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Fire Inspections Skipped, Fire Extinguishers Removed From Town Of Century Buildings
January 24, 2018
Century Mayor Henry Hawkins said he has discovered buildings operated by the town of Century have not had required fire safety inspections since 2012 and community centers have been operated with the fire extinguishers removed. And fire extinguishers that remain are out of date and have not had required inspections in over five years.
The community center, know as the “Ag Building” on West Highway 4 and the Century Business Center on Pond Street last had legally required annual fire inspections in 2012. Both buildings are rented to the public by the town as event spaces, including birthday parties, family reunions, weddings and the like, and both buildings contain kitchens. Additional buildings at the Century Business Center include office space, a portion of which is rented by the town to an attorney.
Fire extinguishers that were in the buildings were outdated and removed, Hawkins said.
“Somebody in their infinite wisdom took out all the fire extinguishers out of all the buildings, so I’ve told them to put them back in,” he said.
Hawkins also said the fire extinguishers inside the Century Town Hall have not been checked since 2012. Florida fire code specifies internal checks that must be done on fire extinguishers, plus an annual inspection.
“If we use the Ag Building and it catches fire, and the suppression system don’t work, we are up the creek. We are going to get major lawsuits,” Hawkins said.
The mayor said now that problem has been discovered, the town will make every effort to rectify the situation.
“But hold on to your purse strings,” Hawkins told council members.
Pictured: A crowd attends Martin Luther King Day event inside the Ag Building in Center on Monday, January 15. According to the mayor, the building has not had a required fire safety inspection since 2012 and fire extinguishers were removed from the facility. Pictured below: The Century Business Center. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
9 Responses to “Fire Inspections Skipped, Fire Extinguishers Removed From Town Of Century Buildings”
This is definitely a Life Safety Code 101 violation. I commend whoever is enforcing Cides discrepancies & saying this must be corrected. Too many times our outer population lives don’t matter bc if u dig deep I’m willing to be u funds were allocated for annual inspection but were shift to other programs.
Wow This makes any Retired Fire Inspector heart rage in happiness knowing someone cares about Life Safety.
Give credit where credit is due. This has been a serious oversight by previous administration since 2012. Sometimes the small details get overlooked but causes bigger headaches.
Perhaps the working mayor’s travel stipend is not enough to allow him to visit the Ag building to make said inspections.
>>Mayor Hawkins is a real working Mayor, not just using the title.
>>Thank u Mr. Mayor For putting the town safety first great mind at work
What? He’s be mayor for a year. That’s 12 times the fire extinguishers have not had legally required monthly checks. Not to mention legally required annual inspections.
After the Pulse nightclub fire, making the comments that he made in this article, the mayor would be criminal responsible for the murder of citizens if there were to be a fire in a building and someone be killed.
Again, so how is he working and putting safety first?
Thank u Mr. Mayor For putting the town safety first great mind at work
“Mayor Hawkins is a real working Mayor,” Working at what? A good mayor would be checking resources and making sure the broke city isn’t open to a major lawsuit.
Mayor Hawkins is a real working Mayor, not just using the title.
The Century city government is pitiful.
Poor management of city resources.