The Southern Door Fire Department is implementing a program that they hope will save residents, second-homeowners as well as firefighters both time and money. Southern Door Fire Chief Chuck Cihlar wants to make residents in the Townships of Clay Banks, Forestville and Nasewaupee aware of Knox Boxes – small fire-proof containers, mounted to a residence wall – and the value they can have in protecting a home whether you're there or not…
A Knox Box is a special key-holding device that can hold keys to a residential, commercial or industrial building. The SDFD has a set of special keys that are now present on every fire truck, that unlock these Knox Boxes. This allows firefighters to get into homes easier, and often times, without damage to doors and windows. This can be a big benefit to a community with such a high transient population.
This is especially helpful in situations where alarm systems malfunction, causing false alarm calls to bring the fire department to a home.
Security and accountability on the part of the SDFD has also been considered. When dealing with a "Master Key" to so many homes, Chief Cihlar assures that control of the Knox Boxes is monitored and audited regularly to ensure maximum security.
The SDFD then maintain records of what dates and times not only had the key been removed, but also when it was replaced and secured in the Knox Box.
For more information, Cihlar is asking people to contact the Southern Door Fire Department directly, or visit the Knox Box website at http://www.knoxbox.com.
