Where’s the fire?

By Lee Raynor
Editor

Posted: 10:45 PM EST Wednesday January 18, 2006

A local business owner, a fire truck and a surprise inspection had people rolling their eyes this week and wondering what the heck is going on.

Ray Beard, who owns several businesses in Kinston, wonders why four firefighters drove a $700,000 fire truck to his Mitchell Street auto parts store to conduct an inspection.

Beard said he doesn’t mind the impromptu fire inspection, but he is curious why an expensive truck that gets about 2 miles to a gallon of gas is being used for ordinary transportation.

“I think that’s kind of ridiculous,” he said. “I’d like to know why.”

The firefighters visited his shop Dec. 15, Beard said, and one of the men inspected the building while the other three wandered around gazing at his merchandise.

He didn’t mind the three just looking around, he said. Maybe they would return later and buy something. But their use of the fire truck puzzled him, especially since his was the only business in that area to be inspected that day.

“If a truck had to be used to inspect my place of business, why weren’t they inspecting every business in that area at the same point in time,” he asked. “ … I just feel like it’s kind of silly for a $700,000 fire truck to be running up and down the street to do fire inspections.”

Beard made his remarks to the City Council on Monday during a brief interval near the beginning of the meeting when residents can address their concerns to Kinston officials.

Mayor “Buddy” Ritch called on Public Safety Director Greg Smith to answer Beard’s question. Ritch’s move in itself was unusual. Past practice of the council has been to listen to residents’ remarks without replying immediately. Someone from the city is supposed to get back with the person and answer his or her questions. The practice has caused consternation among many residents who say no one from the council or City Hall ever bothers to contact them.

Smith said some years back the department had “four or five fire inspectors.” Those salaries, at about $30,000 each, plus benefits, were costly. The city no longer has those fire inspectors and saves money on their salaries.

Firefighters need to go into buildings where they might some day have to fight fires. Inspecting the buildings familiarizes them with the surroundings before an emergency occurs, Smith said.

“When you look at the difference between four people’s salaries at over $100,000 a year, we make better use of our resources keeping people on the fire trucks” to inspect the buildings, Smith said. If the men have to respond to a fire, they already have a truck with them.

Smith said similar programs are used in cities across the country.

Beard continued to question Smith about why other businesses had not also been inspected and the chief said he would check into the assertion.

Finally, Councilman Joe Tyson called a halt to the discussion, telling Ritch about the council’s custom of not answering questions at a meeting. Tyson was mayor pro tem when former Mayor Johnnie Mosley was in charge.

Robbie Swinson, Tyson’s successor, also seemed to be unaware of the council’s past practice.

Beard left the room shaking his head, undoubtedly still wondering why a $700,000 fire truck was being used to carry four men to conduct a fire inspection at a single business less than a mile from the fire station.