Fire safety stressed

At a rare 8 a.m. meeting of the village of Liverpool Board of Trustees on Dec. 31, Codes Enforcement officer Bill Reagan discussed his office’s approach to fire safety.

Reagan explained that independent volunteer fire departments, such as the LFD, have no responsibility for inspections regarding fire-safety compliance nor occupancy restrictions for places which host public assemblies.

“Those inspections have to be done by licensed New York state codes-enforcement officials,” said Reagan, who also oversees code enforcement in his hometown of Marcellus.

“We’re pretty aggressive with our inspections,” he added.

Mayor Gary White said code compliance has been effective.

“We’re fortunate that we have a good fire department here,” White said, “and we’ve had no major fires recently.”

Because of his department’s inspection efforts, Reagan said, “Seven hundred smoke alarms have been installed in the village which otherwise wouldn’t be there.”

Winter parking restricted in village

Liverpool Police Chief Bill Becker and DPW Superintendent Bill Asmus outlined the winter parking restrictions in effect in the village now through April 15.

The two department heads addressed the Liverpool village Board of Trustees on Dec. 31.

The chief noted that no overnight parking is allowed on village streets and no parking is allowed over sidewalks.

“We need to be able to clear the road and the sidewalks,” Asmus said. Illegally parked cars not only hamper that effort but also create safety hazards.

Becker noted that, when they find illegally parked vehicles, his officers will initially issue a warning. If it occurs again, a parking ticket will be written, and if it happens a third time, the vehicle will be towed at the owner’s expense.

And during major snowstorms, the chief said, the three-tiered system will be abandoned. “In heavy snow situations we’ll ticket and tow illegally parked cars,” Becker said.