By Bonnie Culverhouse
The safety of businesses is every bit as important as residences to first responders so, thanks to a council-approved ordinance, Fire Chief Brian Williams has begun a program that includes an access box system on all commercial buildings in the city that have an automatic alarm or fire suppression system.
“Businesses would have six months to install the box which would allow the fire department access to the building,” Williams said, adding it is a Knox Box system, which is a brand name. “They are the most secure box in the country.”
Williams predicts the box will cost the business owner between $300 and $400, however, they are high-rated security boxes that are tamper proof.
“The only people that can order a key to the box are the city clerk and the fire chief,” he added. “That’s in the ordinance. The fire truck will have an electronic device the key is attached to and unless you put in your security code, you can’t get it out. That box also has a time/date stamp, and if we don’t have a call associated (with its removal), there will be repercussions associated with that employee … so there is no more security that we can do for that key.”
Currently, said the chief, there are multiple codes for multiple businesses.
“We have a key box full of about 40 keys, and we have to go through those keys to find the right one,” he said. “This way, we will have one key that fits everything.”
The program is also beneficial for neighborhoods with security gates.
“Most of them have padlocks on their fireboxes or gates, and we don’t have keys to those padlocks,” Williams said. “This ordinance requires a Knox Box padlock, and we have one key that fits every padlock ordered from the company. They are all UL (United Laboratories) approved, all tamper resistant.”
As Williams said, if commercial buildings have automatic alarm or fire suppression systems, they will be required by the ordinance to have the Knox Box system installed, however, he recommends all commercial locations have it.
There are exemptions.
“Exempted buildings are government buildings, nursing homes – 24-hour businesses and businesses with 24-hour security guards, but we still recommend they all have one,” he added. “It’s just extra security and precaution.”