Fire Code Violation
In a local county courthouse the Clerk of Court hated fake
Christmas trees, so he always put up a real tree in the Clerk's
office every year. One year the Fire Marshal happened to do a
building inspection of the courthouse just before Christmas, while
the Clerk was out to lunch, and noticed the tree. In the belief
that the tree represented a fire hazard, he proceeded to write a
citation for a violation of the fire code, which prohibited "live"
trees in a public building, and gave it to the Clerk's assistant.
When the Clerk returned from lunch and was given the citation,
he hit the roof. Determined that no Fire Marshal was going to
spoil his Christmas, he decided to fight the citation. So he went
to the morgue in the adjoining police station, and asked the
Coroner for his help. The Coroner came over and put a toe tag on
the tree, listing the cause of death as "Being cut off at ground
level."
The Clerk called the Fire Marshal back to re-inspect, and
showed him the toe tag on the tree. He told him that when the
Coroner pronounces something "dead," it is LEGALLY dead, and
therefore the citation for having a "live" tree was obviously in
error, and wasn't worth the paper it was written on.
The Fire Marshal thought about it, and came to the realization
that, since he would have to pursue the fire code violation in that
very courtroom, this was probably one argument he wasn't going to
win. So he let them have their tree.
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT TRIUMPHS OVER THE GRINCHES OF THE WORLD ONCE
AGAIN!
It is quite evident that this Fire marshal did not know his
codes. NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, Chapter 31 prohibits
decorations of an explosive nature. Pine trees fall within this
criteria.