Poquonnock Bridge Fire Marshal Appeals For Inspection Help

By GLADYS ALCEDO
Day Staff Writer, Groton
Published on 1/14/2005

Groton–– The fire marshal of the town's largest fire district said Thursday that his one-man office doesn't have the resources to conduct a number of the scheduled building inspections as required by the state Fire Marshal's Office.

“We must be aware that fire-safety inspections are an important component in protecting the public and measures must be taken to increase the number of man-hours available for these inspections,” Poquonnock Bridge Fire District Fire Marshal Michael Richards said.

“With over 500 public occupancies in the district, to do a minimum of two inspections a year per occupancy would require far more time than my entire allotted time on the job, not allowing for new construction, dealing with questions from the public, or fire investigations,” he said. Inspections, he said, can range from hours to days, depending on the building.

District committee Vice President Peter J. Legnos asked Richards to estimate how much manpower would be required to conduct the inspections.

“It will take some time to deal with that and we have to get on it,” Legnos said. “Let's get some ideas to start to fix the problem before it gets worse.”

Richards expressed frustration after the meeting, saying that when he assumed the job in 2002 he had hoped “to do as much for the people in Groton” but “I haven't accomplished that.”

The building boom that's taking place along the town's busy Route 1 corridor and other commercial areas has diverted a great amount of his attention to “required reviewing and monitoring new construction and new business openings or relocations,” he said.

That has led to a drop of inspections, Richards said. The situation could get worse as the town's school building project breaks ground.

“I took over three years ago and we are now getting businesses that have never been (annually) inspected,” Richards said, adding he has tried to prioritize the buildings as best as he can.

Fire Chief Todd M. Paige said it's a public safety concern.

“I agree with him. We have to make sure we have the resources we need to do these inspections,” Paige said after the meeting. One solution could be to hire a fire inspector to assist Richards.

The district a few years ago had an inspector's position included in its budget, Paige said. But the position was never filled because of concern the state would cut its funding to the district mid-year.

“No decision has been made whether to proceed with the hiring of that position,” he said.

The district has the four captains and another firefighter trained to do the inspections, but they have only done it periodically because they have other priorities to tend to, officials said.

“There is a defined need in the department for another inspector,” union President Thomas Eldridge said.