Greetings Everyone!

Welcome to the "Chief's Page" of the Godfrey Fire Department's web site.  I would like to take this opportunity to keep you all posted on some of the department's activities and accomplishments.

Spring and Summer are here!  These are busy times for your Godfrey Firefighters.  We have welcomed aboard six new probationary paid-on-call firefighters: Jacob Elder, Ryan Long, Brian Maher, Bryan Morse, Jordan Ridgley, and Catlin Utterback.  They have begun their long 12 month probationary period of training and studying.  Members of the public will see us out working with these new recruits throughout the area as the summer progresses.  I want to wish them the best of luck and success!

We will be initiating a new program in Godfrey over the next few months and I would like to take some time to tell you about it here in the "Chief's Page".

By state statute, the Godfrey Fire Protection District is charged with the responsibility of conducting periodic inspections of business establishments within our jurisdiction for violations of the life safety and fire codes.  I am a firm believer that the best and most effective way to fight fires is to prevent them from ever starting.  I also believe that responsible business owners have the safety of their employees and patrons as their #1 priority.  With that in mind, we will be initiating an annual inspection program for all businesses in the Godfrey Fire Protection District.  This will be a simple building inspection conducted by uniformed firefighters with the permission of the business owner.  We will ask permission to perform the inspection and ask that a representative of the owner accompany us on the inspection.  Results will be discussed afterward and a copy of the inspection report given to the owner.  Any hazards or code violations that are discovered will be explained and a plan of correction agreed upon.  This program is intended to be a "partnership" between the business owner and the fire department to identify and correct any fire safety problems that might exist. 

I realize this is new to business owners in Godfrey, but I assure you that it will be a positive experience.  It is not our intention to cause any undue hardship or expense.  The inspection will take approximately 15 - 20 minutes for most businesses.  Obviously, larger buildings will take a little more time.  Safety concerns will be addressed in a positive manner and, if necessary, a plan of corrective action will be worked out that doesn't place an unreasonable burden on anyone.

An added benefit to this program is that our firefighters get an opportunity to become familiar with commercial structures under ideal circumstances.  This makes our job much safer when called to these structures under less than ideal circumstances. 

Look for the link to a copy of the inspection form that we will be using on the home page of this website.

We look forward to working with all business owners on this new initiative to promote safety for everyone. 

As always, remember this is YOUR fire department.  We exist to serve the citizens of this community and I welcome any and all input from those citizens.  Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance.