • Static piles must be monitored using an approved method to measure internal temperatures. • Temperatures must be monitored and recorded weekly. • Records must be maintained and made available. • An operational plan outlining monitoring procedures and actions for elevated temperatures must be submitted for approval. Violation: No temperature monitoring records were available, and no approved operational plan was provided. 9 Page 13 of 24 SFM Adam Tutor will continue to follow up on the corrections. The temperature monitoring and recording is to take place immediately, and he was given 30 days to reduce the pile sizes and increase the separation distances. 20 April 2026: 779 Madison Road Upon arrival for a call of an unknown odor in the building. The root cause was a CO2 leak above the ceiling. The back room near the water heater, power panels, and emergency hallway exit is poorly maintained, the door will not secure/lock, and the exit sign is not illuminated. All callouts were addressed by 12 May as part of my follow-up visits. 23 April 2026 – 411 Aspen Street, Animal Hospital Called for power panel smoking, the electrician had concerns as unable to secure power to the panel, no mains disconnect inside or outside. I needed to call Dominion Energy to pull the meter at the request of the electrician. Additional Feedback to the Occupants: Shortly after my arrival, I requested that Moe/Technician show me the panel and the concerns in question. The electrical/mechanical room was cluttered with general cleaning supplies and other storage items. I shared with the Office Manager that this is not a storage closet, it is an 10 Page 14 of 24 electrical/mechanical room, and the items need to be relocated. The room will need to be cleaned out/organized, adhering to code regulations. She understood and had staff begin removing some of the items in the room to allow work to happen on the panel. See pictures below: 27 April 2026 – Montanus Drive – Rent-a-Center Called for odor in commercial building. Found fan belt on rooftop unit had failed. While there we found the Electrical Power Panels blocked and stock stored to the ceiling, affecting the coverage of the sprinklers. This was addressed on my first visit. Very cooperative. 9 May 2026 – Fire at Fast Food Restaurant, Wendy’s The gas line to the fryer had a catastrophic failure, resulting in a fire that was extinguished by dry chemical extinguishers. • Question: Why did the hood system not activate? WAD or failure? • Was proper cleaning and inspection performed as requested by FD? The Town Building Office handled the follow-up. • Anything common with the gas lines to appliances at EOL. Second fastfood restaurant that had the same problem… Taco Bell on 15 Dec 2025? 10 May 2026 – 2125 Aster Street – Home for the disabled Called for a fire alarm sounding, needs the Fire Department’s assistance. Immediate non-compliance or life safety concerns were noticed, communicated to Town Building Officials, with escalation to the Stage Fire Marshals' Office, who made a visit and issued a Notice of Violations (NOV). What we reported is below: • Lack of understanding of the alarm system among the employees • The basement was unorganized, with code issues with electrical panels being blocked. I personally gave recommendations on previous calls. • Sprinkler system (valves) blocked and unable to access • Poor maintenance/lack of documentation for the fire alarm system. The alarm system was showing several alarms/troubles, for instance, missing batteries and other troubles that could not be cleared. • When turning the breaker off to the alarm system, the security system to the doors failed open. The feedback from staff was that it was 11 Page 15 of 24  okay, they are wheelchair bound, and there was little concern that they would leave on their own. • The keypad to the door alarm system needed repairs; the alarm panel had fallen inside the wall, so it was not accessible. • My Assistant Chief advised the staff to notify their maintenance team to make the needed repairs. Staff said they did not have a maintenance team. They had just been taken over by another company. • There was no attempt to evacuate occupants. Unsure if there is an evacuation plan available or where/how these occupants would be moved in the event of a true emergency. Recommend a visit to this address to follow up on the concerns listed above. For me, this is certainly not a single-family dwelling as listed in the Town’s GIS. End result: State Fire Marshall was called in the owner was issued a NOV Other Notes: 1) Data Center Growth in Culpeper will need oversight/inspections 2) New businesses are allowing the Fire Department, in coordination with the Building officials, to see new construction, testing of fire alarm systems, emergency shutoffs, etc. Trying not to let the first time be the first time. 3) Town of Culpeper Technical Review Committee 4) Review of UVA Culpeper Campus, many offices have NO addresses on the front door or building 5) The maintenance & inspections of Fire Systems in Commercial buildings need attention. 6) Sleeping accommodations in the rear of stores. Addressed with occupants that this is against the fire safety code and not allowed. End 12 Page 16 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist Warehouse Fire Safety Checklist ☐ Fire safety training documents are readily available to all. