VIDEO: As Arizona wraps up another very dry monsoon season, the Scottsdale Fire Department has developed a system to help prevent and track brush fires – software to keep track of potential fire threats.
Fire inspector Joe Kamal drives all over town looking for construction sites to visit to see how their fire safety checks out.
“Last year we had several construction sites – mostly residential – that fires originated on,” he said.
Some of the biggest potential fire threats are welding, cutting, and any heavy machinery that’s too close to the brush. A common issue on site is when workers don’t have a fire extinguisher or a water hose close enough to the work area. Whatever issues Kamal finds (or doesn’t find) is now logged directly into an app that automatically geo-maps the construction site's location.
“If we do have a fire out there and its investigated and its shown for negligence, it does give us some recourse,” he said.