Collingswood F.D. to Perform Block Inspections

Don't be surprised if you get a knock on your door from a Collingswood firefighter in the near future.

Thanks in part to a shared-service agreement with Pennsauken and an aid grant, the borough fire department is beginning a block-by-block home inspection tour to distribute smoke detectors, offer "pre-incident planning" assistance and offer solutions for any safety issues within the residence.

The block inspections were a service the borough had to cut back about five years ago due to a lack of staffing, Fire Chief Keith Davis said, but the program is a valuable service.

"It benefits the public and our residents, but it also benefits our personnel because you’re getting to meet our fire department and ask any questions," he said. 

"Instead of having the people come here and pick up the smoke detectors and run the risk of them not installing it properly—or not knowing where to install it, or just throwing it in the back of the car and forgetting it—we’re using the block book and going house to house," Davis said.

For the security-conscious, Davis notes that Collingswood firefighters will always be wearing uniforms with badges, and will have a fire truck or ambulance in tow. 

Upon request, firefighters will perform a quick walk-through of the home to identify potential safety concerns and assist in the creation of a pre-incident plan (see attached .PDF for details).

The idea of the plan is to have a blueprint for personnel to familiarize themselves with "the type of house it is and the inherent dangers in the buliding construction," Davis said.

"No personal information is given out to anyone," he said. "It’s there so we can bring it up on an emergency feed. If we see something that poses a hazard or has caused fires in the past, we’ll point it out [to the homeowner]."

The smoke detector distribution "actually started out when we lost a father and son in a fire," Davis said, but it's meant to be a preventive measure.

And if you're not at home when the fire department comes calling, don't worry. You can still come pick up two smoke detectors at the station.

"The biggest resistance we’ve gotten in the past is that people think we’re going to come in and find a bunch of stuff and make them repair it," Davis said.

"We’re not going to turn them over to anyone else to have them cited. We’re there to make sure they’re safe."