This is the kind of thing I would expect to be cited by the fire marshal. Usually that is actually a fireman/inspector from the local fire district but virtually all businesses get a spot check now and then. They walk through and check fire extinguishers, exit signs, room load signage, panel accessibility, egress routes and other life safety issues. This should have rung a bell with them.
Fire Prevention is responsible for all that you mention above. Recently was 'privitized' to two civilian inspectors, as opposed to the five uniform (Fire Dept) inspectors. The perfect world scenario is minimum once a year inspections. Aparently, this bldg fell thru the cracks, and this 'new' process went unnoticed. Amazing what you find when doing clean-ups of old permits!
