Illegal
locking of Emergency gate could have been fatal
by Barry Cohen
ANTHEM/DESERT
HILLS – One or more persons could have jeopardized
the safety of area residents by chaining and locking
shut the emergency‑access gate between Anthem
and Desert Hills, the Daisy Mountain Fire Department
reported.
The
electronically operated gate, installed by Del
Webb Corp. in August 2005 and thereafter maintained
by the Maricopa County Department of Transportation,
had been out of service off and on since April,
and in May it was left open after it was damaged
and became inoperable. At that time MCDOT ordered
a new gate, slated for installation by the end
of June. However, that installation was delayed
until August 15. The new gate is now in service.
In
the meantime, on at least two DMFD calls–one in
June and another in July–firefighters found the
gate closed and chained with a padlock, said Capt.
Dennis Tyrrell, forcing them to stop and cut
the lock in order to open the gate.
“This
delayed our response by three to four minutes,”
Tyrrell said. “Had these calls been medical emergencies,
such as a heart attack, the delay could have been
the difference between life and death for the
victim.”
Tyrrell
called the act of locking the gate a public safety
issue, adding that if the responsible party is
identified, they will be turned over to authorities
for prosecution.
The
gate, located just west of 11th Avenue between
Meridian and Desert Hills drives, is intended
to prevent public access between the two communities.
It is legally accessible only by Daisy Mountain
Fire Department, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s
Office, MCDOT maintenance crews and, as of the
start of the current school year, Deer Valley
Unified School District buses.
DVUSD
buses were granted access upon county Board of
Supervisors approval Oct. 19, 2005, of an amendment
to the Anthem Development Master Plan.
Because
gate access is restricted, Anthem residents who
transport their children to private or charter
schools in Desert Hills and Cave Creek, and some
Desert Hills residents with students driving to
Boulder Creek High School in Anthem, have complained
that they are forced to travel I‑17 and
Carefree Highway.
In
the master plan for Anthem, to prevent heavy traffic
through Desert Hills residential neighborhoods,
Del Webb Corp. agreed to a stipulation prohibiting
public access between Anthem and Desert Hills,
except for emergency responders. The first gate
was installed after construction crews and area
residents continuously ignored No Trespassing/Emergency
Vehicles Only signs and violated the no‑public‑use
stipulation.
