Columbia Borough Fire Department

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Knox-Box Program

Offering Peace of Mind for the Community and Firefighters

Knox-Box Fire Department Emergency Access to your home or business

The mission of the Columbia Borough Fire Department shall be to protect the lives and property of the citizens and visitors of the Borough of Columbia and neighboring communities from fire and other related emergencies or natural disasters. This public safety goal shall be achieved by providing professionally trained personnel educated in the areas of fire prevention, suppression, and tactical operations from the adverse effects of fire and rescue situations, or exposure to other hazardous conditions.

Our firefighters live our mission every day by participating in hundreds of hours of training annually.
One major issue we face as first responders is gaining access to buildings, residences, and dwellings to investigate reports of fires and emergencies. When we arrive, the time it takes to access a building is critical. In order to access buildings quickly, minimize damage, and protect firefighters, the Columbia Borough Fire Department encourages the use of the Knox-Box Rapid Entry System.

Reasons to Install a Knox-Box Unlocking System

Eliminates needless, costly forced entry damage that may not be covered by your insurance deductible.
Assure immediate building entry by firefighters without delay of waiting for building keys.
Reduce liability for lost keys.
Protect inventory, equipment and supplies from unnecessary water damage caused by delayed sprinkler shut-off.
Satisfy local fire codes and emergency access ordinances.
Save time and aggravation by not having to drive to your building at odd hours.
Feel secure about emergency coverage when your building is left unattended.
Maintain building security after a fire alarm investigation by simply re-locking the undamaged door.
Protect your property from thousands of dollars in damage with this one-time relatively low cost investment.
Rely on the highest lock box security technology available with attack resistant, UL tested reliability.
Over the past 25 years, Knox-Box has been the chosen solution in 7,500 communities nationwide communities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Knoxbox system?

It's a high-security key box system, designed to give firefighters and emergency services immediate access to locked buildings, elevators, and other secured areas. Knox Boxes are a steel weather proof box with a reinforced locking mechanism which are mounted on the exterior of the building in discreet location. The boxes will then contain important keys to make entry into the building if the fire department is called to that location.

The boxes are UL listed against physical attack and the Medeco security lock is patented and UL listed against entry attempts such as drill, pick, or pull resistence.

The master key to open the box is carried in an electronically secured box on all Columbia Borough fire apparatus.

How is the Knoxbox installed?

Each Knox Box is shipped with complete mounting instructions; however, the Columbia Borough Fire Department will assist you in choosing a proper location for mounting. It is highly recommended that Knox Boxes are mounted no higher than 5 feet from the ground and near the main entrance. After installation is completed, contact the Columbia Borough Fire Department (717)-684-5844 to conduct an inspection of the installation and lock building keys inside the box. As soon as building keys are locked inside the box, it is ready to provide immediate access to emergency personnel 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Example:

During the early morning hours your building alarm system transmits a signal to your alarm monitoring company, who in-turn contact Lancaster County 911 and the Columbia Borough Fire Department is immediately dispatched to your alarmed location. The Columbia Borough Fire Department arrives a short time later and conducts an initial size-up of your location. Officers on the scene determine that an entry is warranted. The key inside your Knox Box is used to unlock your protected location. The police department is notified to respond. A brief interior inspection is conducted and no problems are found. Firefighters simply lock up the building when leaving and return the entry key to the Knox-Box. Fire department officers then radio Lancaster County Wide Communications that no fire was found, and then leave the scene doing no damage. If the Knox-Box system was not in place, windows may be broken or doors forced. You can see that with just one use the Knox-Box system could pay for its self in dollars and peace of mind.

How to participate?

- Download the Knox Box Online Purchase Form.

- Complete all of the information requested on the form: Fire Department Contact will assist with choosing the correct Box.

- Obtain an authorized signature from the fire department

- Send your order with payment to the Knox Company

The Knox Company
17672 Armstrong Avenue
Irvine, California 92614
-Once you receive the box contact the Columbia Borough Fire Department to assist installing the box.

For more information, please visit www.knoxbox.com or contact a chief officer.