Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District 

LANDRUM—On Wednesday July 10, Captain Mat Tidwell of the Landrum Area Fire and Rescue District helped create and demonstrate the importance of having a pre-fire plan for Landrum area residents. Captain Tidwell posted the video on the Landrum Fire website as well as linking it through the Landrum Fire & Rescue Facebook page.  

The importance of pre-fire planning is important for business owners and resident. The pre-fire plan allows local firefighters to properly assess a structure to determine the necessary plan of evacuation, as well as the necessary requirements to control a potential fire. The pre-fire plan uses guidelines, as well as square footage, to help fire fighters determine the necessary gallons per minute required to put out a structural fire.  

One feature that Tidwell mentions for business owners is that they can have a master key placed on the exterior o the building. The master key box allows firefighters to use their key to gain a copy of the building key to enter the structure without having to cause any damage upon initial entry.  

The Town of Columbus had discussed the possibility of adding a master key box to the fire department a few months ago that would allow them access to businesses in the case of an emergency. Many of the advantages to having a master key that Columbus City Manager Tim Barth shared with the Columbus City Council were expressed by Tidwell. Tidwell said that the master key box allows firefighters to obtain access into the building without causing damage to doors and windows, which can save business owners a lot of money in damages, as well as the clear advantage that firefighters can immediately access the building.  

At the time, several businesses in Columbus were not very open to the idea about having the master key box on the exterior of their building or in the fire department as they believed it could potentially cause problems down the road with theft or vandalism. The building that Tidwell used in his example is Wood Creek Dental, who did have a master key box on the exterior of the building. 

Tidwell said, “it takes a partnership, we are trying to team up with our Landrum business owners to make Landrum safer.” The full video can be found at landrumfire.com, or by following the links on the Landrum Fire & Rescue Facebook page. While the example Tidwell uses in the video is on a commercial property, many of the tips and ideas can be applied to residential homeowners.