Fire Dept. To Conduct Business Inspections

By REBECCA HAZEN
News Editor

The Trenton-Dade Fire Department is conducting complimentary business inspections during the beginning of the year, to ensure the safety of the businesses and their patrons.

According to Fire Assistant Chief Ansel Smith, he, Chief Jerry Kyzer, and other firefighters will start going to the businesses in the city, as well as others in the department’s district, in January and February.

“We are going to check to see if they have smoke detectors and if they are working, if they have fire extinguishers, and to make sure that they are up to date,” Smith said.

Smith continued, “This is for us to be able to update the notebooks in our trucks. If there is any incident at that business, before we get there, we can get out our notebooks and look at where the gas shuts off and where the electric shuts off and things that like to save time.”

According to Smith, a lot of businesses can either shut down, open, or be remodeled in a year’s time, so it is a good thing for them to be able to get their information up to date.

Smith says that this is a complimentary inspection, to help the local businesses. The firefighters can help the businesses by telling them where to get their fire extinguishers updated and how to get their smoke detectors working.

“These are suggestions, but if it is a life safety issue, we will talk to them and hopefully everyone will understand. We’re not going in to shut anyone down or make it so that they can’t do business. We will just express a concern and hopefully they will work with us. It is safety for them, for us firefighters, for employees and customers,” Smith said.

The Trenton-Dade Fire Department plans to conduct these business checks at the beginning of every year.

“We had several phone calls, and pretty much everyone is happy that we’re doing this, because it makes them feel safer, too. We got a really good response,” Smith said.

Smith says that, even though these are business inspections, these are good safety tips for households to follow as well.

Businesses and households are always welcome to contact the Fire Department with any questions. To contact the Fire Department, call Trenton City Hall at (706) 657-4167 and ask for either Ansel Smith or Jerry Kyzer.