Overnight visitors allowed in Brunswick Co. churches

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Who can help the homeless? That was on the agenda for Brunswick County Commissioners Monday after it became a debate between churches and the fire marshal.

At issue was whether the homeless can sleep overnight in an offering church when the weather gets bad? The answer was no; not without costly changes. At tonight’s Brunswick County Commission meeting that answer changed.

The fire marshal says they have made an amendment to the fire code that would allow churches to house the homeless temporarily. The church must undergo an inspection, have appropriate exit signage and have someone awake 24 hours while the building is occupied. This allows the church to forgo installing expensive fire sprinkler systems. It’s a compromise both sides are happy with even if they aren’t all happy with the process.

“I’m very happy with the outcome. I wish it had been earlier,” said Rev. Donna Phelps, who was leading the charge to let the homeless stay overnight in churches.

“We use alternate methods that take the codes into account to provide an equivalent to what those codes are to be able to come up with a solution,” Fire Marshall Scott Garner said.

This alternate method wouldn’t just apply to folks wanting to house the homeless. It would also apply to places wanting to hold overnight summer camps, for example. Folks estimate there are more than 100 community churches in Brunswick County, and Rev. Phelps said 28 of them wanted to help the homeless last year. As of today, one church has already been inspected to be able to provide these services.