Hope church adds device to aid firefighters’ access

Hope United Methodist Church is the first location in the northeastern Bartholomew County community to be equipped with a KnoxBox — a secure storage container with keys to enter the building.

The device is meant as a way for firefighters to gain access to a building safely, quickly and economically. Firefighters have the only key to open the box and gain access, allowing them to avoid having to break down doors, shatter windows or wait for a responsible person to show up to unlock a potentially burning building.

Pastor Ed Cottrell wrote for HSJ Online, the Hope news website, that the church and volunteer firefighters installed the box at the building just off the Hope Town Square last weekend. The fire department’s goal is to have commercial locations throughout the town equipped with the boxes.