Pictured left to right: Don Foster, Fire Marshal; Marta Messmer, City Council Member; Shari Ward, WeSERV Board of Trustees and Cochise County Chapter Council Chairperson (2022); Justin Valdez Cochise County Chapter Council Member; and Kayebree Schlemmer, WeSERV Members Services. 

Lockbox program allows first responders access to home in emergency

By Lyda Longa, lyda.longa@myheraldreview.com
Herald/Review | August 29, 2022

SIERRA VISTA — The city will become the first in Cochise County to employ a program that would allow first responders to enter a residence without having to break a window or damage a door if a person who has called for help is unable to let firefighters or police into their house.

The ideas is a simple but highly effective one, first responders say, and it includes a lockbox with a code and the key to the person's house inside the box. The code would be accessible only to emergency personnel, Sierra Vista fire officials said Tuesday at a presentation where 35 secure lockboxes were donated to the city by the Cochise County chapter of WeSERV, which stands for West and Southwest REALTORS® of the Valley.

Sierra Vista Fire Chief Brian Jones said having to break into someone's house is not uncommon.

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In the Photo

Pictured left to right: Don Foster, Fire Marshal; Marta Messmer, City Council Member; Shari Ward, WeSERV Board of Trustees and Cochise County Chapter Council Chairperson (2022); Justin Valdez, Cochise County Chapter Council Member; and Kayebree Schlemmer, WeSERV Members Services.