Building Permits and Inspections

The Fire Prevention Division of the Lyons Fire Protection District is responsible for completing plan reviews involving new residential or commercial construction, remodels of commercial occupancies, and all fire protection and detection systems. Lyons Fire Personnel are also responsible for conduction Fire Safety Inspections of commercial businesses on an annual basis.

Fire Prevention Division

The Division of Fire Prevention within Lyons Fire Protection District handles any fire code enforcement issues that may arise. Personnel within the Division are involved in the review, approval, and inspection of special events as requested, and the review, approval, and inspection of applications for open burning within the Lyons Fire District. The Division is responsible for all fires and explosions that may occur within the bounds of the Lyons Fire Protection District.

If you have any questions regarding a project or a current task in our system, please direct your questions to our Fire Marshal at firemarshal@lyonsfire.org.

Fire Inspections


Lyons Fire Protection District currently operates under the 2021 International Fire Code and 2021 International Building Code. Requirements may vary throughout the district depending on the county or town jurisdiction. Lyons Fire Protection District covers three government entities: The Town of Lyons, Boulder County, and Larimer County. This means that there may be different code requirements based on the code adopted by each entity.

Photograph of fire inspector pointing the gauge of a full fire extinguisher

Building Projects


Any change of use on all commercial buildings must be approved by the Fire Marshal in conjunction with the building official whose entity the building is in. Plans must be submitted to firemarshal@lyonsfire.org. Businesses will not be allowed to operate without an approved plan review approval and final final inspection.

A full set of construction documents created by a design professional must be submitted in an electronic PDF format and sent to plans@lyonsfire.org. The review period for plans, including remodeling, new construction, and residential and commercial properties, will be 15 days starting at the date of receipt by Lyons Fire Protection District. Any questions or concerns can be emailed to plans@lyonsfire.org.

Plan reviews are based on the 2021 International Fire Code (IFC). Applicants should be familiar with the applicable codes for the project location before submitting plans. Please contact us at (303) 823-6611 to verify what code your location would be under.

Residential building projects outside of an area where fire hydrants are located will require:

  • A minimum of a 2,400-gallon water cistern (size may increase depending on the total square footage of the structure). All cisterns are required to be inspected by the Fire Marshal or his/her designee.

  • A residential (13-D) sprinkler system (with an alternative power source).

Once everything is complete and the final inspection is done, Lyons Fire will sign off through the specific governmental entity.

All plan reviews and some inspections will require a fee. Please refer to our fee schedule for specifics.

Photograph of building under construction

Fire Investigations


Any fire or explosion that occurs within the Lyons Fire Protection District shall be investigated by the Fire Marshal and/or certified fire department investigators. The investigators work cooperatively with local law enforcement agencies when necessary.

Photograph of two fire chief officers talking on the scene of a fire