Williamsburg fire chief expands pre-fire inspection program to boost annual business coverage

The Williamsburg Fire Department told City Council on Feb. 12 it has rolled out a business pre-fire inspection program intended to increase annual inspection coverage of local brick-and-mortar businesses.

Fire department leadership said the city has about 710–715 brick-and-mortar businesses and that the department historically inspected roughly 27% of those annually. Chief Adams, who was described as the city's appointed fire marshal and who has led the rollout, said the program uses a mailed/emailed checklist and scheduled visits so business owners can remedy issues before inspectors arrive, reducing the need for reinspections and making field time more efficient. The department set a target goal of inspecting 60% of businesses annually and a stretch goal of 100%.

The presentation highlighted other community risk reduction work: food-truck inspections, car-seat installations (about 77 last year), and roughly 2,800 community outreach interactions (school programs, open houses and other events). Councilmembers praised staff for weather-response work during recent winter storms and for emphasizing prevention as part of the department's public-safety mission. Council members asked about inspection frequency and how the department coordinates inspections with large institutional property owners; staff said business inspections are scheduled and done annually and described coordination with Colonial Williamsburg and William & Mary (the state fire marshal retains primary responsibility at the university, but local staff coordinate and share information).

Chiefs told the council the department will continue to prioritize inspections by risk and will phase rollout to ensure adequate outreach and relationship-building with businesses before inspections occur.