(March 24, 2026)
Fire Department
DATE: March 24, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Aaron Osorio, Fire Chief
Dante J. Wiley, Fire Marshal
Subject:
2025 California Fire Code with Local Amendments and
2025 California Wildland -Urban Interface with Local
Amendments
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no significant financial impact associated with this item. Funding for the purchase of code books and for staff training on the updated code provisions is included within the approved fiscal year 2025-2026 Fire
Prevention Services budget (Account Strings: 01203722-
400243; 01203722-400262).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
As part of its regular three-year cycle, the California Building Standards Commission published the 2025
California Code of Regulations, Title 24. The California Fire Code, referenced as Part 9 of the California Code of Regulations, establishes minimum standards for fire and life safety, while the newly designated California-Wildland Urban Interface Code, referenced as Part 7 of the
California Code of Regulations, establishes minimum
standards to mitigate wildfire risk. To enforce these
updated codes, the City of Richmond must adopt a new
ordinance and establish local amendments addressing
local climatic, geographical, and topographical
conditions.
AGENDA
REPORT
(March 24, 2026)
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
HOLD a public hearing to INTRODUCE an ordinance
(first reading) amending the Richmond Municipal Code
(RMC) Article VIII (Fire) Chapter 8.16 (Fire Prevention Code) to adopt the 2025 California Fire Code with local amendments and to adopt the 2025 California Wildland-
Urban Interface Code with local amendments – Fire
Department (Chief Aaron Osorio 510-307-8021/Fire
Marshal Dante J. Wiley 510-307-8090).
DISCUSSION:
Executive Summary
The State of California updates its codes of regulations every three years. The most recent update took effect on January 1, 2026, and includes the California Fire Code, which establishes minimum fire and life safety standards. A significant change from the previous code cycle is the creation of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code.
This new code consolidates wildfire-related provisions from various codes and provides a clear framework to better protect lives and property by reducing wildfire risks.
The City of Richmond is required to adopt both the California Fire Code and the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code. However, because these codes establish only minimum safety standards, the City is proposing local amendments to better address the specific risks and conditions present in Richmond, including periods of high summer temperatures, proximity to seismic faults, industrial sites, and limited emergency access on narrow, winding streets. Without these amendments, the City would be limited to baseline standards that do not fully account for local conditions.
California Fire Code
The California Fire Code is Part 9 of the thirteen-part compilation and publication of adoptions, amendments, and repeal of administrative regulations within the California Code of Regulations, Title 24, also known, collectively, as the California Building Standards Code. The 2025 California Building Standards Code was published by the California Building Standards Commission in July 2025 with an effective date of January 1, 2026. The purpose of the California Fire Code is to protect public health, safety, and welfare from fire and explosions. Likewise, establish operational safety standards for both existing and new buildings and helps improve the effectiveness of emergency response.
California Wildland-Urban Interface Code
A significant change from the previous fire code to the 2025 California Fire Code (“CFC”) is the relocation of the provisions contained in Chapter 49 (Requirements for Wildland Urban Interface Fire Areas). These requirements have been removed from the
(March 24, 2026)
CFC and incorporated into the newly established California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (“CWUIC”), designated as Part 7 of Title 24. The 2025 CWUIC incorporates other provisions related to materials and construction methods for exterior wildfire exposure from California Building Code Chapter 7A, and California Residential Code Chapter 3, Section 33. The primary purpose of the CWUIC is to protect lives and property by reducing wildfire risks, as well as establish construction and development standards for properties in high-risk fire areas.
Local Amendments
Although the CFC and CWUIC establish minimum standards for fire and life safety, it does not however address unique risks present in the City. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 18941.5, the City may establish more restrictive standards that are reasonably necessary because of local conditions such as:
Climatic: The City experiences periods of dry periods, high summer temperatures, and strong winds, all of which increase the likelihood of fires spreading rapidly, especially in hillside and wildland-urban interface areas.
Geologic: The City sits in a high seismic zone, crossed by the Hayward Fault and near the San Andreas and Calaveras faults. Earthquakes could damage infrastructure, disrupt utilities, trigger hazardous material releases, and start multiple fires simultaneously, making emergency response more difficult.
Topographic: Hillside neighborhoods, dense residential areas, narrow and winding streets, and proximity to the San Francisco Bay increase the challenges of emergency access, evacuation, and fire suppression.
To reduce the City’s vulnerability from these risks, the proposed local amendments serve the following purpose:
Maintain consistency: Most amendments involve renumbering sections of previously established local standards to align with the structure and organization of the 2025 CFC (Attachments 1 and 2).
