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Winter Garden has the strongest local fire code of any city on this site. It does not simply adopt the Florida Fire Prevention Code — it amends NFPA 1 to demand more, and the city says so plainly, stating that its amendments provide a higher level of protection than the state code specifies. If you are buying, leasing or building anything in Winter Garden, section 46-77 is the provision that will decide your budget.
The sprinkler rule that catches everyone
City code § 46-77, as amended by Ordinance No. 24-16, adopted May 9, 2024, requires automatic sprinklers in the occupancies NFPA 1 already lists plus all of these:
| Occupancy | Sprinklers required when |
|---|---|
| New commercial buildings | Gross floor area exceeds 6,000 sq ft |
| Existing commercial buildings | Over 6,000 sq ft and a change of occupational classification occurs under Chapter 3 of the Florida Building Code |
| Existing commercial buildings | Any addition brings the building over 6,000 sq ft |
| Residential converted to commercial | Conversion results in over 6,000 sq ft |
| Hotels and motels | Always — regardless of square footage or number of stories |
| Multifamily, 3 or more dwelling units | Always — regardless of square footage or number of stories |
| Any building over 40 feet in height | Throughout the entire building, regardless of occupancy or construction type |
| Ordinary hazard group 3, extra hazard groups 1 and 2 (NFPA 13) | As deemed necessary by the city fire chief |
6,000, not 4,000 — check the source you are reading. The original Ordinance 05-20 set the commercial threshold at 4,000 square feet, and PDFs of that superseded text are still hosted in places business owners find them, including state document libraries. Ordinance 24-16 raised it to 6,000 in May 2024. Verify against the current Municode text before designing to a number you found in a PDF.
Four counting rules that decide whether you cross the line
- Additions count with the original. New construction and additions to an existing structure are considered part of the original structure for the purpose of determining total square footage. Three separate 2,200 square foot additions to a 1,000 square foot building are not three small projects — they are a 7,600 square foot building requiring sprinklers.
- The more stringent category wins. If a building falls into more than one category, the stricter requirement applies.
- Uncategorised means commercial. Any building or occupancy not otherwise categorized is treated as a commercial building for the purposes of the section.
- Gross square footage includes mezzanines. It is the total floor area of the building including all areas under roof plus mezzanines — not leasable area, not conditioned area. A mezzanine added for storage can be the thing that crosses the threshold.
Who to contact, and what the code sets in fees
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fire Marshal | Assistant Chief Trenton Campbell — 407-877-5175 ext. 6338 |
| Office | 1 E Cypress Street, Winter Garden, FL 34787 |
| Firework permit (§ 46-62) | $50.00 — covers sale, on-site handling, manufacturing and storage of consumer fireworks; inspection also required |
| Fire hydrant flow test (§ 46-62) | $50.00 per hydrant if conducted by the fire department |
| Fire plan review (§ 46-58) | Non-refundable, paid at building permit application, collected by the building department; amount set by city commission resolution |
| Fire permit (§ 46-59) | Calculated like building permit fees under § 18-57, based on the cost of the fire protection system |
| Re-inspection (§ 46-60) | Re-inspection occurs only after payment of the applicable fee; schedule set by commission resolution |
| Burn permits (§ 46-61) | Repealed by Ordinance 24-16, May 9, 2024 |
Two structural points from the code worth internalising. First, separate inspections and permits are required for fire protection systems — the fire permit is not folded into the building permit. Second, the fire department reviews all building plans submitted to the building department, so fire review is not something you opt into.
Plant Street, and why the local code exists
The Winter Garden Downtown Historic District is roughly 100 acres bounded by Woodland, Tremaine, Henderson and Lakeview Streets, listed on the National Register in 1996, with contributing structures including the Garden Theatre and the Dillard & Boyd Building, the earliest verified examples dating to 1912. Plant Street through the middle of it is now one of Central Florida’s densest restaurant and brewery rows, sitting directly on the West Orange Trail.
That combination — century-old commercial buildings, packed assembly occupancies, commercial kitchens, and constant pedestrian traffic — is a reasonable explanation for why Winter Garden went further than the state code. The specific issues in this stock:
- Change of occupancy is the trigger. Converting a 1912 retail building over 6,000 square feet to a restaurant is a change of occupational classification under Chapter 3 of the Florida Building Code, which under § 46-77(a)(2) pulls in the full sprinkler requirement. This is the single largest hidden cost in a Plant Street deal, and it needs answering before the lease is signed.
