The Sandy Springs Fire Department plans to start using third-party software to track fire safety equipment inspections after receiving approval from the City Council Dec. 4.
The software is free to the city and passes the cost along to state-licensed inspectors. It is expected to save the Fire Marshal’s office time by eliminating some paperwork and data entry, said Doug Brown, the division commander of the city’s Fire Marshal’s office, during a presentation at the council meeting. The Fire Marshal oversees inspections of fire safety equipment, like sprinklers and fire alarms, for commercial buildings.
“The more time we can send inspectors out instead of sitting on their computer entering data, the better for us,” Brown said. “And there’s no cost the city, which I think is the best benefit of all.”
Councilmember John Paulson said it “sounded too good to be true from the city’s perspective” and asked if the Fire Department had heard any concerns from the community about increased costs on their side.
Vendors who provide state-licensed inspectors will pay $20 to use the service, which could be passed onto their clients, but the city has not heard any pushback, Brown said.
The agreement to use the system was unanimously approved by the City Council.