Clackamas Fire District #1's Apartment Inspection Program was created in 2015 to provide consistent code enforcement, educate apartment managers or owners, and empower apartment residents to help create a safe living environment. Complexes included in the program include all multi-family housing that is a 3-plex or larger.

All complexes are assigned to one inspector, therefore enabling the fire district to ensure that the same information is given to all apartment complexes and provide apartment complexes with one contact.

Contact information and emails are collected from each complex, so that general information and notices for upcoming manager classes can be sent quickly and at no cost in postage.

At the end of 2017, Clackamas Fire District #1 completed its third year of annual inspections of every apartment complex. In the 335 complexes within the coverage area, the fire district has 1,690 buildings that hold 14,621 residential units. Every apartment complex now has fire extinguishers available to residents and working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms installed where required.

Last year, mobile home parks (MHP) and manufactured home (MH) communities were also included in the program to check for water, access, and addressing. Clackamas Fire District #1 currently has 44 MHPs and MH communities noted in the system. The fire district is on the lookout to add more to the program. These have been more challenging, but the fire district hopes residents will begin to see changes for the better soon.

What the Apartment Inspection Program looks for:

Addressing is huge. If the building number or the unit numbers are not visible from the stair entrance, it will take longer to respond to an emergency incident. New address and unit numbers have been added to the majority of complexes. This helps everyone in the community from emergency services, to package delivery, to helping visitors find the correct apartment.

Only the common areas and outside the buildings are inspected. Inside the actual apartment, units and balconies are considered private residences. Clackamas Fire District #1 only goes inside residences in cases of emergency or if invited in by the resident. Stairways and under stairways are common areas and must be kept clear at all times.

Fire extinguishers, fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, and private hydrants are required to be serviced each year to make sure they are in good working order. The fire district verifies that this is done annually at the time of inspection.

During the fire inspection, managers or owners verify that working smoke alarms are installed as required by state law in every unit, and that working carbon monoxide alarms are installed in every unit in a building that has one source of carbon monoxide. These requirements are in the Oregon Fire Code and in ORS 479, OAR 837-045, and ORS 90.

Through the 2016-2017 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Fire Prevention Grant that Clackamas Fire District #1 was awarded, the following was accomplished:

*Purchased and distributed 150 children's bike helmets.
*Purchased and installed over 1,500 Kidco Window Stops.
*Created an apartment resident survey.
*Purchased four Fred Meyer gift cards as resident incentives to complete a survey.
*Created an open source tri-fold brochure of safety tips.
*Translated the tri-fold brochure from English into Spanish, Russian, and Vietnamese.
*Printed 9,500 tri-fold brochures.
*Apartment Safety booklet, which includes safety messages, safety checklist, and a fire escape plan for residents to create their own plan, and was updated by a graphic artist.
*Printed 15,000 Apartment Safety booklets.
*Printed safety and survey information cards for residents.
*Purchased 350 coffee mugs as manager incentives.
*Seven public service announcements were placed in local newspapers, and 150 Window Fall Prevention posters were printed and distributed throughout the fire district.
*Purchased 101 hard of hearing/deaf smoke alarms.
*Created two window props that demonstrate three different safety devices to help prevent window falls.
*Partnered with Stopat4 for Window Fall Prevention.
*Partnered with Clackamas County Housing Authority and 20 apartment complexes for Kidco Window Stop installations.
*Five community events were held at apartment complexes.
*Created activity coloring books for children ages five through nine or Kindergarten through third grade.
*Printed 6,200 activity coloring books.

If you have concerns regarding an apartment complex, visit Clackamas Fire's website to submit your concerns: http://www.clackamasfire.com/contact/.