- Class K plus hood suppression in every kitchen — Class K within 30 feet of the appliance line in addition to ABC units, and a hood system on a current semi-annual service tag. Breweries add CO2 handling and mixed assembly-plus-production use in one tenant space.
- Occupant load in assembly space. Enclosing a patio for winter, adding a private dining room, or adding tables for a festival weekend all move the number, and exit count, exit width, panic hardware and emergency lighting coverage move with it.
- Egress in deep narrow storefronts where the rear exit has become a walk-in, a storage area or a keg run.
- Concealed spaces and layered renovation in buildings that have been remodelled a dozen times, where nobody has confirmed what is above the drop ceiling.
Outside downtown
Winter Garden’s growth along SR-50 and the Winter Garden Village area is conventional newer multi-tenant retail. Here the 6,000 square foot rule usually bites at the building level rather than the tenant level — the shell is already sprinklered — and the tenant-level issues become the standard multi-tenant set: travel distance measured within your own premises, unsealed demising wall penetrations left from build-out, obstructed rear exits, and sprinkler heads obstructed by racking or new ceiling work. Note that the 40-foot height rule applies to every building regardless of occupancy, which reaches newer four-story mixed-use construction that owners often assume falls outside a residential sprinkler requirement.
Winter Garden fire code questions
When does Winter Garden require sprinklers?
Winter Garden amends NFPA 1 section 13.3.1.1 locally, at city code section 46-77. Automatic sprinklers are required in new commercial buildings whose gross square footage exceeds 6,000; in existing commercial buildings over 6,000 square feet on a change of occupational classification; where additions push an existing commercial building over 6,000 square feet; in residential structures converted to commercial use resulting in over 6,000 square feet; in hotels and motels regardless of size or number of stories; in multifamily buildings of three or more dwelling units regardless of size or stories; in every building over 40 feet in height regardless of occupancy or construction type; and in ordinary hazard group 3 and extra hazard group 1 and 2 occupancies as the fire chief deems necessary.
Is the threshold 4,000 or 6,000 square feet?
6,000. The original 2005 ordinance set it at 4,000 square feet, and copies of that superseded text still circulate — including on state-hosted document libraries. Ordinance No. 24-16, adopted May 9, 2024, amended section 46-77 to 6,000. Always check the current Municode text before relying on a PDF of an ordinance.
How is gross square footage measured for the sprinkler threshold?
As the total floor area of the building including all areas under roof and any mezzanines. New construction and additions to an existing structure are counted together as one structure for the purpose of the threshold, so a series of small additions can cross the line even though no single one of them would. Where a building falls into more than one category, the more stringent one applies, and any occupancy not otherwise categorized is treated as commercial.
Who is the fire marshal in Winter Garden?
Assistant Chief Trenton Campbell, Fire Marshal, at 407-877-5175 extension 6338, based at 1 E Cypress Street, Winter Garden, FL 34787. Winter Garden Fire Rescue is a city department — Orange County Fire Rescue is not the authority having jurisdiction inside the city limits.
What fire permit fees does Winter Garden publish?
The code itself sets two: a firework permit at $50.00, covering sale, on-site handling, manufacturing and storage of consumer fireworks with an inspection required; and a fire hydrant flow test at $50.00 per hydrant if conducted by the fire department. Both are collected by the fire department. Plan review and re-inspection fees are set separately by resolution of the city commission rather than fixed in the code, so ask for the current adopted schedule.
Do burn permits still exist in Winter Garden?
No. Section 46-61, which covered burn permits, was repealed by Ordinance 24-16 in May 2024. If you are working from older guidance that references a Winter Garden burn permit, it is out of date.
Where these Winter Garden figures come from
Fees and procedures are set locally and change. Every figure on this page was taken from the official source below on — confirm the current amount with the department before you write a check.
- Winter Garden Code of Ordinances, Chapter 46 — Fire Prevention and Protection (§ 46-77 as amended by Ord. No. 24-16, May 9, 2024) — Municode Chapter 46
- Winter Garden Fire Rescue — Office of the Fire Marshal — cwgdn.com/765
- Winter Garden Fire & Rescue Department — cwgdn.com/772
- Winter Garden Downtown Historic District, National Register listing — Winter Garden Downtown Historic District
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