Avoiding Scams and Injuries

We want to encourage residents to be vigilant and protect themselves from unscrupulous operators who will offer assistance at removing debris or repairing damage. They are looking to take your insurance money, so please be careful who you work with. A few simple tips to avoid scams:

Persons who solicit door to door must have a city-issued business license. This is also a poly used by burglars to check and see if a resident is home before committing a burglary. To check the validity of a business license inside the city limits of Dothan please call 615-3166 during regular business hours.

Unless they are the homeowner, anyone that makes repairs for others must be licensed by the city, bonded and insured. It is recommended you refuse to work with anyone who cannot prove they have these credentials. It’s not always a scam, but they must follow the business licensing laws of Dothan in order to perform these services inside the city limits.

Be wary of scams and don’t pay in full for work up front. Repair services that request full payment up front before completing the work should be viewed with scrutiny. If they fail to make the repairs or do shoddy work, you’ll have the leverage of holding some of their money until they complete the job to the agreed specification.

If you feel you’ve been victimized by a scam, please call the police department during regular business hours and make a report. We take scams very seriously and will not tolerate people taking advantage of folks like this.

Preventing Injuries during Cleanup

Also, if you are going to do work yourself, here’s a few tips on how to avoid injuries:

If power lines are caught in trees or debris STOP and do not attempt cleanup. City power and tree crews are working as fast as they can, but you cannot assure the lines aren’t energized by yourself. Please do not mess with downed power lines.

When using power tools especially chain saws make certain you’ve read the instructions on the tool and wear appropriate personal protective equipment including ear and eye protection. When trimming branches overhead be sure and wear a head protection as well.

When lifting, prevent back injury by lifting with your legs instead of just your back muscles. Muscle strains can be extremely painful especially in the back.

Please do not burn refuse inside the city limits. Instead, place refuse in a pile curbside for pickup by city refuse pickup crews. Once roadways are cleared and things start getting back to normal, the city will pickup refuse on a regular schedule.

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