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Not reviewed. My understanding they do exist and are secured in the management office area. I also noted that MSDS books are located in a supervisor’s area/office on the production floor. I recommend that these books be updated to the latest SDS documents and a reconciliation of what is on-site and the SDS documentation matches. ☐ Exits, aisles, evacuation routes, and fire alarm pull stations are unblocked. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Exits: All exits clear except one, which was in the area of the lifts. Mr. Kern noted that this will be addressed. Challenges with parking large/medium lifts in that area. Aisles: All clear, well-maintained. Evacuation Routes: Clearly defined and open. Fire alarm pull stations: All open/accessible. ☐ All exit signs and evacuation lights are fully operational. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Excellent progress on upgrading the exit signage that is illuminated. There are just a few known ones left that will be upgraded. ☐ Debris, discarded packing materials, trash, and flammable items are in proper waste bins (nothing is accumulating where it shouldn’t). Comment C Perryman, Jr: All areas are well policed regarding refuse. ☐ Extension cords and electrical equipment are being used properly; no extension cords are being used long-term or connected. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Non observed. ☐ Fire extinguishers are all accounted for and have been inspected as per NFPA 10. Comment C Perryman, Jr: All upgraded except two. Noted, and Mr. Kern will follow up. ☐ Nothing is hanging from fire sprinkler/suppression systems lines, heads, or nozzles. Comment C Perryman, Jr: All looked good. Well-maintained. ☐ Fire pump riser rooms are empty – nothing should be stored in these. Comment C Perryman, Jr: No fire pumps, all risers were easily accessible. The only recommendation is some additional housekeeping, dusting, and cleaning, removing cobwebs. CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 17 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist ☐ Flammable/combustible liquids are in safety cabinets and stored per OSHA1926, NFPA30, and your local Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) guidelines. Comment C Perryman, Jr: No flammable liquids found, other than the paint area, which was well maintained, and no concerns given the protections in place. ☐ Communicate with your trusted fire protection engineer when there are any operational changes (inventory type, scope, class, quantity, storage configurations, etc.). Comment C Perryman, Jr: Communicated and under control. Most all inventory, scope, class, quantities, and storage con]igurations are ]ixed with little to no change. CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 18 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist Warehouse Fire Safety Regulations Checklist ☐ Hold annual fire safety training for all employees and train new hires immediately. Comment C Perryman, Jr: My takeaway is that only supervisors and management are trained in fire safety. Recommend providing staff with live fire extinguisher training, given the volume of combustible materials in the building. ☐ Appoint fire watch employees, evacuation managers, and those who stay behind to shut down critical equipment. Comment C Perryman, Jr: The management team is aware, based on real-life experience with a sprinkler failure. Fire-watch was maintained until the sprinkler system was restored. ☐ Have your fire protection engineer ensure each building’s original fire protection design is still up-to-code with current operations. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Fire Protection vendor has serviced all fire suppression systems, and inspection cards are current. ☐ Practice fire and emergency evacuation drills. Comment C Perryman, Jr: No drills are conducted. Recommended that this be implemented with area supervisors confirming with Management/Facilities Management that all are accounted for in the assembly area during drills. Staff should be reminded to leave via the closest emergency exit (not necessarily the front door). Timing the drills to determine if the evacuation is within expectations. ☐ Post “No Smoking” signs inside; have a dedicated smoking area outside, away from buildings, trash bins, and vegetation. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Observed the no-smoking signs prior to the main entrance area advising NO Smoking. Did observe other reminders that smoking was not allowed in the building. ☐ Get to know your local fire department and understand what you need to do to remain compliant. