Subscribe to
Email Notifications
By Chief Wade Watkins
Riverton’s local fire crews will be out in the community performing routine inspections soon. This means your local firefighters will be visiting select businesses within the community to ensure the businesses are safe and compliant with the adopted fire code. Each Riverton business receives this inspection biannually. Unified Fire Authority’s Fire Prevention Division performs the inspections for businesses that are more complex related to fire inspections, for example businesses that have manufacturing or hazardous materials.
The first and most obvious benefit of a fire inspection is that it provides an opportunity to educate business owners and the community on fire safety. As the firefighters inspect the businesses, they have a perfect opportunity to perform pre-incident planning. Simply doing a walk-through of the business can expedite the fire response and provide key information to the fire crews, such as identifying the best way to access the building or locating the closest fire hydrants. There is no substitute for being prepared. Pre-incident planning is critical to safe and effective firefighting operations.
The crew will be using an inspection program on a tablet or phone to address the fire inspection list. The following requirements appear on each inspection list for commercial businesses:
- Maintain fire lanes free of obstruction
- Fire hydrants and fire department connections must be visible and accessible with 36” of clearance
- Fire extinguisher(s); annual certification required
The inspection should be viewed as an opportunity to learn and be mutually beneficial. Many times, businesses have areas that can be improved upon that greatly reduce the fire hazard. Some of these improvements include providing signs indicating the location of fire extinguishers that can be difficult to spot. The fire code is ultimately in place to reduce the community’s risk to the hazard of fire. When you see your local firefighters out and about, please don’t hesitate to say hi and ask them about fire prevention and safety.
For more information or questions, please email me at wwatkins@unifiedfire.org.
Questions?
Recreation & Events Department
recreation@rivertonutah.gov
801-208-3101