BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia bed and breakfast owners want lawmakers to change the state fire code that treats any facility with more than three guests as commercial motels.
Owners told a legislative panel during interim meetings Monday at the Capitol in Charleston that a waiver for homes letting out six or fewer rooms to tourists would ease the burden on bed and breakfast owners.
Kathleen Panek, president of Mountain State Association of Bed and Breakfasts, told the panel that such tourist facilities are being regarded as hotels and motels that accommodate a larger number of paying guests.
``We are not,'' she said. ``We are mostly old houses that are being saved from destruction. We are, in some cases, historical homes.''
One owner said the code is so rigid that probably 95 of the 100-plus bed and breakfast homes operating in the state are out of compliance.
State Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis said he won't compromise on safety.
Old houses are beautiful architecturally, but are nightmares for firefighters, he said. All should have fire escapes. Emergency lighting is another item sorely needed in most of them.
Rather than base a fire code on the actual number of rooms leased temporarily to tourists, Lewis said he prefers a standard number of allowable guests, since half a dozen rooms could mean 12 adults and several children assigned to each.
``We don't want to get marked as the one killing tourism in West Virginia, but we want it to be safe,'' he said.
Sen. Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson, co-chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee, said he wants the committee to resolve the matter in the November interims.
