Whether you are a commercial building owner, a private business, a part time resident, a live-alone senior, or a resident with a medical condition, Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue would like you to provide us with the ability to access your property, 24 hours a day seven days a week, in a non-destructive way.

When we are called to homes or businesses on the Ranch for a reported emergency and no one is present to let us in, our only course of action may be to cut locks, or “break” into the building to determine the problem and provide assistance. This situation also applies to gates with either padlocks or gate codes. This slows down our response time, and may result in damage to your property.

One alternative is for you to provide us information such as:

• gate codes
• key locations
• contact numbers of a local resident with keys
• alarm codes

We send that information to our dispatch center where it is stored securely with your address. The information is then available to us should we need it in an emergency.

A better alternative is a device called a Knox Box

A Knox Box is a secure box, like a small wall safe, that you install on the exterior of your building. A Knox Padlock can be used for gates and outbuildings. A key to your property is placed in the Knox Box, and we have master keys that unlock the Knox Box or Knox Padlock on your property. Our Knox Box master keys are stored in locked containers mounted in our fire trucks and ambulances. This ensures that only our authorized personnel have access to the Knox Box master key.

If you are interested in participating in this program, you will need to order the unit(s) - such as a Residential “Knox Box” or “Knox Box” Padlock - thru us (We do benefit from the sale of Knox-Box products).

For information on the various products available, please visit www.knoxbox.com. For more information about key locations and Knox products, please contact the Fire District office during regular business hours at 923-6776, or email us from our Contact Us page.