WATERLOO -- A Black Hawk County decision to enforce fire safety codes could put many ghosts and goblins out of work.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to reject an ordinance amendment that would have allowed haunted house attractions in the rural areas to post a $1 million liability insurance policy instead of following the Uniform Building Code's requirement for sprinklers.

Board members supporting the current requirements said they couldn't cut corners on public safety matters or open the county up to massive lawsuit liability by downgrading the life safety codes despite concerns the decision could force two rural haunted attractions out of business.

Supervisor Leon Mosley, who voted in favor of the $1 million insurance alternative, said the sprinkler requirement -- which has been on the books but not enforced since 1985 -- solves a problem that doesn't exist.

"I'm not going to deprive kids of good wholesome fun when we've never had a problem," Mosley said. "The haunted house people I deal with here, the first and foremost thing in their mind is the people's safety.

"There has not been an accident, anything wrong, no problems," added Mosley, who presented a petition signed by 570 residents in favor of "keeping the haunted houses open."

Assistant County Attorney Pete Burk noted the sprinkler requirement "has not been vigorously enforced in the past." But he said the county attorney's office will prosecute violations in light of the board's decision.

Burk said the proposal to replace sprinklers with a $1 million liability policy could leave the county in a more perilous situation if a fire did injure or kill someone, allowing the plaintiff's attorney to argue the county knowingly took steps to lower the safety standards.

"It's going to be a big time lawsuit if something happens out there," he said.

Building Official Louis Cutwright also supported the existing requirements for sprinklers and was joined by former Waterloo Fire Chief Frank Magsamen, who is now running for a seat on the Board of Supervisors in the November general election.

"A sprinkler system is the tool that gives the maximum amount of protection if a fire occurs," said Magsamen, noting fires at similar facilities in other states have resulted in loss of life.

Supervisor Robert Smith said he struggled with the decision and had hoped an alternative could be found. But he said he couldn't live with himself if he voted against the sprinkler systems and a disaster occurred.

"I certainly don't want to see the haunted houses closed," he said. "But I can no longer say I didn't know. If it happened, the one time it happened, I can't look anybody in the face and say I didn't know. I've got to sleep at night."

Dave Myers and Kevin Schults, who operate the Heart of Darkness Haunted House and other operations at Heartland Farms, said the decision could force them to close that attraction at the farm on Osage Road.

"There are no water mains out there," Schults said. "The cost of running a water main out there is insurmountable."

Schults said Heart of Darkness has six commercial fire extinguishers and 12 additional extinguishers and a staff of people trained to operate them. The materials in the attraction are flame resistant while other safety features include multiple exits, a light system, crow's nest and cameras to monitor the operation.

"Our number one job is to make sure people are safe," he said. "The amount of security we have in that thing is above and beyond (sprinklers)."

Myers said the National Fire Protection Association standards allow for "alternative but equal" protection measures, although Cutwright said those have not been adopted by the county.

"There is more than one way to provide safety than a sprinkler system," Myers said. "There's a lot of fear-mongering going on here. The real focus is someone trying to shut down a competitor who's kicking his butt in the marketplace."

Myers was referring to Gary Hall, who previously operated the Frightmares Horrid Hollow Haunted House at the National Cattle Congress grounds which shut down when Waterloo city officials began enforcing the sprinkler requirement. Hall is building a new sprinkled haunted house in Evansdale and has been urging the supervisors to enforce the building codes it has in place.

"You know as well as I do if anyone gets burned up out there it's going to cost more than a million dollars," Hall said. "I'm not trying to shut down one of my competitors, but this should be fairly administered across the board."

Heartland Farms is not the only existing haunted house in jeopardy because of the safety requirements.

Panic Park, operated by the county's conservation board at the Rotary Reserve, also does not meet the life safety requirements.

"The reality is, if you've got to have sprinklers, we're closed down," said Vern Fish, County Conservation Board executive director.

Supervisor John Miller said the county stands to lose $8,000 in revenue if Panic Park folds. He was discussing the matter with Fish after the meeting in hopes of finding a solution to keep the facility in operation.

Contact Tim Jamison at (319) 291-1577 or tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.