Anniston, AL – The Anniston Fire Department (AFD) will began conducting their annual fire inspections. Each business in the city of Aniston will soon receive a visit from the AFD. The fire department shared that the primary purposes for these inspections are they allow the AFD to familiarize themselves with the layout of each business in the city. In case of a fire, knowing the layout of a building is critical for quickly locating and saving those who might be in danger. In addition, the firefighters are kept safe by knowing a building’s layout. This allows them to know where the exits are as well as help them better navigate a structure if smoke has made it hard to find one’s way around.
The second reason is the fire department is able to update their contact info for each business as they visit them. This is great help in the event that your business has a fire or some other situation where the fire department must enter it. Having your contact information allows the AFD the ability to reach out to the owners so they may unlock your facility as opposed to the AFD having no one to contact, in which case a door may have to be knocked down in order for the AFD to enter the structure.
The final purpose behind these inspections is so the AFD may properly enforce state and city fire codes. The enforcement of these codes keeps the business and the fire department safe as well as those that frequent these businesses. Without proper enforcement of these codes fires will break out much more often and safety devices used to fight these fires such as fire extinguishers may be emptied or misplaced if not checked annually.
The city knows that many may be thinking, “What if I’m not ready when the AFD comes to inspect my business? Are they going to shut my business down or fine me?” The fire department would like owners to know not to worry. When the AFD stops at your place of business, they will first ask for permission to come in and inspect. They prefer that you have someone available to help guide the AFD crew through your facility. If you’re not prepared for your inspection, they will be more than happy to allow you to schedule a time when they can come back and inspect your facility. Lastly, even if your business is found to be in violation of some of the codes you will be provided a copy of their inspection report. After a designated time they will come back to see if the business has corrected the violations. As long as those corrections are made there are no continuing issues. Also the reports regarding businesses are not shared with anyone outside the fire department.
