Of the actions and initiatives that our city’s staff undertakes, none are more important than efforts to protect public safety.

We appreciate that Stephen Yonkin, the fire inspector for the city of Williamsport, recently shared with the community an overview of rules and provisions our city enforces for fire safety, which can be found in the Feb. 8-9 edition of the Sun-Gazette.

We believe that while the role of government should be limited and deferential to the rights of its constituents — including property rights — there are aspects of property ownership in which the government has a valid role.

Ensuring the safety of the public clearly falls within that role. While we believe in property owners’ rights, we also acknowledge property owners’ responsibilities.

Adhering to the fire code and other codes relevant to public safety is one of those responsibilities. Enforcement of fire and other safety codes protects the rights of other members of the community — neighboring property owners, tenants, customers, employees, any number of people whose right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness may bring them into any given property — and whose right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness can be infringed by irresponsibly unsafe conditions, were codes not enforced.

We hope the city is successful in its ongoing campaign of educating property owners, we hope the vast majority of property owners will continue to recognize and respect the importance of these safety-related measures and we certainly hope the remaining minority — those that fail to understand the importance of public safety — will come to terms with the reality that these measures are not undue burdens but are entirely reasonable.