Enhance safety: Any new or modified language is intended to address local risks and improve fire and life safety for the community.
The following sections of the CFC have been amended or added as part of the local amendments:
Section 105, Required Permits: Added Emergency Radio Communication Systems as a required operational permit, if installed. Section 202, Definitions: Added and amended operational definitions relating to Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) and Wildland-Urban Interface. Section 325, Exterior Fire Hazard Control: Added to address fire risk and the spread of subsurface fires.
(March 24, 2026)
Section 503, Fire Apparatus Access Roads: Amended the required dimensions of fire apparatus access roads for certain buildings and facilities; added exceptions for certain single-family dwellings.
Section 506, Key Boxes: Added to enforce Knox system upgrade requirements by December 31, 2028.
Section 903, Automatic Fire Sprinkler System: Amended to be more restrictive regarding automatic sprinklers and floor control valve requirements for certain occupancies; added exceptions for buildings used for the storage of noncombustible materials; included provisions addressing non-permissible water supplies for automatic sprinkler systems.
Section 4104, Open-flame Cooking Devices: Amended to expand the exceptions not limited to single-family residential.
Section 5601, Explosives & Fireworks: Added responsible party definitions and liability.
Section 5706, Above-ground Storage Tanks: Added exceptions to allow above- ground storage tanks for the purpose of emergency power generation.
Similarly, since the Wildland-Urban Interface (“WUI”) provisions have been removed from the CFC, the City will adopt these requirements by adding section 8.16.100 – Amendments to the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code to the Richmond Municipal Code (RMC) Article VIII (Fire). The following sections have been amended or added as part of the local amendments:
Section 1.1.2, Purpose: Added High Fire Hazard Severity Zone to the scope. Section 101.1, Title: Amended to formally adopt the CWUIC as “Wildland-Urban Interface Code of the City of Richmond.”
Section 101.3.1, Application: Amended the definition to specify applicability to Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (HFHSZ), and Wildland-Urban Interface Areas adopted by the City of Richmond and to remove “additions and remodels of buildings originally constructed prior to July 1, 2008” as an exemption to the CWUIC.
Section 101.5, Additions or Alterations: Expanded the CWUIC enforcement to capture significant tenant improvements.
Section 202, Definitions: Added additional operational definitions (Substantial Addition; Substantial Alteration) as previously defined in the RMC Article VIII, Chapter 8.16.
Section 508, Non-combustible Fences: Added regulations and exceptions to special building construction.
Adoption of a new ordinance is required for the City of Richmond (“City”) to implement and enforce the proposed and existing local amendments. Without these amendments, the City would be limited to the minimum fire and life safety standards established by the California Building Standards Commission, which do not fully account for Richmond’s local conditions. The City’s varied topography, including hillside areas and the wildland–urban interface, presents increased fire hazards and challenges for emergency response. In addition, dense residential communities, and industrial facilities
(March 24, 2026)
with hazardous materials elevate the potential for rapid fire spread and complicate evacuation and firefighting efforts.
Adopting the local amendments are therefore necessary to enhance building construction, operational, and fire protection requirements to address local climatic, geological, and topographical factors. These modifications ensure that fire prevention, suppression, and life safety measures within Richmond are appropriately adapted to local risks and conditions, thereby improving public safety and resilience.
Recommended Action
Staff recommend that the City Council adopt the local amendments to the California Fire Code and California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, as detailed in the attached documents. The proposed ordinance amends the Richmond Municipal Code (RMC) Article VIII (Fire) Chapter 8.16 – Fire Prevention Code by adopting the 2025 CFC along with the local amendments and add section 8.16.100 to adopt the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code with local amendments (Attachment 4). The proposed ordinance, inter alia, establish minimum fire and life safety measures appropriate for the City of Richmond and enhance the City’s existing level of fire safety.
Next Steps
After the City Council adopts the ordinance, staff will file the ordinance with the California Building Standards Commission and the State Fire Marshal. Any local amendments adopted by the City shall not become effective or operative until such filing has occurred.
Environmental Findings
This ordinance is not subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the following sections of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3: (1) Section 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment); and (2) Section 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) because the subject ordinance has no potential for resulting in any significant physical change to the environment, either directly or indirectly.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – RMC Article VIII Chapter 8.16 (January 2023) Attachment 2 – RMC Article VIII Chapter 8.16 (Tracked Changes) Attachment 3 – RMC Article VIII Chapter 8.16 (Revised)
Attachment 4 – Ordinance