The Cedar Hill Fire Protection District will give away and install key lock boxes at homes in the district, primarily at homes where people with disabilities or special needs live.
The heavy-duty metal boxes are installed on an exterior door to allow first responders access to the homes in the event of an emergency.
Cedar Hill Fire has bought 70 Knox HomeBoxes, at $211 each, funding the purchase with a $14,770 Fire Prevention and Safety grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The fire district was awarded the grant on Aug. 30.
“We receive (a Fire Prevention and Safety) grant every year,” Cedar Hill Fire Chief Mick Fischer said. “Last year, (the grant) funded our smoke detector program, which we still have some in our inventory. I’m glad we could get this new program started.”
Fischer said half of the HomeBoxes will be given away this year and half next year.
“The purpose of them is to allow emergency personnel in your home without breaking a door or window,” said Battalion Chief John Griffith. “Elderly people, for example, may become invalid and can’t answer the door during an emergency.”
Residents who participate in the program will leave one house key inside the box, which is exclusively accessible to Jefferson County first responders. The box can be installed on a garage door, security door or front door, according to the Knox website, knoxbox.com/homebox.
Griffith said Cedar Hill Fire has a universal key to the home boxes in its stations.
“It’s very secure,” Griffith said. “Ours is locked up and sealed. Whenever the seal is broken, we document it. Once we’ve responded to the emergency, the key is locked back up and resealed.”
Cedar Hill Fire is offering temporary and permanent versions of the Knox HomeBoxes free of charge. The permanent key box is drilled into a door with 3-inch screws, and the temporary box hangs from the top of the door, Griffith said.
He said the temporary box will be available for a year’s use and is perfect for people who are injured or have a family member staying with them for a brief time who cannot easily answer the door in an emergency.
“The temporary one actually slides over your door to where they can be removed without any damage,” Griffith said.
He said the lock boxes reduce the amount of time it takes for first responders to enter a residence and help those who need it.
“We have a short application to fill out before you can receive one,” Fischer said. He said applications are available at Cedar Hill Fire Station 1 at 6766 Cedar Hill Road.
Griffith said firefighters will install the boxes once a resident’s application is approved.
For more information, call Cedar Hill Fire at 636-285-3345.