At the time of the explosion, Kansas City had adopted the Uniform Fire Code, 1982 Edition, for fire prevention and protection. Article III, Blasting, Section 14.33 Permit-Required, states that anyone doing any blasting within the City limits shall obtain a permit from the City Engineer.
All permits issued were under the Kansas City fire code, but there was nothing in the regulations requiring the City Engineer's office to notify the Kansas City Fire Marshal's office of any blasting operations. Also, the permit application did not require specific information in regard to type, quantity, or site location of the explosives to be employed.
An additional jurisdictional problem appears to exist regarding "State Enclave" legislation. The City Attorney's office rendered an opinion after this incident that, based on the provisions of Article IV, Section 29 of the Missouri Constitution and Section 227.030, RSMo (1986), the City has "no rights whatsoever" to enforce its code on State highway projects or their contractors . The City should not issue permits or do any construction inspection or supervision on the projects. Thus, the City Fire Marshal's office faces the dilemma between what it would like to do and what it can legally enforce. And the City Engineer apparently did not have jurisdiction to issue the permit it did!
Since the explosion, the Kansas City Fire Marshal's office has implemented changes that allow it to become cognizant of blasting material and blasting projects within their jurisdiction. All blasting permits now must be cleared through the Fire Marshal's office, as well as the City Engineer. Additionally, permit applications now require a more extensive description of the site project, the material being used, how it is stored, and a plot diagram showing storage locations. Hazardous material permits already were being registered in the Kansas City alarm office. Unusual conditions within structures (e.g., wild animals, people with physical impairments, and hazardous materials) have long been maintained
in a computer file there.
ATF -- The role of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) with respect to codes and enforcement is described in their explosives law and regulation handbook, ATF P 5400.7 (11/82). ATF oversees the manufacturing
of explosives and the licensing of any user of explosives. They have the authority to regulate and inspect at all times. However, they seldom are able to inspect all user locations simply because of manpower shortages and the mobility of user sites. Many inspections are done in response to reported compliance failures or other reported incidents.
Because they have not been provided with adequate resources, ATF has little choice but to adopt a passive approach to enforcing their regulations, placing the burden of compliance on affected individuals or organizations.
Under Section 843(b)(5) of the ATF handbook, user applicants must demonstrate and certify in writing that they are familiar with State laws and local ordinances relating to explosive materials for the location in which they intend to do business. ATF is not under any obligation to inform the fire marshal or fire department about any explosive material over which they have regulatory power. ATF does not issue site specific permits or licenses; rather, the license is issued to the user. Local code does not supersede ATF guidelines, though the ATF handbook implies that users should comply with local codes.
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