A town in New York has decided that firefighters should no longer make company inspections of commercial properties for reasons that illustrate their ignorance. See article here.
Even though fire union representatives and firefighters explained how greater familiarization with commercial properties and their contents could save both lives and the properties involved, the town elected officials thought otherwise.
I write in my book about an incident where several of us find ourselves trapped in a flooded basement area beneath a burning theatre. The stairway had collapsed and we found ourselves in a bizarre situation right out of a Hollywood movie. The water level was rising and there seemed to be no way out. Then, a couple of us remembered being there months before during a company fire inspection, and recalled that the western "wall" was in fact an old sliding metal fire door. We pushed it to the right and were able to escape from the now chest high water via another unaffected stairwell.
Without that earlier inspection months before, the outcome could have been much different.
Firefighters benefit from such inspections by learning about interior obstacles, potential collapse areas, where to access utility controls, you name it. They can visualize potential paths of escape and identify materials that may react to heat, flames or water. Company officers can ask questions, and point out possible hazards or obstacles to property owners or managers on the spot, thereby avoiding the dreaded Fire Code Violation citation.
The municipality benefits by having an annually updated listing of property owners, managers, emergency numbers to call when needed, and other contact information that can help the town evaluate and plan future development. The inspections yield a valuable demographic snapshot of the business population as well - perhaps even supported through business registration fees.
Reducing the information and knowledge of any firefighting force is just plain dumb.
