Fire safety includes vigilance at No Parking sites

Vernon — Fire prevention officers face a unique problem in a resort area. Visitors often find all those yellow lines and No Parking signs frustrating. Drivers can be intolerant of the need to keep the lanes clear. Sometimes, when they’re just picking someone up or dropping off, a driver thinks it’s OK to park in a restricted lane — just for a few minutes. But it’s not OK. Fire official Tom Van Gorder and officer William Hendrickson are tasked with issuing tickets for fire lane parking violations. Their job is to ensure that fire lanes at schools, businesses, shopping centers and at ski resorts, hotels, water parks and even beaches are kept clear for emergency vehicles — police cars, ambulances and fire trucks. All emergency responders and their equipment need free and clear passage and fire lanes are marked at such buildings. For those who are aware of the necessity of keeping fire lanes clear, illegally parked or standing cars can be intolerable. It’s troubling to see a car next to a fire hydrant; it’s even more troublesome when, as Van Gorder points out, illegally parked vehicles impede the work of emergency responders. While signs and paint are meant to draw attention to the no-parking zones, what isn’t so visible are the other steps the Fire Prevention department has taken. For example, the walkway surrounding the Appalachian Hotel at Mountain Creek is bordered by a buried metal grid designed to enable fire trucks to reach all parts of the hotel. Fire safety starts with good habits and up-to-date information. Van Gorder and Hendrickson play a key role in educating the community, classrooms, youth groups and senior citizens’ groups about fire safety. But education and monitoring fire lanes are only part of the job. They also perform safety inspections on public and private buildings. Inspection fees, in addition to the funds raised from parking tickets, make the Vernon Fire Prevention Department self-sustaining. How many? Vernon Township officials ticketed more than 250 illegally parked vehicles last year. The greatest number of violations, they report, occurred at resort areas at peak times for the skiing and water park seasons. The township issued 83 summons in July 2008 and 72 in January 2009. Vernon’s penalty for a fire-lane parking violation is $50, about average for the state. When necessary, a towing fee is charged.