The Knox Box is a secure key box system accessible only by fire personnel during emergencies requiring immediate access to a facility. The system eliminates the need to use forcible entry techniques resulting in costly damage to the facility. Please see Turlock Municipal Code Section 4-3-204 for Fire Department access requirements.
According to a letter sent out by Fire Chief Mark Langley:
The purpose of the Knox Box system was to provide a non-destructive avenue for emergency responders to gain access, after hours, in cases of emergencies. The Knox Box system has been utilized in communities without incident for over 30 years. Unfortunately, in the last few days individuals have been able to gain access to the keys or entry cards secured in the Knox Box at several business locations in Turlock.
As a public safety official, and in conjunction with our police department’s expertise, I have determined that use of the Knox Box system that has served communities for over 30 years is no longer an option.
A program to open and retrieve all business keys from Knox Boxes in the City of Turlock commenced on February 25. All keys will be retrieved, secured at the police station, and destroyed. At this time, if your keys have not yet been removed by Turlock Fire Department Personnel, please call our business office at the number listed above to schedule an appointment to remove your business keys from the Knox Box and discontinue use of the Knox Box system.
Although no longer required by the City of Turlock, if you wish to maintain the Knox Box system at your location, please contact the Fire Marshal, Mark Gomez at the number listed above, for further instruction.
If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
Fire Marshal Mark Gomez said that the Chief Langley’s letter was all the information he could provide at this time.
A full report on the Knox Box issue will be presented to the Development Collaborative Advisory Committee (DCAC) on April 8th at 3:30 in the Yosemite Room at City Hall (156 S. Broadway Avenue). The meeting is open to the public.
The DCAC April 8th meeting will also include information on potential cargo container regulations while discussing revisiting the “Big Box Ordinance” issue that banned Super Wal-Mart from coming to Turlock.
