Hillsborough

Buckley Rumford Fireplaces
Hillsborough

1/7/09
John Mullins
Building and Inspection Department
1600 Floribunda Avenue
Hillsborough, CA 94010
(650) 375-7411
Fax No. (650) 375-7415
John Mullins was already aware of Regulation 6. Interestingly, he wondered, as I do, what authority the BAAQMD has to enforce Regulation 6 since it was not passed by the state legislture nor by Hillsborough.
He said they had to enforce the current rules so that, until we were approved by BAAQMD he could not issue a permit to build any Rumford fireplaces. He did say he would approve proposals to build masonry fireplaces with installed gas logs.
John also said that outdoor fireplaces might be approved if they were "cooking fireplaces" - so call it a BBQ.
Johm also made the good suggested that we contact all Bay Area building officials after we pass test and are approved by the BAAQMD.

Joe Morey at Peninsula Building Materials called and asked me to call Tony Sanchez at United Chimney which is how all this got started. Here is my report to Tony.
To: Tony Sanchez
From: Jim Buckley
Subject Rumford Fireplace Approval
Cc: Joe Morey
Tony,
I talked with John Mullins, Chief Building Official for Hillsborough (650 375 7411). He was aware of Regulation 6 passed by the BAAQMD which is on line at http://www.rumford.com/emissions/BayArea08.html
We seem to be in a Catch 22 situation in that the EPA hasn't yet endorsed the new ASTM standard as a "voluntary standard" and therefore we haven't tested to the new standard yet but the BAAQMD Regulation 6 is already in effect.
Here is what I would recommend - and I discussed this with John Mullins:
1) Apply for a permit to build the Rumford which John said they would approve if you tell them you plan to install gas logs in the fireplace. See the nice gas logs at http://www.rumford.com/store/gaslogs.html
2) Build one of the three "Certified Rumfords" described at http://www.rumford.com/manualca.html
3) I expect to re-test all three sizes - and maybe more - as soon as the EPA and BAAQMD agree on the rules and then we can issue you a label retroactively and you can go back and show them that you have installed a "Certified Rumford" in accordance to the new Regulation 6.
4) Note: There is a chance that we will be delayed, the rules will change, we won't pass the test, whatever - so I would advice your customer to be prepared to have to live with the gas log set if we are not successful. On the other hand I feel confident that we will get several Rumford models certified in the next few months. John Mullins and Eric Pop at BAAQMD both seem reasonable and friendly and I want to keep it that way so this plan is an open, above board, front door plan - not a way to get a permit by deception and then just not install the gas logs so you can burn wood. We will have to go back and get approval from John Mullins to burn wood after we are certified and listed on the BAAQMD list of approved fireplaces. We want to avoid getting a reputation for deception.
I look forward to hearing from you and to getting your contact information and maybe some pictures, so I can add you to our mason's list.
By the way, you will be pleased to hear that, without prompting, John Mullins commented that you do excellent work. It's nice to have a good reputation.
Best,
Jim Buckley