By: Erin Smith
The Elizabethtown Fire Department has implemented a fire marshal’s program to cover the town of Elizabethtown and the Elizabethtown Fire Department’s fire district as part of the department’s Community Risk Reduction program. Neil Murphy will serve as Fire Marshal and Ralph Rodriguez will serve as Assistant Fire Marshal for the department.
Murphy and Rodriguez will be responsible for among other things, determining the origin and cause of fires. Murphy said determining the origin and cause of a fire can help in identifying any life safety issues or fire hazard issues that may need to be addressed. For example, if the department sees an excessive number of fires involving a particular product on the market, they can contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Murphy said that the fire department’s fire investigators are certified and trained in fire investigation techniques. Murphy has an international certificate and 40 years of experience as a fire investigator. Rodriguez has 20 years of experience in the fire service and is working on achieving his state fire investigation certification. Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith and Firefighter Jimmy Mize are also working towards completing state fire investigation certifications, according to Murphy.
Rodriguez added that the Fire Marshals office will also be responsible for inspections and code enforcement as it relates to businesses in Elizabethtown and the department can also provide homeowners with a home safety evaluation. Upon request, they can also assist the county fire marshal’s office.
Murphy said the fire department’s Code Enforcement Inspectors also have to hold state certifications. There are three levels of certification an inspector can achieve. Murphy said that it is based on your certification level as to the types of inspections you can perform.
Murphy said the home safety evaluation is not for code enforcement purposes but to assist homeowners in identifying such things as fall or trip hazards. Especially those trip hazards that could cause a senior adult to fall. Also, they can identify other hazards in the home such as improper use of drop cords and help homeowners to develop fire escape plans, if they don’t have one.
Rodriguez and Murphy will also be busy with fire prevention programs that address such things as basic fire safety and fire prevention, use of fire extinguishers, etc.
“The ultimate goal, is to prevent fires and injuries,” said Rodriguez. He said that the fire marshal’s program is not designed to penalize anyone, but, to educate them with regards to safety hazards and fire codes.
“While we are there for code enforcement, our first priority is to make sure they understand the code,” said Murphy. “We are not interested in fines as much as we are safety.”
Rodriguez some of the issues that seem to be recurring are issues with older buildings that do not have adequate sources of power for modern equipment. He added that the fire department is working with the business owners to offer them solutions and many business owners are attempting to correct those issues.
“A lot of people don’t realize the dangers of power cords,” said Murphy. For example, power cords can become a trip or fall hazard in a walkway.
Another issue is the lack of adequate exit signs and fire extinguishers. Again, many of the business owners are taking steps to add emergency signs and fire extinguishers.
One issue that the fire department is finding is the need for businesses and homeowners to display their house or business number using a four-inch reflective sign. Rodriguez said many times the fire department finds that a home or business either does not have a number displayed or the number is not easily seen by emergency responders. This can potentially slow the response time to a fire or medical emergency as they attempt to search for the house or business number. Rodriguez said the fire department is working on developing a program whereby they can provide the numbers for residents and businesses.
Another related item that the fire marshals are working to develop is called a pre-fire plan for businesses. Murphy said that the pre-fire plan for each business with contain such information as a layout of the interior, where the various water points are located, other properties that may be in danger, other resources that may be needed, how many people may potentially be inside during a particular time of day, where the power supplies are located, and emergency contact information.
Murphy said that with the pre-fire plan in place for each business and by having that plan available on the onboard computers in the fire trucks, assignments can be made before fire crews ever arrive on the scene. Murphy and Rodriguez both emphasized that this can save valuable time by everyone knowing what their assigned tasks will be upon arrival at the scene.
Murphy and Rodriguez added that by having the fire marshal program in place, it will also help with the fire department’s ISO rating which will translate to a cost savings for residents and business owners.
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