| Community
Relations
The Office of
Community Relations
fulfills the Division's goal of educating the public through fire
safety education programs and involvement with community groups.
Besides fulfilling its general mission, the Community Relations
Officer also coordinates the activities of the Juvenile Fire setter
Program and the Fire Fighters Against Drugs Youth Program.
Fire Investigations and Records
The Fire Investigations Section, commonly referred to as Arson
Investigations, is commanded by Captain Stephen Saltsman.
They conduct investigations into the cause of various fires
including those of a suspicious, incendiary, or undetermined
nature, and all fires involving loss of life or large dollar
losses. They also provide follow-up to
investigations initiated by Company Officers. The
Columbus Fire Arson Investigators are weapon-carrying law
enforcement officers, with complete arrest powers.
Inspections Section
The Inspections Section is headed by Captain
Michael J. Vedra This Section is responsible for providing
an effective fire prevention inspection program and enforcing
the Fire Prevention Code. The section also reviews plans for new
buildings and performs acceptance inspections for new fire
protection equipment. Inspections of places of public
assembly, night clubs, arcades, and nuisance abatement are also
handled by this section.
The Inspections section also converts all
City Fire Code numbers to correspond with the
Ohio Fire Code, and maintains a current update
of all fire codes for the Fire Prevention Bureau
reference library.
High Rise Inspection
Program
In the High Rise program, each high rise building is assigned to
an individual fire company officer who conducts inspections four
times a year. This assures that each high rise conforms to
current fire codes and fire equipment is properly maintained in
the high rise.
Records and Permits
Section
This section, under the direction of a Lieutenant, is charged with
recording and tabulating statistical data from fire reports
submitted by Emergency Services personnel and recording
information from the various inspection activities, and
maintenance of the building inventory records. This
section is also has the responsible for issuing Storage/Use of
Hazardous Material permits and Place of Assembly permits on an
annual basis. Requests for fire incident reports and open
burning permits are handled through this section as well.
Plans Review Section
The Plans Review Section primary function is to review all plans
for new construction and renovations, as it relates to fire
suppression and fire alarm systems. They work in conjunction
with Building and Development Services to ensure code compliance
and integrity of the fire protection systems from design review
to the final inspection. The Plans Review Team consists of One
Lieutenant, Two Plans Examiner and Three Field Inspectors.
School Coordinator
Officer
The School Coordinator is a Lieutenant who maintains statistical
files on primary and secondary schools. This officer has
specialized inspection duties and is liaison to these schools
relative to problems of a fire protection or fire prevention
nature.
Requested Inspections
Officer
This Office takes request for fire inspections of Daycare Centers,
Group Homes, Foster Care, In home Child Care and for Adoption
purposes. By their nature, these types of occupancies present
unique life safety problems.
Special Inspections
Officer
The Special Inspections Officer is a Lieutenant who is
responsible for coordinating and scheduling aboveground and
underground storage tank inspections, Public Assembly
inspections, Dance Hall inspections, Indoor and Outdoor
Pyrotechnics inspections, Pushcart inspections, Outdoor
Festivals and Fire Prevention complaint inspections
Hydrant Coordinator
The Hydrant Coordinator also works in the Fire
Prevention Bureau. The Hydrant Coordinator
is the Fire Division liaison for the Water
Division. The Water Division is Responsible for
23,679 city hydrants and 6,075 private hydrants.
The hydrant coordinator also is responsible for
street plans and associated proposed water
mains, both public and private. |
