Safety Police Fire

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THE ASSOCIATION DOES NOT PROVIDE SECURITY SERVICES TO RESIDENTS.

Police, Fire or Ambulance Emergency 911

Police non-emergency number 804 501-5000

We work with our Community Officer to control crime in our community.

Animal Protection 804 727-8800 or for bites 804 501-5000

No charge for using Henrico Fire Dept. Ambulances.

City of Richmond for gas concerns and gas leaks 804 646-4646 or in emergency 911.

Helpful information on emergencies and concerns:

When you call 911:

Location: Give the correct street address of the incident.

Closest intersection: Lee Avenue and Colonel Drive

The locator address for our front entrance is: 310 Lee Avenue.
Do not report that as the incident address unless whatever is happening at that location.

Be specific, concise and precise about what is going on.

Be aware calling 911 from a cell phone may be problematic:

If you dial 911 and you get Hanover County, ask them to transfer you to Henrico. They will document the information and transfer you. We live so close to the Hanover County line that this is a common issue. DO NOT HANG UP.

Please keep your front porch light on at night so that emergency providers can locate your home if necessary. It also adds another layer of security for our neighborhood. Do not use motion-control lights.

Be aware Henrico County does not currently bill for ambulance services in order to provide services to people of all economic levels. You will most likely get a donation request envelope, it is not a bill. Henrico does work with several volunteer ambulance services and they are trained to county standards. Consider a donation.

The Henrico Police Department monitors activity in our community. We have been assigned a community police officer to keep up with the activities in our community. Henrico County provides patrols in our community at various hours of day/night. We currently have a low crime rating and we want to keep it that way.

Our Association does not provide any security guards, no security services. We rely on the Henrico Police Department to investigate suspicious situations and make arrests. They are limited in what they can do here due to wetlands out back.

Any suspicious activity should be reported to the non-emergency number 501-5000 - memorize this number.

Any crime in action should be reported to 911.

Only Approved No Trespassing Sign for Use Here on Front of Properties:

March 2017 Safety Brochures:

Remember, S A L U T E

S – Size (Jot down the number of people, gender, ages, and physical descriptions)
A – Activity (Describe exactly what they are doing)
L – Location (Provide exact location)
U – Uniform (Describe what they are wearing, including shoes)
T – Time (Provide date, time, and duration of activity)
E – Equipment (Describe vehicle, make, color etc., license plate, camera, guns, etc)

Note: Physical descriptions would indicate light skin, dark skin, etc., not black or white. Stating black or white is misleading to officers, because there are many ethnic groups in Richmond area and no one is black or white.

Tips from Our Community Police Officer:

Call the police when anything suspected to be a violation of the law or nuisances is occurring or suspected of occurring. The police can be called whenever a citizen has an issue that they can’t resolve themselves. There is no real definitive answer to a set criteria to what justifies a call to the Police.

When in doubt place the call. Nothing is too minor. Our job is to respond and address the situation. Every call is different and can only be assessed by the Officer once on scene. The responding Officer will notify the caller what can and can’t be done.

The owner is responsible for their property. On private property the Police have limited authority to take enforcement. If someone is parked in a driveway it is up to the owner of that property to contact a tow company and have the vehicle removed. The police can be called out to mediate. Police can issue a parking ticket for the parking violations in the fire lane. The entire complex is considered private property and the Police do not have the authority on private property to have vehicles towed. What a lot of multi-dwelling complexes do is partner with a towing company to address vehicles parking in prohibited areas.

There is no special number. Call (804) 501-5000. The Officer can only ticket the vehicle. We can’t have a vehicle towed from private property. Most multi-unit complexes have a contract with a towing company to handle there towing needs and post signs at the entrance with that company’s contact information on it. That towing company is who would be called out to remove a vehicle in violation of parking guidelines within the complex.

Note: Property owners with private driveways can have vehicles towed in their driveways without authorization, but they are responsible for doing so, and for any legal issues associated with that. Choose a towing company carefully.

County Emergency Lock Box:

The Henrico Fire Department provides a service to residents of the county who purchase a lock box through its vendor. Installation of the lockbox at your porch entrance provides a way for the Fire Department/Ambulance to rescue you in the event of an emergency. This is a good service in the event you live by yourself. This is at your cost, but prevents damages to your home that you will be responsible to repair - and could save your life.

For more information, click on this link:

http://henrico.us/fire/fire-marshals-office/lock-box/

File of Life:

"File of Life" is available from Henrico Libraries. Some localities have them available from fire or police departments, but Henrico provides these only through public libraries. You have to ask the library personnel for them. You have one for each person, fill it out and tape it to your refrigerator for EMS personnel, they look for it. You might even keep one in your glove compartment.

From Henrico Fire Department on fires:

A fire in a home, whether you live in an apartment, a single family, or multifamily home, can cause serious damage. The building and many of the things in your home may have been badly damaged by flames, heat, smoke, and water. You will find that things the fire did not burn up are now ruined by smoke and soggy with water used to put out the flames.

