A Sun City resident found a use for keys replaced by new ones in lock boxes at community residences.

Mike Adams is a volunteer in the Sun City Fire and Medical Department’s Fire Prevention division. His primary assignment is with the Residential Lock Box program. Besides installing lock boxes on residences within the fire district, he has taken it upon himself to spend his “off” hours going to residences and checking the lock boxes to make sure they remain accessible to firefighters.

The residential lock boxes are installed in case of a medical emergency so firefighter and paramedics can get into the home without breaking any windows or doors.

Mr. Adams found more than 100 lock boxes so far that do not have the correct keys installed in the box. When there are old keys in the box, it would be of no help to firefighters in the case of a medical emergency. When he finds a key that no longer works, he contacts the homeowner and gets a new one to place in the box. He also lubricates the key cylinders in the lock boxes as he checks them.

Instead of throwing the old keys away, Mr. Adams is making a “wreath of keys.”

Kenny Kovach, Sun City assistant fire marshal, oversees the lock box program for the Fire Prevention office.

Editor’s Note: Mr. Fox is Sun City fire marshal.