The Fire Marshal Signs Off on Commercial Building in Comal County

When folks think of county building requirements out here, they picture the Engineer's Office handling septic and driveways. But there's a second desk a lot of people don't expect: the Comal County Fire Marshal at 145 David Jonas Drive handles building permits and inspections for new and remodeled structures that touch fire safety and code compliance.

That's the office to call before you frame out a restaurant kitchen, open a retail space, or remodel anything the public walks into. They review plans for exits, sprinklers, and occupancy, then inspect to make sure the finished building matches. The same office runs fire-prevention education across the county and investigates fires where arson is suspected or someone's been hurt.

A metal barn on your own acreage usually isn't their concern; a building strangers drive into is. Where it gets tangled is the overlap, since a project inside a city's limits or its ETJ can face city fire codes on top of the county's review. The Fire Marshal's office at 830-643-3748 will tell you straight whether your build needs their sign-off, and that one call early beats a red-tag the week before you hoped to open.