Fire Watch Information
Why is Fire Watch being required
When a required fire alarm system is out of service for more than four hours in a 24-hour period the building shall be evacuated or an approved fire watch shall be provided.
What is Fire Watch
Fire watch is a temporary measure intended to ensure continuous and systematic surveillance of a building, or portion of the building, by a qualified building representative for the purpose of identifying and controlling fire hazards, detecting early signs of fire, activating an alarm and notifying the fire department in the event of a fire. This is required by the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101 Life Safety Code.
During a fire watch, the building representative is responsible for:
- Preventing a fire from occurring
- Ensuring there are signs posted at every entrance to alert occupants of the fire watch
- Verifying there are enough working fire extinguishers in the proper locations
- Checking for potential fire ignition sources, such as improperly stored flammables
- Extinguishing small fires
- Notifying the fire department and building occupants in the event of an emergency
Patrol Frequency
- 15 minutes (If people are sleeping, or if this is an institutional or occupied assembly occupancy)
- and/or
- 30-minutes (If none of the above conditions are present)
Reporting Method
Print and fill out the Fire Watch Log after each patrol. Email the completed form daily to fire@cityofames.org or use the link at the top of the page.