New Chief of Fire Safety Sought in Limerick

Limerick Township's administration is looking for someone to fill the newly-created position of Chief of Fire Safety. 

Township manager Dan Kerr told Patch that the fire safety chief will deal with fire and life safety code enforcement. 

"We hope to cut down on the false alarms and junk fire calls that tie up our fire departments," Kerr said. "We want it to be a proactive position."

The job description posted on the township website says that the person hired will be responsible for implementing "a Township wide Fire and Life Safety Inspection Program with an objective of reducing the growing rate of fire and emergency service call responses."

Some of the duties will include inspecting existing buildings for fire code compliance, as Kerr said that false alarms at businesses make up a large part of the calls the fire department gets. 

Ideally, Kerr said, candidates will have some experience with fire services, because one of the position's other duties is to help the township's volunteer fire departments with management tasks. 

Kerr said that because the fire companies are all volunteer, many times the extra things they do such as fundraising are more difficult because the firefighters also have other jobs or commitments. 

The intent is not for the Chief of Fire Safety to take over the fire departments; Kerr said the chief would only be assisting departments as needed.

"We're not going to take over what companies do on the street," Kerr said. "Our volunteers do a great job."

The job listing lays out a detailed set of requirements, including several certifications that the township would like a person in the position to have. 

The job description is available on the township website