Access to Commercial & Residential Property

It is important that emergency response personnel have clear access to fires and medical incidents. In the event of a fire or life-threatening medical emergency, fire personnel must be able to reach the scene as quickly as possible. In an emergency, a few seconds literally can mean the difference between life and death. How quickly crews can begin fighting a fire often will determine how successful they are in stopping the fire and preventing further damage.

Fire Code requirements pertaining to emergency access were written to help the Fire Department's respond quickly and safely to all occupancies in the city.

Want to help provide faster access to your property, commercial or residential?

If you are looking for ways to help us respond and access your property or building in less time a key box may be the answer.  An approved key box allows emergency personnel to use their access keys to reduce the time it takes to access your property or building. Please contact us for more information on options that may work for you.

Guides to Key Box Installations

Large Offices & Warehouses

Multi Family Communities

Commercial Complexes & Strip Malls

High Rise Buildings

Why Fire Lanes Are Important?

We see fire lanes throughout the city from apartment complexes to shopping centers. Fire lanes are identified by a red curb and a fire lane sign. In some instances the curb may have the words "FIRE LANE" painted on it. Fire lanes are critical to the safety of emergency responders allowing them to operate from a dedicated curb space rather than in a roadway with traffic. Emergency vehicles are designed to meet the needs of rescue workers in many difference situations.  When fire lanes are blocked emergency responders are unable to maneuver equipment and vehicles close to the emergency resulting in a delay in response time. 

Apartment Complex Gates

The Phoenix Fire Department requires automatic vehicle gates at residential and commercial properties to have a fire department key switch on both sides of the gate. This allows the emergency personnel to access the 

property in the event of an emergency. In 2001 the Phoenix Fire Department implemented the requirement for residential property gates, like those found at apartment complexes, to have a preemption system installed. Preemption systems consist of two components.  A detector, found on the gate attached to the control system, and an emitter located on the emergency vehicle. The light and pattern transmitted from the vehicle triggers the detector to open the gate as the vehicle approaches. The preemption system prevents emergency responders from having to stop to use the key switch thus providing quicker access in a emergency response event.