The fire watch log that fills itself in.
When the alarm or sprinklers are down, someone has to walk the building on a schedule and log every round. Put a QR code in each area. Guards scan as they go with their own phone, the log fills in with who, when and where, and you're emailed if a round is missed.
Fire watch log
What the fire marshal will want to see.
A fire watch is usually ordered while a fire alarm or sprinkler system is out of service, or during hot work. The fire marshal sets the rules, and most want the same record:
Ask your fire marshal what they require: how often to patrol, what the log must show and how long to keep it.
- Who was on watch
- Each guard's name, or their own PIN, on every scan.
- When each area was checked
- A time on every checkpoint scan, round after round.
- That no round was skipped
- Missed rounds listed on the log, and emailed to you as they end.
- What they found
- Hazards reported on the spot with photos: a blocked exit, a missing extinguisher, smoke.
- That they were really there
- GPS stamps, and flags on scans that came too fast or too far from the checkpoint.
How it works
Set up in minutes, from your phone.
No readers, no wands and no app to roll out. If your people can take a photo, they can scan a checkpoint.
- 01
List the areas
Each floor, stairwell, exit and hot-work area the watch must reach. Pick how often a round runs, like every 30 minutes around the clock.
- 02
Tape up the codes
Print a QR sticker for each area on any printer. Setup takes minutes, which matters when the fire watch starts tonight.
- 03
Guards scan every round
Phone camera, two seconds a checkpoint, nothing to install. The log fills in as they walk.
An example route
What a fire watch route looks like.
Change any of it: rename the areas, edit the checklist, or set the interval your fire marshal asked for.
Checkpoints
In walking order- SA01Stairwell A
- Exit clear?
- Door closes and latches?
- ER02Electrical room
- No smoke or burning smell?
- HA03Hot work area Photo required
- No smoldering or heat?
- EC04Exit corridor
- Exit clear?
- Extinguisher in place?
- SB05Stairwell B
- Exit clear?
Fire watch
Every day · around the clock · every 30 min
Missed checkpoints are emailed as each round ends, by name.
A round not started is emailed 10 minutes in, while there's time to act.
A Problem on any checklist needs a note, and is emailed to you as an incident.
What you get
Everything the record needs. Nothing to learn.
Rounds every 15 to 60 minutes
Around the clock, or only for the hours the watch is ordered. Every round has to reach every area.
Missed-round alerts
An email naming the areas nobody checked, as the round ends. Another if a round hasn't started 10 minutes in.
A log that prints
Each day's rounds, scans and findings on one page. Print it, save a PDF, or email it to the building owner each morning.
Hazards with photos
A blocked exit or a missing extinguisher, reported from the checkpoint. Urgent ones say URGENT in the email subject.
Safety for a lone guard
One-tap SOS with their location, and an alert if they go quiet between rounds.
No signal needed
Patrol mode keeps scanning in stairwells and basements, then sends the scans with their real times.
Plus everything else in PatrolBadges: NFC tags, PINs, incident reports, offline scanning, CSV export and four sticker layouts. See all features
Pricing
Free to start. Priced by the checkpoint after that.
A fire watch with up to 5 checkpoints is free. A bigger one goes Pro by the month with no contract, so it ends when the fire watch does.
Free for up to 5 checkpoints. Pro is $9 a month for your first 10 checkpoints, plus $1 a month for each one after that. Officers, routes and scans are unlimited on both. No per-user fees, hardware, contracts or setup costs.
$9 for your first 10 checkpoints, plus 10 × $1.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
The quickest answer is to try it: add your checkpoints and scan one from your phone in about two minutes. No card. Or ask us.
What is a fire watch log?
A fire watch log is the record of a fire watch: who patrolled, when each area was checked, and anything they found. It's usually a paper sheet filled in each round. PatrolBadges fills it in from QR code scans, so every entry has a name, a time and a location, and a missed round shows as missed instead of being filled in later.
How often does a fire watch have to patrol?
Your fire marshal, or whoever ordered the watch, sets how often, so ask them. Then make it the route's schedule: a round every 15, 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, around the clock or only for certain hours. Each round has to reach every checkpoint, and you're emailed when one doesn't.
Will the fire marshal accept a digital fire watch log?
We can't promise that, since each authority sets its own rules. What you can show them is a dated log of every round: the guard's name, the time and location of each checkpoint scan, anything found, and any round that was missed. Print it or share it by link, and ask before the watch starts if you're not sure.
What should a fire watch log include?
At least the date, each round's start and finish time, the areas checked, what was found and done about it, and the name and signature or initials of whoever walked it. Some authorities ask for more: New York's FDNY, for example, wants the number of inspections, defects and violations found, and the fire guard's Certificate of Fitness number. The PatrolBadges report records the who, when, where and findings from the scans themselves.
How long should fire watch records be kept?
It depends on who's asking. Examples range from one year (Iowa's fire marshal, for health care facilities) to two years (one university's hot work policy), and Minnesota's health department recommends three. PatrolBadges keeps every day's report, so you can print or export any of them later.
Our fire watch only lasts a week. Is there a contract?
No. A fire watch with up to 5 checkpoints is free. A bigger one goes Pro by the month, and you cancel when the system's back in service. Your log isn't deleted when you do.
Can a guard fake rounds by scanning photos of the codes?
It's the known weakness of QR codes, so PatrolBadges makes it hard and visible. Scans are stamped with the phone's location and flagged when they're far from the checkpoint. A scan of a different checkpoint seconds after the last is flagged as too quick. Any checkpoint can require a fresh photo, and NFC tags work in place of printed codes.
Do guards need an app or an account?
No. Guards point their phone's camera at the code, which opens the checkpoint in the browser. The first scan of a shift asks their name, or their PIN if you use PINs, and every scan after that logs on arrival. A guard sent over tonight can start right away.
Start the fire watch log before the first round.
Add your checkpoints and scan them from your phone, right off your screen. No card, and sign up only when you're ready to keep it.
- Fire Watch Requirements: When You Need One, How Often to Patrol and What to LogWhen a fire watch is required, how often to patrol, who can walk it and what to log.
- Free Fire Watch Log Template (Printable PDF & Excel)A one-page fire watch log: one row per round, with times, areas checked, hazards found and who walked it.
- Hot Work Fire Watch: How Long It Lasts, OSHA Rules and the Watcher's DutiesHow long a hot work fire watch lasts, when OSHA requires one, and what the watcher does.
- PricingFree for 5 checkpoints. Pro is priced by the checkpoint, with unlimited officers.
More ways to use PatrolBadges
- Guard toursSecurity patrols with a QR code at every checkpoint and alerts when one's missed.
- HOA & apartmentsNightly rounds of gates, garages and amenities, with a report the board can read.
- Construction sitesAfter-hours rounds of the gate, containers, fuel and equipment, proven with a scan at each.
- WarehousesAfter-hours rounds of dock doors, yards and fence lines, with a checklist at each stop.
- Church safety teamsDoor and building checks by a volunteer safety team, before, during and after services.
- Vacant propertyInspections of empty buildings on the schedule your insurer sets, with photos at every stop.
- Facility roundsDaily walks of the boiler room, risers, generator and roof, with a checklist at each stop.
- Night checksOvernight hall and door checks in group homes, shelters and dorms, with safety for staff working alone.
- Restroom cleaningA QR code in place of the clipboard on the door, with a checklist and a photo at every clean.