Effective July 18th, 2023 the Hinesburg Fire Department as the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), with authority granted by the State of Vermont through 20 V.S.A. Chapter 173, Subchapter 2 “Fire Safety Division” and the adoption of the 2015 Edition of NFPA 1 Section 18.2.2, requires an approved key box to be installed at all new occupancies classified by the 2015 Edition of NFPA 101 in the Towns of Hinesburg and St George:

• Special structures and high-rise buildings

• Assembly occupancies

• Educational occupancies

• Day care occupancies

• Health care occupancies

• Ambulatory health care occupancies

• Detention and correctional occupancies

• Lodging or rooming houses

• Hotels and dormitories

• Apartment buildings

• Residential board and care occupancies

• Mercantile occupancies

• Business occupancies

• Industrial occupancies

• Storage occupancies

• Gated subdivisions or developments

Exempt occupancies; not required to provide a key box:

• One and Two-Family Dwellings

HFD recommends all existing business and commercial occupancies install an approved key box to provide the fire department immediate access to the property in the event of an emergency. The benefits to providing the fire department an onsite key box:

• Provides immediate emergency entry

• Prevents costly forced entry damage

• Re-secures undamaged doors after emergency

• Allows faster fire sprinkler shut-off

• Protects inventory, equipment and supplies

• Protects firefighters against injury

• Increases fire department efficiency

Key boxes shall be purchased and installed by the property owner in close proximity to the main entrance to the building. Multiple key boxes may be required depending on the square footage of the building, determined by the AHJ. Key boxes shall be installed between 4’ – 5’ in height from the ground and shall not be visually obstructed. After proper installation of the key box, the owner shall contact HFD and provide the following applicable items to be secured inside the key box:

• Master building key

• Key card

• Fire alarm panel key

• Fire alarm pull station key

• RTU key

• Gate key

• Any other key determined necessary by the AHJ

HFD utilizes Knox brand commercial key boxes. Approved products can be found at the link below, or at www.knoxbox.com and searching under ‘Vermont’ and ‘Hinesburg Fire Dept’. All questions regarding the key box program can be directed to HFD.