Starkville firefighters are providing an additional service to business owners with courtesy walkthroughs that identify potential fire code violations.
SFD restarted engine company visits — on-scene inspections by a handful of firefighters — after the process was abandoned almost a decade ago. These walkthroughs, which do not result in ticketed violations or financial penalties, help owners understand existing rules and allow them to tend to possible infractions before formal inspections.
Firefighters use a checklist of International Fire Code requirements and check for minimum compliance with 25 simple requirements, such as each address visibility from the street for emergency responders, serviced fire extinguishers and accessible points of ingress and egress.
The checks serve as a multi-prong attempt to raise SFD’s visibility in the community, allow first responders to fully understand properties’ layouts if they’re needed in an emergency and give property owners ample time to comply with code, said Fire Marshal Mark McCurdy.
Starkville’s five fire stations are each sending a company for courtesy checks in the areas they service.
The checks alleviate the demand on Starkville fire marshals, who spend a majority of their time inspecting new construction and high-risk properties, including restaurants, bars and apartment complexes.
“If you see firemen out and about, walking up and down Main Street or Highway 12, don’t be afraid that something bad is happening or that they’re trying to get you in trouble. They’re here to help you prevent a fire from occurring in your business,” McCurdy said. “There’s a lot of things on the list that business owners usually do not realize they’re not complying with, like if their fire extinguishers haven’t been serviced in a while. These things on our checklist are what start fires. There’s a fear they’re going to get a ticket if they find a violation, but that’s not true. We want to give them an advance, free notice that these things need to be fixed before one of the fire marshals have to come.”
Starkville Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough said the engine company visits should help, not hinder, SFD’s responses to emergencies and could improve the city’s chances with improving its fire rating.
“I have no concerns about pulling manpower from our stations. Everyone is going to be working in their own territory. It’ll probably work out even better because they’re already out (in case an emergency call is received). It’s good to get our guys out and have them immersed in the public,” he said.
A copy of SFD’s engine company checklist is available on The Dispatch’s website, and McCurdy encourages business owners to use the document in their own self-inspections.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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