Five of the six fire deaths in Montgomery County in 2005 could have been prevented if the fire department had enough code inspectors to deal with a growing population and a backlog of inspections, fire officials said.
Five elderly residents died in fires in senior living centers or high-rises that should have been brought up to code. None of the buildings had the required sprinkler system, Fire Chief Tom Carr told the County Council’s Public Safety Committee Wednesday.
“We’re still trying to get into all these buildings and determine their current status,” Carr said. “It is the managers’ responsibility to maintain buildings to the code.”
He said the fire department code inspectors have been overwhelmed as the population grows.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue’s $177.6 million fiscal 2007 budget request includes funding for an additional 87 full-time positions. Among other functions, the firefighters would increase the department’s community outreach and fire prevention activities and relieve the code enforcement department.
The fiscal 2007 budget request would give the department the resources to put one community outreach worker and one code inspector in each battalion, Carr said.
Council members asked for more detail about the maintenance of fire trucks and other apparatus and the full budget impacts of the new hires in future years.
“Ideally we’re working on prevention so we have fewer incidents,” said Council Member Mike Knapp, D-District 2.
