Safety checks, safer schools

Every single public school in the Gresham-Barlow, Reynolds and Centennial school districts has been inspected within the past year, thanks to voter approval of the City's five-year Fire and Police Levy in 2024 - the first time this important work has happened since budget cuts eliminated the inspections in 2009. That is more than 80 schools inspected!

As a result of this partnership between the City, our local schools and the community, students and staff are now safer.

These inspections help identify issues for schools to correct, such as:

• Electrical hazards
• Blocked doorways
• Chemical storage hazards
• Expired fire extinguishers
• Faulty exit signs
• Kitchen hazards
• Fire sprinkler and fire alarm system issues
• And more

They've also run fire drills at each of these schools to assess school and student readiness.

Now, in 2026/27, a second round of safety check-ups has ramped up at both public and private school buildings. Gresham Fire's designated school fire inspector Ashley Foster says she's already seen a lot of improvement over the first round, finding fewer violations overall.

Community shout-out

"When we have partners that are willing to come in and give us positive feedback and also corrective feedback, in some cases, it helps us to get better. So when we have the fire department come in and observe a drill, it's an opportunity for us to show the efficiency that we've built and all of the practice that we've put in and all the hard work that our students and our staff has put in to those drills." - Aaron D. Longo, Principal, Reynolds Middle School

School Safety Champion: A Profile on Fire Inspector Ashley Foster

Getting her steps in: Gresham Fire Inspector Ashley Foster has walked over 5.6 million square feet of school building to date, looking for correctable safety issues and completely wearing out her first pair of cushioned work boots in the process.

And now, as the Gresham Fire Marshal's designated school safety inspector, she's going to do it all over again in 2026/27 thanks to the Fire and Police Levy - because, as she puts it, "prevention is one of the most valuable but least visible parts of public safety."

Typical school day: Foster arrives at school front offices with a smile and a long inspection checklist, ready to tour the parts of schools that are both well-used and rarely seen: classrooms, storerooms, closets, mechanical rooms, kitchens, hallways, doorways, outbuildings, etc.

Favorite part of the job: "I have a lot of favorite parts of my job, especially involvement in the community and doing work every day that has a meaningful impact."

"Strong partnerships help us reach our mutual goal of safety in the schools. Schools are more than just a workplace, building or learning environment - they are literally the heart of our community."

Other roles: Fire investigator, fire life-safety educator, event and business inspector, youth fire-setting intervention specialist
Professional background: Degree in public health
Years in the fire service: 2.5
Favorite (code) book: NFPA 921 The Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations
Walk-up song: DuckTales theme
Superpower: Fluent in American sign language
Fun outside of work: Skiing, hiking, cooking (safely), dogs!