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Relationships have been started/established with Culpeper VFD and Cabinet Works. Great to have the first time, not be the first time when meeting. Fire safety needs are well understood, with recommendations already mentioned. CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 19 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist ☐ Have the right fire suppression systems and/or sprinkler systems for your warehouse; inspect and maintain them to ensure they will work when needed. Comment C Perryman, Jr: All fire suppression systems, wet (water), dry, foam, and antifreeze-based (unconditioned areas) were all recently serviced per the inspection tags. I did see a complement of replacement heads also on-site. I would recommend, mostly for cosmetic purposes, performing some housekeeping of the fire suppression infrastructure. Extremely dusty with cobwebs, which gives the impression that maintenance is not performed, when in reality it is taking place. ☐ Have fully charged, undamaged, fire extinguishers readily available and teach everyone how to use them. Comment C Perryman, Jr: Most fire extinguishers were checked and found to be new, inspected, and easily visible for employees to access. I understand that there is no training program for the employee population. I would strongly encourage that Cabinet Works invest in a training program, ensuring employees are familiar with deploying an extinguisher. ☐ Ensure your water system has enough capacity and pressure to support the sprinklers. Comment C Perryman, Jr: While I can confirm that all static pressure was present, I am not capable of determining from this walk-through if the system is engineered to meet the demand of the fire load. I would defer to the engineers who can perform this calculation. Follow-up Action Item for Fire Department: For my own awareness, I will follow up with the municipal water authority to understand the fire suppression infrastructure (capacity) in the industrial complex protecting a grain mill, roof truss manufacturing, food distribution center, and the Cabinet Works. ☐ Maintain 18 inches of open space beneath sprinkler heads or suppression nozzles, or 24 inches below the ceiling if there are no sprinklers. ESFR sprinklers may require 36 inches of clearance. Comment C Perryman, Jr: All clearances were respected near and around sprinkler systems, except one, which was in the unfinished kitchen, more of a pantry area. There was one storage rack with boxes to the ceiling. This was pointed out and immediately addressed. While in this same space, it was noted that it was cluttered, needed better organization, and that spoiled, out-of-date food was found in the refrigerators. This was documented by Mr. Kern to address – quick hit. ☐ There must be 3 inches of space on all sides between pallets (transverse space). Comment C Perryman, Jr: This spacing was respected in the vertical racks. CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 20 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist ☐ There must be 6 inches of longitudinal flue space between loads or back-to-back rows. Comment C Perryman, Jr: This spacing was respected for the back-to-back rows of racks. ☐ If your warehouse has racked pallets, there must be 3 inches of “transverse flue space” on either side of every rack. This is the space on either side of a racked pallet. Comment C Perryman, Jr: This spacing was respected throughout the warehouse. ☐ Dead-end aisles must be noted and cannot exceed 50 ft. in length. Comment C Perryman, Jr: I only noted one dead-end isle, which is where the lift equipment was being parked/stored/charged. This was acknowledged by Mr. Kerr noted to address. The visibility was clear and easily identified. This is the same area that needed some policing in terms of keeping the path open to an emergency exit. ☐ During manual restocking, keep a minimum unobstructed aisle width of 24 inches or half the aisle width – whichever is greater. Comment C Perryman, Jr: All aisles containing stock were spacious, clean, unobstructed, with clear visibility in both directions of travel. ☐ Mechanical restocking requires an unobstructed aisle of at least 44 inches. Comment C Perryman, Jr: All aisles containing stock were spacious, clean, unobstructed, with clear visibility in both directions of travel. Witnessed a forklift driver during the walk-around and found the operator operating the lift with caution, stopping at intersections before proceeding, ensuring pedestrian traffic or other lifts were not operating in his path of travel. ☐ Automated material handling equipment (carousels or ASRS) will have additional code requirements to prevent the equipment’s motion from spreading fire. Comment C Perryman, Jr: I did observe two areas, the cabinet paint processing area and the oven area, where cabinet components are carried via conveyor system as part of the painting process. While I did not observe manual emergency shutoffs for power or gas, I would anticipate that it would be in place. It was observed that there was additional fire suppression overhead of the oven area for quick release in the event of a fire. Follow-up Action Item for Cabinet Works/Mr. Kern to con?irm: CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 21 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist Other observations: ☐ My understanding is that only supervisors are trained in CPR/AED. I would encourage management to have crew leaders at a minimum trained and act as safety of]icers who can respond more rapidly to injuries or cardiac arrests. I am aware of courses where Basic First Aid, CPR & AED can be delivered in a single day. The investment is small, but the payback is priceless ☐ AED’s were brie]ly looked at in one of the of]ices on the production ]loor. They looked very dated, with one being a 2013 model. There was no evidence of routine or annual inspections. My recommendation you have your vendor check these for operational readiness, and I would recommend that they be upgraded, and at least two units be placed in the facility in AED cabinets