Dayhoff Carroll

Dayhoff Carroll: www.kevindayhoff.org Westminster Md Online - The Winchester Report, by Kevin Earl Dayhoff: Runner, writer, artist, fire and police chaplain Mindless ramblings of a runner, journalist, and artist Westminster, Hampstead, Manchester, Taneytown, Union Bridge, Mount Airy and Sykesville in Carroll Co, Maryland... and Frederick Co. Westminster Fire Dept., Firefighters, police officers, Carroll Co Sheriff's Office, Md St Police. Chaplain duties, Religion, Grace Lutheran Ch.

Sunday, May 9, 2004

Carroll County Times: Fire marshals to start inspecting buildings again

Carroll County Times: Fire marshals to start inspecting buildings again

By Jamie Kelly, Times Staff Writer Friday, May 07, 2004

Update: Yes the kink is dead and has been removed. Thanks to the reader who called it to my attention. I searched in vain for a working link. Until then, I’ll put the rest of the story-up and hope that no one complains… Just saying…

It's been seven years, but the state fire marshal's office is going to start inspecting buildings again.

Allen Gosnell, deputy chief state fire marshal, said the state office approved hiring two civilians to inspect new buildings. The purpose, he said, is to free up the deputy state fire marshals to do investigations. The inspections stopped because fire marshals had too much other work to do, he said.

The deputy fire marshals are trained law enforcement officers, Gosnell said, and they have to investigate fires in Carroll, Frederick and Howard counties. Last year, they investigated 162 fires regionwide, he said. Seven years ago, they kept getting called away from inspections to investigate fires, he said, so they stopped doing them.

One of the inspectors will also work on catching up on all the businesses that haven't been inspected, Gosnell said. He said he didn't have an exact count of how many buildings there were, but said they probably numbered in the hundreds.

Mike Maring, chief of permits and inspections for the county, said the fire safety inspections will work the same way other building inspections do: He notifies the fire marshal's office, they inspect the building, and if they approve, he issues an occupancy permit.

Yes the kink is dead and has been removed. Thanks to the reader who called it to my attention. I searched in vain for a working link. Until then, I’ll put the rest of the story-up and hope that no one complains…

The civilian inspectors will coordinate with the county's permits office, Gosnell said. Both of the men are experienced, he said, and are certified in fire inspections.

"They're at the top of the trade," he said.

The inspections serve two purposes, Gosnell said. First, they make sure there are escape routes for all the people using the building.

There are regulations that dictate how many exits buildings need to have, he said, as well as how large the exits need to be. The inspectors also look at how easy it is to get through the exits, Gosnell said, to make sure people will be able to use them.

The second part of the inspections looks at fire prevention, Gosnell said. The inspector will look at any potential fire hazards, as well as whether the building has properly functioning smoke detectors.

If the inspectors find a violation of code, the business has 15 days to fix the problem, he said. He said the business can also appeal the decision to him, and he'll come out and look at the problems.

"We want to work with them to make the occupants safe," he said.

Leon Fleming, Carroll County Volunteer Fireman's Association/county liaison, said he thought the new inspections would help to prevent fires. Baltimore County has a similar program, he said, and it has reduced the number of fires by pointing out hazards before they cause any damage.

He said he hoped county firefighters could go along with the inspectors, so they could get a sense of what the buildings look like, how large they are and any hazards that might be there.

That, he said, will help them fight any fire that might happen there.

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2004/05/carroll-county-times-fire-marshals-to.html

+++++++++++++++

Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Patuxent Publishing Co., The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO
The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41

Westminster Patch: http://westminster.patch.com/search?keywords=Dayhoff