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A local teen’s Eagle Scout project will benefit seniors in the community who require frequent wellness checks, allowing people to receive help without the fire department needing to knock down their front doors.
JP Killmond, 18, is a recent graduate of Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton and a longtime member of Boy Scout Troop 222 in Menlo Park. As he began to ponder last year what Eagle Scout project he should pursue – a requirement to reach the Eagle Scout rank – Killmond heard that the Menlo Park Fire Protection District needed more Knox Box planters for local seniors, and decided to jump on it.
The Knox Box is a type of lockbox designed specifically for fire departments and other emergency personnel to gain access to buildings. Emergency personnel have a master key that opens the box, which contains keys to enter the building the box is attached to.
But installing the Knox Box onto a home can be expensive, and they’re not easy to move around once installed. About five years ago, the Fire District came up with an idea to instead put Knox Boxes onto wooden planters.
“That way, it can be a decorative piece in front of a property, and then it gives us access to their home without causing any damage,” District Fire Marshall Jon Johnston explained. “When the resident is done using it, we can move it to another location.”
For Killmond’s Eagle Scout project, he decided to create eight new Knox Box planters that will be distributed at no cost to seniors within the Menlo Park Fire District’s boundaries, which includes East Palo Alto, Atherton, Menlo Park and part of south county.
“The fire department actually contacted the troop with this idea, and I volunteered to take the lead on it,” Killmond said. “It’s been a service that the fire department has provided for some years now, and they wanted some more planters made, so I went ahead and helped them out with that.”
Killmond said there are residents in the community who receive frequent wellness checks from local emergency personnel, but aren’t always able to get up to answer the door. Ordinarily, this would mean that firefighters have to remove that person’s door in order to assist them.
“But with these planters, (firefighters) can let themselves into the house if the resident is unable to do so, and with that, they’re able to avoid having to knock the door down just to complete a regular wellness check on a resident,” Killmond said.
To decide who will receive the new Knox Box planters, Johnston said the district will internally consult with each of the local fire stations to find out which properties receive frequent visits and who could most benefit.
“It’s an easy way for us to have their permission to be able to enter their home and provide whatever care is needed,” Johnston said.
If at some point a senior no longer needs their Knox Box, the mobile planter design allows the fire district to rotate the boxes around based on need.
Killmond said he was grateful for the help and support of his mentors and fellow Boy Scouts to get the job done.
“It’s a very popular service,” Killmond said of the Knox Box planters, “so I’m sure these eight will be flying off the shelves.”
What a great idea. I’ve never seen one of these. Can any Menlo Park senior request one of these from the fire department?