Fullerton : New Program Aimed at Fire Safety Education

Beginning next month, city fire officials will launch a new inspection program to educate business owners about fire hazards, an official said.

The program, designed to encourage owner participation in routine fire inspections, is aimed at increasing the community’s awareness of fire prevention, Fire Marshall John Clark said.

“We encourage owners to become educated enough that they know what a fire hazard is,” Clark said. Because fires can take a toll of the community, “we are also hoping that the educational process in the businesses will spill over into the homes.”

Clark said the city phased out its business-inspection program last year because non-compliance with safety recommendations was causing a backlog at the city’s fire prevention bureau. “We were getting further and further behind and having to visit businesses every six months. It became more of an enforcement inspection,” he said.

As a result of eliminating the annual safety inspections, “we are seeing a general degradation of fire safety in the community,” Clark said. “Those (businesses) inspected two years ago, for example, have a lot more work to do than they would have had in just one year” if routine inspections had continued.

He said some of the common safety hazards include lack of fire protection equipment, misuse of electrical equipment and unsafe storage practices.