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ALARM BOX Alarm Box: Simple safety steps help pass inspections Comment By Margueritte Hickman Ashland Fire & Rescue DailyTidings.com By Margueritte Hickman Ashland Fire & Rescue Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 5:24 PM By Margueritte Hickman Ashland Fire & Rescue Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 5:24 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Alarm Box: Here's your chance to do some spring cleaning • Tips to prevent falls and prevent fires, at any age • Alarm Box: Make sure emergency responders can find you • Shocking facts about electrical safety » Social News For today’s Alarm Box I will try to give you the inside scoop on fire inspections. A fire inspection is when we look at either a new or existing building and apply the fire code. There are about 1,300 occupancies in Ashland to inspect. All of our firefighters are trained as Company Inspectors, a certification bestowed on them by the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office. Their training is based on the Oregon Fire Code, which applies throughout the state of Oregon and is also adopted by the Ashland Municipal Code. The firefighters complete inspections of the business offices, retail stores and apartment complexes throughout the city. While our goal is to complete annual inspections for all of our businesses, our staffing only permits biennial inspections in most of our businesses. Three firefighters are completing their certification as a Fire Inspector 1. They provide inspections of what we call target hazards, which include warehouses, manufacturing and multistory occupancies. They also complete inspections in travelers’ accommodations and handle more complex issues that arise in other inspections. Restaurants, bars, churches, schools, daycares, the hospital and care facilities are assigned to me. I also work with our building department to accomplish the fire alarm, fire sprinkler and kitchen hood suppression system inspections in new construction and remodels. This is the only time that we will take a complete look at these systems, and we want them to be installed properly. We rely on these systems to protect the people, the buildings, the stuff inside and to help firefighters. So, what do we look for in our inspections of government and business buildings, multi-family residential buildings and schools? The fire code is about 400 pages, but we narrow that down to a couple pages of common code violations found at www.ashland.or.us/inspections . Here’s a sampling of a few things we look for and why: • Exits need to be clear, doors open easily, and the locking mechanisms can’t lock people inside. (The code does allow businesses with only one exit to have a keyed deadbolt on the inside. The code assumes that if the business is open, the door will be unlocked.) This allows people to readily get out of the building in an emergency. • Exit signs must remain illuminated and the battery backup needs to work. Not all exits are required to have signs, but when they are in place, they are required to work. This allows people to see where the exits are. • Fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems are required to be serviced annually by a professional. Systems are verified to be on and in normal status. If the annual inspection indicates the need for repairs, we make sure those are addressed. • Address signs may sound simple, but some are difficult to see. Many things can happen to an address sign. It can be removed when the building is painted, painted over, or vegetation can grow over it. Check your address, both at home and work, to make sure it is visible from the street. • Hydrants are required to have at least three feet of clearance and to be visible from the street. Vegetation and fences are the biggest culprits to encroach on their space. Our inspection program was reinstated in 2009. I believe our community is safer for it. The Alarm Box, a column with local public safety information, appears triweekly in the Tidings. Margueritte Hickman is a division chief/fire marshal with Ashland Fire & Rescue. Email topic suggestions to her at margueritte.hickman @ashland.or.us. By Margueritte Hickman Ashland Fire & Rescue DailyTidings.com By Margueritte Hickman Ashland Fire & Rescue Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 5:24 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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