Fire Prevention and Investigation

Short Term Rentals

Short Term Rentals

RCW 64.37.030 Consumer safety.

1.  All short-term rental operators who offer dwelling units, or portions thereof, for short-term rental use in the state of Washington must:

  1. Provide contact information to all short-term rental guests during a guest's stay. The contact must be available to respond to inquiries at the short-term rental during the length of stay;

  2. Provide that their short-term rental is in compliance with RCW 19.27.530 and any rules adopted by the state building code council regarding the installation of carbon monoxide alarms; and

  3. Post the following information in a conspicuous place within each dwelling unit used as a short-term rental:

    1. The short-term rental street address;

    2. The emergency contact information for summoning police, fire, or emergency medical services;

    3. The floor plan indicating fire exits and escape routes;

    4. The maximum occupancy limits; and

    5. The contact information for the operator or designated contact.


2.  Short-term rental platforms must provide short-term rental operators with a summary of the consumer safety requirements in subsection (1) of this section.

3.  For a first violation of this section, the city or county attorney must issue a warning letter to the owner or operator. An owner that  violates this section after receiving a warning letter is guilty of a class 2 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

R310.2.1 Minimum Opening Area

Emergency escape and rescue openings shall have a net clear opening of not less than 5.7 square feet (0.530 M^2). The net clear opening dimensions required by this section shall be obtained by the normal operation of the emergency escape and rescue opening from the inside. The net clear height of the opening shall be not less than 24 inches (610mm) and the net clear width shall be not less than 20 inches (508mm).

Exception: Grade floor openings shall have a net clear opening area of not less than 5 square ft (0.465 m^2).

Please note: A window 24x20 inches will not meet the 5.7sq ft requirement or even the 5 sq ft requirement for a grade floor. One, or both dimensions must be larger to satisfy the net clear opening requirement.

The fire extinguisher needs to be rated at a minimum of 2A-10BC. You can mostly find this on the label of the extinguisher next to the word “Classification:”.

The top of the fire extinguisher shall not exceed 5ft from the floor, and the bottom shall not go below 4 inches toward the floor. Between 5 ft and 4 inches. We recommend mounting your fire extinguisher towards exits in plain view.

Operating as a Short-Term Rental you are required to have a minimally rated 2A-10BC fire extinguisher within 75 ft. of each part of the rental.

Fire extinguishers need to be serviced by a fire extinguisher serving company at a minimum of 12 months, they will put a tag on the extinguishers stating the month and year the fire extinguisher was serviced.

Yes, in the immediate vicinity, may be found in a hallway, open space, living room, etc.

It is not required. If you’d like you may always choose to go above the requirement.

Yes. This will be checked during the inspection, even if the inspection takes place outside of the burn ban period.

Propane fire-pits do not require an additional physical security measure to restrict guest use. If propane fire pits need to be secured during extreme fire danger, the fuel tank may be removed/locked and the pit is secured (This is a rare occurrence).

Posted: 02/24/2023 11:08 AM
Last Updated: 02/24/2023 01:09 PM

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  • 26
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    Planning Commission - April 26th, 2023

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