Last Updated on April 11, 2019 by cassnetwork
Logansport residents will soon be able to find out if their smoke detectors are properly installed in appropriate areas of their residences.
The Logansport Board of Public Works and Safety Wednesday directed Building Commissioner Deb Beattie and Fire Chief Bernie Mittica to work together to inspect residences for smoke detectors based on building permits. Firefighters will follow-up with every residential permit issued through Beattie’s office to determine if the proper number and locations of smoke detectors are in compliance with state law.
The board took the action after the City Council Public Safety Committee met with Beattie, Mittica and Mayor Dave Kitchell earlier this week. Earlier this year, the board presented a resolution requiring all dwellings to be inspected for the proper number and placement of smoke detectors. The move came in the wake of nine fatalities in residential fires in Cass County in 2018.
Mayor Kitchell said the new procedure will be developed through Beattie and Mittica and is a good first step in better fire prevention.
“We have to do more to protect the lives of all our citizens, but particularly children,” Kitchell said. “This isn’t the answer to every issue associated with fire prevention, but it is a first step. We can’t afford to lose the momentum gained through volunteer efforts to ensure that everyone who lives in our community has a smoke detector or detectors warning them in the event of a fire.”
The fatality rate for fires in Cass County last year was 26 times the national per capita average. Smoke detector blitzes, including one associated with Logansport Re-Imagined, led to hundreds of installations in Logansport and rural Cass County thanks in part to the efforts of the Logansport Fire Department and Cass County Fire District 1.
SOURCE: News release from Logansport Mayor Dave Kitchell