The following are updates from the City of Georgetown’s website – for additional details beyond these updates, please visit the city’s question and answer section of the article found here.
10/1/2021 – “Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan updated families and the news media on Friday, Oct. 1, on the investigation of the fire at a dog kennel facility in Georgetown, as well as proposed changes to City fire codes. The fire on Sept. 18 led to the tragic deaths of 75 dogs boarded at the Ponderosa Pet Resort, 2518 N. Austin Ave. Although firefighters responded to the 911 call in less than five minutes, none of the dogs in the facility survived. Twenty-five firefighters responded to the blaze.
Fire investigators with the Georgetown Fire Department have determined the fire started about 10:40 p.m. in the main kennel/boarding area of the facility. Probable ignition sources are still being evaluated. Sullivan said that investigators are focusing on devices in the kennel area that potentially malfunctioned.
Building material inside the kennel area may have contributed to an increased spread of smoke from the fire. The facility does not have monitored smoke or heat detection devices or a fire suppression system, such as sprinklers. Federal, state, and Georgetown fire codes do not require sprinkler systems for the use and size of the facility.
The Fire Department expects to have more details to share about the cause of the fire as the investigation continues.
“While the investigation is not complete, we have all the information we need to propose changes to our current fire codes,” Sullivan said.
The City of Georgetown is asking for input from the public on possible fire and building code changes that could be implemented to prevent future tragedies.
The Fire Department is drafting potential changes to the City’s fire codes that include a formal definition and criteria for animal care facilities. Options include monitored smoke and/or heat detection devices; building material requirements; access to exterior areas of safety; fire suppression systems, such as sprinklers; and/or 24-hour onsite staffing. The City plans to bring proposed changes to the Building Standards Commission on Oct. 14 before presenting possible changes to the City Council in November or December.
The Fire Department is currently conducting inspections of 26 animal care facilities in Georgetown and its surrounding extraterritorial jurisdiction area, which include animal boarding facilities and veterinary offices that board animals. The department also has added animal-care facilities to its list of structures that receive annual inspections in the future.”
9/23/2021 – “The Georgetown City Council is working to create a permanent memorial for the lost family members. Council is set to approve the funding at its meeting Tuesday.
“The loss the families experienced of their loved ones on Saturday is a tragedy and one that breaks my heart,” Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said. “While it does not heal the pain the families feel, the City would like to establish a memorial at our Bark Park to honor the 75 dogs — family members, really — that lost their life. Our Council will be directing staff this upcoming Tuesday to begin the process in establishing this memorial and working with the families.”
9/22/2021 – “We do not have additional information on the investigation; however, we wanted to address some questions and concerns we have been receiving in regard to our kennel permitting ordinance and occupancy requirements at pet-boarding facilities.
City Manager David Morgan goes through this information in the video below. We want to make a few things clearer:
- The kennel permit ordinance regulates such requirements as food, water, sanitary conditions, and health. It does not require sprinklers, smoke alarms, or 24/7 staffing.
- Failure to obtain a kennel permit does not mean such businesses cannot operate. Ponderosa Pet Resort does have a Certificate of Occupancy which does allow them to operate in the facility.
- We have not been actively educating about or enforcing the kennel permitting ordinance — something we know we need to improve and are working diligently toward. We have an active, dedicated animal control team who respond to any concerns about animal health and safety.
- Because we haven’t been enforcing the kennel permitting ordinance, we do not expect to issue a citation to any of the three businesses we know of, including Ponderosa, for not having a kennel permit. But we want to reiterate: Obtaining a kennel permit does not require fire suppression.
- We are working through recommended updates to our fire codes, and expect to bring those before City Council this fall. Relevant to pet-boarding facilities, we expect to recommend adding a section about animal occupancy into our City fire code, which may require smoke alarms and/or sprinkler systems in kennels and pet-boarding facilities regardless of square footage. We want your feedback on these updates, and have set up a comment box below to collect them.
- First responders reported that the majority of kennels had one occupant. There were a few larger kennels that had two dogs, as well as several kennels that were unoccupied. Based on calls for service rendered at the facility since it opened, we have no reason to believe the facility did not meet our animal health standards.
- Codes relevant to occupancy limits are subjective to allow for flexibility based on the size of the space and the size of the animals.”
9/20/2021 – “The investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing and is expected to take at least into next week as we continue to review the scene, including watching video recordings and conducting interviews. Preliminary investigations have given us no information that indicates the cause of the fire was criminal in nature, and it is too soon to comment further. However, we have reached a point in our investigation to be able to release the pets back to their families. The owner of the facility is working to reunite the dogs with their families at an alternate location. Families should expect to receive an email notification from the owner today.
“As part of this investigation, we have been working closely with the owner, and our combined focus is to reunite families with loved ones,” Fire Chief John Sullivan said. “We understand people want answers. We want answers, too. We have to make sure we’re evaluating all the facts, so we can understand what happened, so we can better prevent this in the future.”
The business has confirmed 59 families lost loved ones Saturday. The City is not confirming identifies of the dogs or their families.
Federal, state, and Georgetown fire codes do not require sprinkler systems for the use and size of the facility. City code, available here, requires sprinklers for occupancies listed/operating as a business of at least 10,000 square feet. The facility involved in the fire has a square footage of 8,125. The City’s requirement supersedes and is more restrictive than national code requirements. City has been reviewing its fire codes, and we expect to present recommended updates to City Council in fall 2021. As a result of this incident, we also will evaluate options that could impose additional safeguards in animal care facilities. The Georgetown Fire Department last inspected the facility in 2015, at which time we found no violations to the fire code. The use of the facility is considered a low fire risk, and the use and structure have not changed since the inspection.
The City of Georgetown Animal Services Department regulates the care and keeping of animals in kennels through a 2013 ordinance linked here. The ordinance regulates such requirements as food, water, sanitary conditions, and health. It does not require sprinklers, smoke alarms, or 24/7 staffing. All kennels within the Georgetown city limits are required to have a kennel permit. The business from Saturday’s fire does not have a kennel permit; however, the requirements of the permit do not address such safety measures as fire suppression and warning systems. We know this business is not the only one to operate without a kennel permit, and the City is working to increase awareness, education, and enforcement about this requirement.
Additional updates will be provided as soon as possible, here, to local media, and on the City’s social media channels.”
9/19/2021 – “A fire at a pet-boarding facility in Georgetown Saturday night led to the deaths of 75 dogs.
Georgetown Fire Department responded to 911 calls about 11 p.m. at Ponderosa Pet Resort, 2518 N. Austin Ave. Crews arrived on scene in four and a half minutes. By that time, the facility was engulfed in smoke from the fire. None of the 75 dogs staying at the resort survived. No humans were injured or died in the fire. Twenty-five firefighters responded to the blaze.
“We know each dog that died in this fire was a cherished member of someone’s family, so our heart goes out to all those who were affected by this tragic fire,” Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan said. “We believe the dogs at the facility likely died due to smoke inhalation, not the flames from the fire. We are working as quickly as we can to include the investigation, so pets can be returned to their grieving family members as soon as possible.”
Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause and origin of the fire, as well as whether any fire suppression or smoke alarms were present. Federal, state, and Georgetown fire codes do not require sprinkler systems for the use and size of the facility.
The owner of the facility has been cooperative with the investigation. The facility will contact family members of the dogs to make arrangements to retrieve their deceased pets.”
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