Prevention

West Metro Fire-Rescue District is a prevention-oriented organization serving the cities of Crystal and New Hope. West Metro is dedicated to preventing fires before they happen and protecting the lives and property of the customers we serve. The fire prevention office is staffed by two full-time fire inspectors and assisted by up to five part-time inspectors, as well as, the entire paid-on-call firefighter staff in accomplishing a wide range of services.

The main focus of the prevention staff is fire code compliance. All new and existing buildings in the cities are monitored through plan review, general inspections, and fire or life-safety complaint investigations. Paid- on-call firefighters are also cross-trained in inspections on a part-time basis to assist the full-time inspectors as needed.

Another large part of the prevention staff’s responsibility is developing, implementing, and coordinating both cities’ public education programs and events related to fire prevention. This is again accomplished by utilizing the entire paid-on-call firefighter staff to bring our fire prevention messages to the intended audience throughout the communities.

Even with a large focus on fire prevention we can not prevent every fire. Therefore when a fire does occur in either city served, it is the responsibility of the fire inspectors to attempt to determine the origin and cause of these fires when possible. This information is crucial in designing fire prevention and public education programs that target potential fires in our communities.