The Region of Queens is doubling the number of fire inspectors covering the county.

At the only council meeting in August, Council appointed Myles Harlow as the second fire inspector. Harlow already works as a building inspector for the Region along with Tim Clattenburg who is currently the sole fire inspector for the entire municipality.

Mayor Darlene Norman says an additional inspector will help manage the workload. “When you think of all the commercial buildings that exist within any municipality, commercial meaning accommodations, eatery, they all have files and they are all subject to fire inspections, I believe, every three years. So, it is a considerable amount of work to do this,” said Norman.

While there are no set timelines for when an inspection must be completed from the time it is requested, Norman says inspectors work to get them done as soon as possible, and having building inspectors do double duty as fire inspectors will also provide efficiencies.

“You know, if you’re out in Hibernia area doing home inspections, then there’s commercial businesses out there that since you’re in the area, check those off in your file for fire inspection,” said Norman. “Those two staff members travel all over this county on a regular basis.”

Norman says Harlow will assume his new responsibilities immediately.

To listen to the conversation with Mayor Norman, press play below.