for quick recognition and deployment. ☐ The Jockey Pump for the sprinkler system supporting the sawdust bin outside may require attention. The pressure looked low considering the static pressure on the risers. Recommendation would be to have some sort of documentation in this area for quick reference when doing routine daily rounds, checking this part of the suppression system. ☐ There was a Waltz Holst Checkout Board still attached to one of the racks. Unknown purpose and not updated. Recommend if not necessary to remove it. ☐ The mezzanine areas are used for storage. Visual inspection from the production ]loor did not warrant accessing this area. It was mentioned for pre-planning purposes that there is a ladder that extends to the rooftop area. This certainly would be an option for a quick visual if required to any rooftop unit concerns ☐ I do not understand why there are screen-caged doors in front of the emergency exits? I have not seen this implemented in any of the manufacturing facilities. It was confusing at ]irst as to how to open the emergency exits. It appeared the screen door needed to be unlatched, then that screen door would open inward with the emergency exterior door opening outward. After some further experimentation, it was found that pushing the panic bar on the screen caged door, both doors opened. I would if keeping this setup, additional signage be added to the screen door that reads – PUSH. ☐ I There is a basement garage, no access from the interior of the building, that contains lawn equipment, gasoline, etc. This unconditioned area is protected with a suppression system that has an antifreeze liquid to ensure the system does not freeze. ☐ I shared that emergency contacts, or keyholder contacts, should be provided to our Culpeper County Emergency Operations Center – Dispatch, for those who would respond or CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 22 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist answer in urgent situations. This non-emergency number is 540-727-7900. I recommend you contact this Dispatch Center and provide those names/numbers so they have emergency contacts when needed. ☐ KNOX Box information will be sent by me to Mr. Kern. As discussed, this unit would be ordered, paid for, and installed by your facilities team. If there are questions about the installation, we are willing to assist. Once installed, a call to the Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department will need to be made, where we will come out, obtain the critical keys for us to gain access, place those keys in the KNOX Box, and secure them in the box. ☐ The wall-pack external light between the production ]loor and the paint plant is not working. This should be replaced or repaired. ☐ The eye-wash stations that had bottles of Saline water were found to be expired. These should be replaced. ☐ First Aid Box in the production area was found to be poorly stocked. Did not check the dates on the ]irst aid supplies. Recommend this be checked. As discussed with Mr. Kern, a recommendation to better control inventory and costs, there should be a central location for ]irst aid supplies, which should be managed by a supervisor or manager. This also ensures that injuries are better tracked, managed, and the root causes of injuries are addressed. ☐ Recommend a “Battle Box” be available for Site Management and incoming ]irst responders. Items would contain such items as note pads, pens/pencils, ]loor plans, noting critical electrical panels, incoming electrical service locations, Who's Who with phone numbers, and natural gas connectivity at a minimum. ☐ Recommend a follow-up with our Pre-Planning Work Group, which the county has implemented to enable Fire/EMS to upload critical information into our iPads on our apparatus. The incoming of]icer will be able to refer to this critical information while enroute to better prepare to address the emergency and deploy resources timely to critical locations. ☐ Recommend the number of doors on the exterior be numbered to help ]irst responders, Fire/EMS/Law Enforcement with access. ☐ Recommend that a pre-plan for Active Shooter or other threats be implemented. As mentioned, I can put you in contact with the right people (Law Enforcement) to assist in developing such a plan. CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 23 of 24  Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Commercial Building Walk-Through Inspection Checklist ☐ Recommend that you appoint safety of]icers who can be responsible for sweeping their areas of responsibility, ensuring that all staff are out of the building during evacuations. There needs to be a process to validate that all those in the building during an evacuation are safely outside and accounted for. This will be critical information for the ]irst arriving ]ire of]icer. ☐ Given the focus was on the inside of the building on 12 March, and the weather was not cooperating for an external walk-around outside the facility, recommend we make it a priority to perform this exercise soon. Please let me know when this would work best for you. Fire Department Representatives: Charles “Jr.” Perryman, Chief Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Cabinet Works Representatives: Troy Kern, Facilities Manager Cabinetworks Group Date: 12 March 2026 CCVFD Warehouse Walk-through Checklist Version 2025 1.0 Page 24 of 24