Friday, November 7, 2008

Dear Fire Department

To whom it may concern:

A 5 lb fire extinguisher? In the kitchen? Mounted? Really? You saw my kitchen. It's gorgeous. Where in the decor would that fit? I've looked diligently for a decorative container to keep it in, there aren't any. Having just remodeled my kitchen, had I known these stupid new requirements, I would have factored that into the decor.

Also, I have had many fire inspections, this being my seventh. Why is it that each inspector has a different opinion as to the placement of smoke detectors? And aren't detectors BOTH in and out of the bedrooms a little redundant?

My last, but certainly not least issue....our dead bolts. If there is a window near the door, the police insist that we have a keyed lock, you however insist that we have a non-keyed lock. Which inspector am I supposed to listen to? Am I supposed to keep my family safe from home invasions or fire? Which is more likely? Also, if there is a fire, I will have a 5 lb extinguisher close at hand.

And for convenience, you might have your brother Joe come in right behind you selling enormous fire extinguishers and smoke detectors out of the trunk of his car.

Sincerely,

Annie

1 comment:

Megan Wagner said...

My agency caseworker from the regional office told me about the 5 lb fire extinguisher. My dad and my stepmom (both of whom are fire inspectors/ arson investigators and my stepmom adopted 2 kids from foster care last December) say that's excessive, but it's more a CPS thing than a FD thing (according to agency caseworker it's been a rule for a long time, but everyone she saw here had the wrong one; uh, hello, anyone tell the fire dept?) Who did your inspection? I need one again this year, but the guy who did mine said as long as there is a smoke detector in each area of bedrooms and near the kitchen.