AN IMPORTANT
NOTICE FROM THE MOORESTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT, LENOLA FIRE COMPANY,
AND MOORESTOWN TOWNSHIP EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
Both Township Fire Departments and Township Emergency Management
would like to make our residential and commercial property
owners aware of the serious consequences of mulch fires. Recently,
several homes suffered extensive damage due to fires that
were started in the landscape mulch located adjacent to their
house. In most cases, these fires will smolder unnoticed for
an extended period before flames become visible, which can
then result in extensive damage to your property. Lawn clippings
and decorative ground materials may also contribute to the
possibility of fire. In order to avoid this potentially life-threatening
event, you are encouraged to:
-
Designate a smoking area where no combustible materials
are permitted.
-
Do not discard any type of lighted smoking material
in the vicinity of landscape mulch or other combustible
material.
-
Make sure that you have a metal container filled with
sand or water for extinguishing any smoking materials
within this designated area.
-
Should you notice smoke coming from your garden or
a neighbor’s garden immediately notify the fire
department by dialing 9-1-1.
If you have any questions regarding this issue, please
contact:
Cindi Maahs-Knobbs, Fire Official, Moorestown Fire District
2 at 856-234-6660
Robert Worrell, Fire Official, Moorestown Fire District 1
at 856-234-1222 ext. 19
or the following websites:
Moorestown Fire Department: www.moorestownfire.org
Lenola Fire Company: www.lenolafireco.com
Below are two examples of what can happen
when smoking materials ignite mulch.
Revisions proposed for
Moorestown fire-alarm law
By DANIELLE CAMILLI
Burlington County Times
November 17, 2004
MOORESTOWN - The Township Council is getting tough with residents
who do not know how to properly operate and maintain their
fire-alarm systems.
Last week, the council introduced an ordinance that would
revise the existing fire code to deal with the increasing
problem of false alarms that strain the resources of the township's
two volunteer fire districts. The public hearing on the changes
is scheduled for Dec. 6. A recent report found that about
70 percent of all fire calls in the township were residential
false alarms in Fire District No. 1, Township Manager Jack
Terry said.
In the first six months of 2004, false alarms accounted for
42 percent of responses in the two districts, Terry said.
Under the ordinance revisions, property owners will face
increased fines, which could be as much as $600 for repeat
offenders. The changes would also allow the fire district
to disconnect problem alarms from the township's emergency
system if owners fail to repair or update equipment after
notices are issued, said Karl Shelley, the administrator for
Fire District No. 1.
Fines are currently assessed only after a second false alarm.
Under the revisions, this will remain the same. For residential
alarms, fines now range from $25 to $100, and the revised
ranged would be $50 to $400.
Commercial alarm owners would face fines of $100 to $6,000,
up from $100 to $400, officials said.
While alarm systems disconnected from the township's emergency
system would still work, Shelley said, they would not automatically
notify township authorities. They would need to be routed
through an alarm company. The township has experienced difficulties
with false alarms for years, Shelley said. Contributing factors
include the large number of residential alarm systems in the
township and the lack of understanding on how to operate them,
he said.
He also said systems need to be upgraded. "It's
both an education and technology issue," he said. "These
alarm companies need to thoroughly train owners. They make
the sale and they are gone."
Shelley said firefighters have met residents who do not know
the name of their alarm companies, do not know their security
codes or do not know that their system automatically connects
to the township's emergency system.
"We need to crack down on this," he said. |