If a room is on fire, leave the room and close the door if possible. That could buy you time to get out alive. Remember to crawl through smoky rooms to reduce smoke inhalation - the leading cause of deaths related to fires. If you can use a wet cloth over your nose and mouth, it will help you breathe better. Read many more fire tips on fire safety pages online.

Anything you want to save or re-use will need to be carefully cleaned. Just the soot alone is damaging in addition to the water. Soot can increase carbon monoxide effect in some cases, it isn't harmless. The firefighters may have cut holes in the walls of the building to look for any hidden flames. They may even have cut holes in the roof to let out the heat and smoke. Cleanup will take time and patience.

Other Tips:

Dryers and the clogged dryer vents are a leading cause of fires in homes. Please get your dryer and the venting from your dryer to the outside of your townhouse cleaned regularly by a reputable professional company with certifications, good ratings and reviews in order to prevent fires. In some of our townhouses, there is at least 30 feet of venting from the dryer wall vent to the exterior vent. There is no way any person can do this on their own. You need to tell a company when you call them that it is maybe 30 ft. long to the exterior, and they will need to give you a bid. Not every company can do this. These companies usually will do the back of the dryers also, as often the lint etc. will build up in the dryer itself and that ignites the fire.

It is highly recommended that you replace your bathroom exhaust fans. Several homes in Highland Springs have caught fire when the exhaust fans were left on. If you have the original exhaust fans in your home, they are very old and should be replaced. The fire departments are recommending new exhaust fans with timers be installed.

After a power outage always check the range, oven, exhaust fans and any other electrical equipment that might have been on when the electricity went out so nothing will catch on fire. The fire department advises there are usually fires in the county due to this.

Grill equipment must be located ten (10) feet from any structure per Henrico County and state law. You cannot operate a grill on a patio or a balcony, and you must locate a grill 10 ft. from any portion of the building. The Association is not responsible for maintaining or repairing any installed gas grill, nor is the use of the installed grill advised.

If you install another natural gas grill, you need to submit the information to ACS West for board approval before you purchase it. You must completely remove the prior gas grill from our property, and locate the new gas grill at least 10 ft. from any point of structure once it has been approved.

If you use your fireplaces, please be sure to have your chimneys annually inspected for safety. Note, if you have not had your fireplaces inspected since the earthquake in Louisa County on August 23, 2011, then you need to do that. Chimney inspectors in the greater Richmond area have reported many fireplaces were internally damaged due to that earthquake. This could affect the safety of your home. The Association is not responsible for this repair.

Your gas furnace should be annually inspected by a licensed company to be sure there are no dangers for fire or carbon monoxide.

Use caution with candles and preferably use battery-operated light devices, especially if you have pets or small children. It is best never ever to use candles. Those head lamp flashlights are an excellent thing to use here in these townhouses and there are many excellent inexpensive battery lamps out now.

Smoke detectors on each floor are highly recommended. Please establish a schedule for changing the batteries.

Separate carbon monoxide detectors should be properly installed. If you can find one that measures levels, that is even more useful. Remember that gas gathers first on lower levels.

Gas water heaters should be replaced by a licensed plumber and a permit will need to be obtained from the county.

Do not leave your home with appliances like these on: range, dryer, irons. Anything gas-powered or electricity-powered can cause fires. This includes exhaust fans.

Fireworks Prohibited:

Henrico County prohibits the sale, possession, or use of fireworks including sparklers.

Exceptions include road flares and paper caps containing no more than .25 grams of explosive content.

Possession of fireworks in Henrico is a Class 1 Misdemeanor punishable with up to $2500 fine and up to one year in jail.

People coming to your home unsolicited:

We have a No Soliciting policy and have posted that at the entrance drive to our community. One reason for this is that criminals often pose as vendors in order to do research or rob your home.

People use different schemes to get you out of your home so someone else can come in and steal things, and to case your property.

Never open your home to anyone purporting to be from the Association (no need for Association vendors to enter your home) or from any other company unless you called for services. People purporting to be from Dominion doing free inspections of your home would not be so, as those services are based on your requests only.

If someone comes to your door unsolicited, regardless of who they say the represent, do not allow them in your home and do not go behind your property and leave the front door unlocked. Use caution opening your door to unknown individuals.

If you have a question about who is at your home, ask for identification. Utilities require their employees to have company identification with photos, and you should call the company if you have doubts. Otherwise, tell the person they are violating the No Soliciting policy and you will call the police and report them for trespassing if they do not leave the community now.

Security companies should not solicit in our community and the same procedures follow. Do not answer questions about your security system or lack of one as that can be used to plan a burglary of your home. You are responsible for any purchase or maintenance of a security system. Do not purchase anything from someone coming to your door for your protection.

The Henrico Police Department does offer citizens a review of your home for security concerns upon your request. They will give you various ideas on how you can do things differently to properly secure your home.

The Henrico Police Department also offers a free Citizens Police Academy and a free Senior Citizens Police Academy twice a year. Contact their general information office for more details.

Email Board with questions.