Effort stresses resident safety

The Feeling Safe program, in which volunteers inspect residents' homes, has the backing of the Sheriff's Office and Fire Department.

By LEON M. TUCKER

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 19, 2001

DUNEDIN -- A casual conversation between two retired firefighters has resulted in a new community awareness program for residents at a Dunedin condominium that may be repeated citywide.

The Feeling Safe program introduced at Skyloch Villas condominiums last week was sparked by talks residents Clark Motondo and Frank Henkel had about what could be done to make their complex safer.

The two approached the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and the Dunedin Fire Department with the idea that the two offices conduct household surveys and suggest ways to improve safety.

"Some of the ladies (in the community) expressed that they weren't feeling too safe with the thefts and strange people in the area," said Henkel, 63, a retired New York City firefighter. "So we figured, gee, why don't we have a program that would address that?"

Six months later, the Sheriff's Office and Fire Department kicked off the program that uses volunteers to conduct home safety surveys and home security surveys for city residents. They hope to expand the program across the city.

"What we hope to accomplish is to make it safer for the individual in their home," said Jim Stoner, crime prevention specialist for the Sheriff's Office. "A lot of people have smoke detectors but don't bother to check the batteries. We want to reduce the possibility of crime and protect people from fire hazards with neighbors helping neighbors."

So far, the program has eight volunteers who will conduct fire and safety surveys by request and make suggestions to residents on how they can make their homes safer. The information is passed on to sheriff and fire officials who then determine whether more intervention is needed.

"We might have someone that lives alone and may have accumulated stacks of newspaper in their house or outside their house making it hard for them to get in or out," said Dunedin fire inspector Dennis Caudle. "What we'll do sometimes is try to talk them into getting rid of the some of that stuff."

Volunteer inspectors had to complete a two-hour training session as well as agree to a criminal background check to be able to enter residents' homes. Inspectors are then taught how to recognize different hazards such as overloaded electrical outlets, heaters placed too close to combustible materials, shoddy locks and overgrown hedges that can be hiding places for burglars.

"We'd just like to make sure the handicapped and elderly have some protections in case someone did try anything," said Motondo, 75, a retired firefighter from Syracuse, N.Y. "It made us feel great to get the backing for something like this."

The program will be expanded to other communities throughout the county according to Stoner and Caudle, who said it is not expensive to run.

"We wouldn't have put this much effort into this if we thought it wouldn't work," Caudle said. "We're 100 percent behind this for the city, and so far the public has welcomed it with open arms."

To take part

For information on how to participate in the Feeling Safe program, call (727) 582-6950.

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