by Michael O'Brian on September 9, 2010
Are Fire Marshal’s Domestic Terrorists
This is a special post courtesy of Dave Statter from Statter911.com.
My local fire department has been taking a beating over the last month all across the country. Its crazed fire marshals are accused of tyranny, power-tripping, and being domestic terrorists. And those are some of the nice comments.
So what awful thing did the FMs from the Fairfax County (VA) Fire & Rescue Department do?
They did their jobs.
If you are not aware, on July 24th the fire marshals arrested two bartenders they caught in the act of lighting a bottle containing a flammable liquid and a wick. The bartenders are accused of then using what some might call a Molotov cocktail as a source of ignition for their fire breathing demonstration. It’s a trick they’ve apparently done for years at Jimmy’s in Herndon.
I say good job by the fire marshals.
A crowded bar is [click to continue…]
by Michael O'Brian on June 11, 2009
A person employed to inspect something
Why is it that the term “Inspector” is not defined in many of our code books? Even Wikipedia does not define the term Inspector based on how we utilize them in code enforcement.
Here in the United States there are many names for those responsible for enforcing an adopted code. Previous posts have talked about the administration of the code and the need for inspectors to be problem solvers, but we never truly defined what an inspector is. I have gone to Webster and they indicated that an inspector is “a person employed to inspect something.” This definition would apply to most of us in the code world but it doesn’t leave a lot of power to our duties.
I continued into looking at [click to continue…]
by Michael O'Brian on April 5, 2008
This post was originally posted on April 4, 2008. The first week of April has turned deadly and the totals are 28 fire fatalities since the first of the month. See the comments for additional information on the fatalities.
Does it ever feel like we are fighting a loosing battle? No matter how many times we spread the word on the need for good code changes, the need for working smoke alarms, the need to practice fire safety in your home, or the need for a home sprinkler system it seems we still have tragic losses around the United States. This week we saw two tragic fires that have changed lives forever.
The first occurred in Brockway Pennsylvania and claimed the lives of ten. This early morning fire occurred in their home and the cause is still under investigation. The second fire occurred in a manufactured home and killed the family of five from Ada Ohio. A third fire occurred yesterday that took the lives of two fire fightersin Colerian Township as they fell through the floor while trying to battle the fire.
These three fires have occurred in less then a week and killed 17 people and affected the lives of hundreds. Are these three fires enough for us to become passionate about stopping this problem we have? Who’s problem is it?
What can we do about these fires as code officials? What can we do to save lives of fire fighters? My answer is to continuously educate our communities and go beyond what we are used to doing. We need every inspector check for smoke alarms when ever an inspection is performed (that means the plumbing, mechanical, building, and electrical must know where these devices shall be located). We need inspectors to participate in the code change process and make sure our citizens are protected beyond the interest of builders and industry. We need our government to support our causes as inspectors and help us protect our citizens. We need our code officials to look toward using codes and standards to keep our communities safe at all costs.
Lets create initiatives that will save lives in their home. Residential sprinklers are a great
source of solving our future fire problem. It will not save the lives of those who live in homes without residential sprinklers. There has to be a continued effort to save lives and to conduct home fire safety inspections. We as a community must find ways to continually educate the public on smoke alarms, residential sprinklers, and home safety plans.
What are you doing as an inspector to battle this problem? What would you like to do?
ps. Check your smoke alarms and practice your home escape plan right now. Then tell one person to do the same. Maybe we can save a life which may be yours.
by Michael O'Brian on March 25, 2008
Are you one of the millions who have watched the NCAA basket ball playoffs or filled out your bracket hoping your team can beat one of the number 1 seeds in the tournament? What would happen to our industry if we had a National Championship for the best inspection division or the best inspector, building official, or plan reviewer? Would we be able to say who the best is?
Lets just say we are going to take the top 64 inspection agencies across the United States and have them compete to see who the best truly is, how would we widdle the thousands of building departments and fire prevention bureaus down to just 64? Would we utilize national standards, job performance, or employee performance appraisals to get the list down? Maybe we can base the top 64 on the number of complaints filled, review the compliments received, or evaluate building (fire) loss in a community over the year.
Next we could have the agencies compete on things such as code administration, code application, and problem solving. We would utilize scenarios to test the agency in different types of projects and evaluate their performance to their competitors. We could even get Keith Jackson to [click to continue…]
by Michael O'Brian on March 21, 2008
In our area we have struggled with contractors working on fire extinguishers and fire protection equipment. Their role is the servicing requirements for fire extinguishers of wet-chemical suppression systems. Recently a contractor enters a business and states he is with the City (Name of the company is City Fire) and is there to test the fire suppression equipment. During the inspection he tags some extinguisher and then gives them an invoice. This scenerio has played out by the same person, same company, in many different areas.
As inspectors, authority, or officials we struggle with our role when these things happen. If our jurisdiction has licensing requirements then we can refuse future licenses. An odd example was a person posing as an inspector selling “required postings.” This person came through town, scammed many businesses and kept going south along I75. From our local standpoint we had to find out the scope of the scam and make sure our clients understand what went on. How can you help your community from preventing this scene or if it does happen what can you do:
- Educate your public as to their requirements with the maintenance of systems, extinguishers, or other service companies. I don’t expect a normal business to have copies of NFPA 25 or NFPA 10 (although you can provide a link on your department’s web-page to the free standards). An inspector must share the expectations of the service company and what they should produce or do at the time of inspection to the business owner.
- Build relationships up with our clients (citizens) so they can call and ask questions of inspectors at any time. I hand out a business card at every interaction or point them to our web-page. Make sure your inspectors know its okay to meet the business owner and contractor on site when there are questions.
- Build up your local peer network so you can communicate when scams are going on. We have a large network of local email addresses that we can send quick notes to each other on these types of items.
- File formal complaints with local or state regulatory agencies that are responsible for licensing of contractors. Make sure you are doing due process and investigate complaints, while providing complete documentation.
We rely on contractors to work with business owners and provide services to systems, so that, they are in working order at the time of a fire. If a bad egg is creating problems it may have adverse effects on our enforcement or the companies who are doing it right.
What is your experience with this situation?
What has worked in limiting this scenario?
by Michael O'Brian on January 22, 2008
As an inspector we are required by our codes and standards to inspect buildings, systems, and process. These duties can place us in many unique situations. Utilizing lifts, open stairways, climbing ladders to access roofs, or hazardous materials storage can create a hazard in our profession.
Unfortunately a fellow inspector (Timothy John Carpenter, 51, of Waipukerau) in New Zealand died last week while conducting an inspection on the second floor of a residential construction unit. This death is tragic and serves as an opportunity to revisit our safety concerns during an inspection.
Recently I was sent a video clip which shows the dangers of the inspector profession. Many times building and fire inspectors are asked to look at buildings once they have been damaged. Many times the inspector issues or posts the building to be unsafe for occupancy. Prior to this we can be placed in an area that is not safe. Some simple tips to remember
- Always utilize proper protective equipment. This can include reflective vest, hard hat, flashlight, steel toe boots, safety glasses, and hearing protection.
- Ensure ladders are properly secured and [click to continue…]
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