COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION

Community Risk Reduction is the identification and prioritization of risk followed by the coordinated application of resources to minimize the occurrence of unwanted events.

Fire code inspections and enforcement are the core of our community risk reduction program. Public and commercial buildings are inspected for the purpose of ensuring people can work, recreate, shop, heal, study and worship in a safe environment. Unlike their homes, these are places where they have no personal control of the construction or maintenance of the structure. Regular inspections of these types of occupancies helps ensure the fire code is being observed.

Ensuring structures are safe and built to the appropriate fire code starts with a strong foundation. Collaborating with the Gulf Shores Building Department, engineers and contractors, Fire Marshal Surry conducts plan reviews to ensure compliance to the fire code before construction begins. Inspections continue to be conducted throughout the construction process and before the structure can be occupied by the public, a final inspection is also required. Fire code inspections are also performed on existing structures on a daily basis. Businesses are subject to a fire code inspection and a review upon new application for business license, or when a business license is up for renewal. Fire Marshal Surry and Lieutenant Parks conducted these fire code inspections throughout the year. In addition, on-duty fire crews inspected and developed pre-incident plans for 549 buildings within the City of Gulf Shores.

The Community Risk Reduction Division is also charged with meeting the department’s public education objectives. Creating, implementing, and evaluating fire safety education programs lead to positive behavioral changes in the community.

Gulf Shores Fire Rescue (GSFR) prides itself on having a strong presence around the community especially within the Gulf Shores City School system. Throughout the year, fire crews participated in various seasonal events hosting demonstrations as well as visiting with families to create memorable interactions. During October’s Fire Prevention Month, GSFR sponsored Fire Prevention Week consisting of fire safety presentations for over 1,000 students at Gulf Shores Elementary. Each student was sent home with fire and life safety materials to share with their family. In addition to the city schools, fire safety presentations were organized for South Baldwin Christian Academy students and conducted at local daycares.

Coordinating with the Alabama Fire College and The American Red Cross, GSFR initiated a smoke alarm program which provides free battery-powered smoke alarms to the residents of Gulf Shores. The Smoke Detector Program issued and provided installation of free smoke detectors to residents without current protection. Citizens were also given opportunity to participate in the National Fire Protection Association’s Home Safety Survey where fire crews offer recommendations on how to create a safer environment within the home. In connection to the survey, Community Connect extends this effort as a program where residents can create an account to enter specific information which may become relevant to firefighters during an emergency situation.

The City of Gulf Shores continues to be a premiere vacation destination for families around the country. This has also awarded us the opportunity to host a vast array of large scale public assemblies, such as sporting events, concerts and festivals. The community risk reduction division is largely involved in the overall safety and risk management of these events while working as a team with Gulf Shores Department of Cultural & Recreational Affairs, event coordinators, vendors and a wide-range of entities involved in such occasions.

Partnering with local restaurants and working closely with the beach safety division, Lieutenant Parks developed and established kids activity sheets about beach safety to further enhance the BEach Safe program. These are customized to the individual restaurant’s kid menu feature beach safety information for visitors as well as residents. The program was launched on Fourth of July weekend and we have since distributed over 20,000 menus.

MAKE YOUR FAMILY & HOME MORE FIRE SAFE

Install smoke detectors. We recommend one in each room

Change the batteries annually.

Replace smoke alarms when they are 10 years old

Test smoke detectors weekly. Press the button to make sure the alarm is working.

Don’t delay, ESCAPE!

Smoke alarms are an early alerting system to get you and your family out of harms way, not for you to grab personal items.

Smoke detectors cut your risk of dying in a home fire by half. Many fires happen at night, when you are asleep. Smoke and poisonous gas travel through the house faster than flames. Without a smoke detector, you could succumb to the gas and smoke before you know there is a fire.

Sleep with Doors CLOSED

Closed doors act as a barrier and can reduce fire growth, limit damage to your home, keep temperatures down, and can even save your life if you become trapped.

Let Us Help You Be More Fire Safe

Community Connect

Community Connect is a free, secure, and easy-to-use platform that allows you to share critical information about your household or business that will aid our first responders and emergency personnel when responding to your property. Visit GulfShoresAL.gov/CommunityConnect for more information.

Get Alarmed!

We are proud to o er the Get Alarmed, Gulf Shores! program to ensure all homeowners have at least one properly working smoke alarm. Find out if you qualify for this free smoke detector installation program by visiting www.gulfshoresal.gov/getalarmed.

Create a home fire escape plan Plan 2 escape routes from every room. Ensure doors & windows open. Have an outdoor meeting place. Practice your plan twice a year.

Home Safety Surveys

Home safety surveys are designed to identify fire and life-safety hazards such as slipping, tripping, cooking, etc. Upon surveying your home, GSFR firefighters can provide written recommendations the homeowner can follow to reduce fire and life-safety hazards. Learn more at www.gulfshoresAL.gov/HomeSafetySurvey.