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Not long after a fire destroyed a five-story wood-frame building under construction in Northeast Portland this past August, Portland Fire & Rescue began reviewing its security requirements for jobsites.

Federal and local investigators eventually determined that fire was arson, and requirements at the time – including installation of a chain-link fence around the site’s perimeter – had not deterred someone from igniting the blaze, Assistant Fire Marshal Doug Jones said. The structure, at the corner of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Monroe Street, and two adjacent homes were destroyed.

“It got our attention and we decided to do something about it,” Jones said. “Before, we required fencing, but we decided that was not good enough.”

Multistory wood structures, often in residential neighborhoods, are particularly vulnerable to arson, he said.

“They are like a pile of kindling sitting there,” he said.

Now, contractors constructing a four- or five-story wood-frame building in the city must have full-time site security, either with a work crew present or someone on patrol. Other new rules require that fire doors and sprinkler systems be installed as buildings are being erected.

The rules are flexible so that builders’ individual needs can be met, Jones said. Nevertheless, contractors are concerned about they will affect construction cost and practicality.

In February, the week the new regulations were issued, the fire marshal started showing up at one of Walsh Construction‘s jobsites, said Marty Houston, the company’s quality director.

The on-site security requirement could cost between $800 and $1,000 per week to implement, Houston said. Other regulations, such as installation of automatic sprinkler piping and heads upon completion of each floor, are not practical from sequencing and scheduling standpoints, he said.

“We’re not going to put a sprinkler system in during winter and have it freeze,” he said. “We’re also not going to add sprinklers as the building goes up. Everything has to be framed before the system is put in place.”

Walsh executives met with the fire marshal’s office to discuss alternative ways that the intention of the new regulations could be accomplished. A lot of gray areas still exist, Houston said.

Erik Timmons, a principal with Beaverton-based Yorke and Curtis, said he heard about the new requirements through an architect who was filing plans for a four-story multifamily project with the city of Portland.

Yorke and Curtis typically does not employ a 24-hour security watch, but does use a perimeter fence and cameras as deterrents, Timmons said.

“I understand where it’s coming from, but to require something like that seems a little heavy-handed,” he said. “For an average 10-month project, to have that every night and all weekends – that’s a pretty significant cost.”

At the Northeast Portland site where the fire was set last summer, Pavilion Construction is preparing to begin building a new five-story, 46-unit apartment complex. Its previous effort was about 60 percent finished at the time of the fire, company President Brian Gerritz said.

Since the fire, Pavilion has met with the fire marshal and updated the security on all of its projects in the Portland area, Gerritz said.

“We’re holding dialogue prior to going vertical with wood-frame (construction),” he said.

Pavilion will build the project with tighter security – including night patrol – on the site, Gerritz said.

“Given the history, Pavilion will have staff and guards (there) during periods of vulnerability,” he said. “We feel at this site an active body is going to be our best method.”