Fire Watch Requirements: When You Need One, How Often to Patrol and What to Log

What a fire watch is

A fire watch is one or more people walking a building on a schedule, looking for fire and fire hazards, while its fire protection can't be relied on. The 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) defines it this way:

Two situations call for one: a required fire alarm, sprinkler or other fire protection system is out of service (an impairment), or someone is doing hot work such as welding. This guide covers impairments. For the other, see hot work fire watch.

When is a fire watch required?

The IFC's rule, section 901.7, has no minimum number of hours. You call right away, and the fire code official decides whether you need a fire watch:

Other codes do set hours. Which applies depends on the code and edition your state or city adopted, and on the building: hospitals and nursing homes in Medicare and Medicaid answer to CMS too.

Local rules run from immediately to hours. West Virginia's State Fire Marshal requires a fire watch when the alarm or sprinklers are "inoperable for any reason." The West Jackson Fire Department in Georgia uses more than 4 hours in 24 for both. Cal State Northridge's log sheet starts one "IMMEDIATELY."

What to do when the fire alarm or sprinklers are down

IFC sections 901.7.1 to 901.7.6 set out the steps:

1. 01

   Name the impairment coordinator

   The building owner assigns one person to run the outage. Under 901.7.1, "In the absence of a specific designee, the owner shall be considered to be the impairment coordinator."

2. 02

   Notify everyone who needs to know

   The fire department and the fire code official, immediately. For a planned outage, 901.7.4 adds the insurance carrier, the alarm company, the owner or manager, other authorities having jurisdiction, and supervisors in the areas affected.

3. 03

   Tag the system

   Post an out-of-service tag at each fire department connection, system control valve, fire alarm control unit, annunciator and fire command center (901.7.2 and 901.7.3).

4. 04

   Start the fire watch

   Where it's required, start it now. Under 901.7, the watch has at least one approved way to call the fire department, and patrolling is its only duty. Use the interval your fire code official gives you.

5. 05

   Cut the risks

   Stop hot work in the affected areas: FDNY's fire guard material says hot work isn't allowed where the sprinkler system is impaired. If the alarm can't sound, agree how the watch will warn people: Minnesota's health department suggests bells, whistles or bullhorns.

6. 06

   Restore, then stand down

   Under 901.7.6, the coordinator confirms the system is inspected and tested, tells supervisors, the fire department, the owner, insurer and alarm company, and removes the tag. Then end the watch and close the log.

An unplanned outage gets the same steps, as fast as you can (901.7.5). Section 901.7 makes one exception: "Facilities with an approved notification and impairment management program."

How often does a fire watch have to patrol?

The IFC asks for "constant patrols." In practice that means rounds on a fixed interval, set by your fire code official, with every affected area reached on every round. Hourly is the most common published interval. Health care guidance often asks for 30 minutes.

An hourly round has to reach every area within the hour. If one person can't, add people. FDNY limits each fire guard to 50,000 square feet, and West Virginia's guidance assigns two people so the whole facility is checked within the hour.

How long does a fire watch last?

Until the system is back in service. That's the end point in IFC 901.7, NFPA 101 and the CMS rules. FDNY: "Impairment duties must continue until the systems are restored to good working order." A fire watch can last an afternoon or several weeks, so plan relief: Idaho Falls requires rotation of fire watch personnel on long watches, and Minnesota reminds facilities to give them rest breaks.

For hot work, the watch runs during the work and at least 30 minutes after it. See hot work fire watch.

Who can do a fire watch?

The IFC asks for "qualified individuals." Beyond that, it depends on where you are:

• Most places: someone trained to spot hazards, use an extinguisher, raise the alarm and call the fire department. Idaho Falls asks for "a responsible adult who is a minimum of 18 years old."
• New York City: for the first 4 hours, where the area is 50,000 square feet or less, the impairment coordinator or a trained person the owner designates. After four hours, "such patrols shall only be conducted by fire guards holding a Certificate of Fitness" (F-01).
• Health care: facility staff, or an outside agency such as a security company, according to Minnesota's health department.

Whoever it is, the fire watch does nothing else. IFC 901.7 says "their only duty shall be to perform constant patrols of the protected premises and keep watch for fires." FDNY says fire guards "cannot be given any other responsibilities." The NFPA 101 annex, quoted by West Virginia's fire marshal, calls for "some special action beyond normal staffing, such as assigning an additional security guard(s) to walk the areas affected." A night guard who also works the front desk isn't a fire watch.

Fire watch vs fire guard

In practice they're the same job. "Fire watch" names the measure, and often the person. "Fire guard" is New York City's title: FDNY certifies fire guards with a Certificate of Fitness, the F-01 for systems that are out of service and the F-60 for torch operations (hot work).

FDNY defines a fire watch as patrolling the areas affected by an out-of-service system "by a Fire Department-certified fire guard (F-01 Certificate of Fitness)." One certificate doesn't stand in for another: FDNY says an F-60 watchperson at a construction site doesn't satisfy that requirement. Outside New York City, ask your fire code official whether any certification is required.

What to check on each round

FDNY's sample log and Minnesota's tour list check the same things:

• Signs of fire: smoke, a burning smell, unusual heat.
• Exits, stairways and corridors clear, and exit doors free of locks and chains.
• Fire doors and self-closing doors shut and latched, not wedged open.
• Exit signs and exit lighting lit.
• Extinguishers in place, and pull stations unblocked and undamaged.
• Ignition sources: arcing or exposed wiring, smoking, hot work that wasn't approved.
• Trash and combustibles not piling up.
• Sprinkler and standpipe piping with no visible breaks or leaks, and fire department connections and hydrants clear.

Go into rooms, not just past them. West Virginia: "If you cannot see into the room, then you shall unlock the door and go into the room." West Jackson includes "concealed areas, such as attics, unoccupied storage areas." On FDNY's log, the fire guard marks each item OK, X or N/A every hour and reports anything unsatisfactory to the responsible person.

What a fire watch log must show

Your fire code official may have a form. If not, start from the strictest published rule. New York City's, Fire Rule 901-04(d)(11), asks the fire guard to record:

Other rules add the time of every round. Put together, a complete log has:

Two of West Jackson's rules are worth copying anywhere: fire watch personnel "are not permitted to change the time record charts," and the charts are "promptly reviewed." Fill the log in as you go (CSUN says "immediately following each round") and start a new sheet each day. The fire watch log template has these fields, ready to print.

How long to keep fire watch logs

There's no single rule. Iowa's State Fire Marshal says one year for health care, CSUN keeps them on site for two years, and Minnesota's Department of Health recommends at least three. Keep them for the longest period that applies to you. Minnesota also suggests at least two people know where the logs are, so they can be found during an inspection.

Can a fire watch log be digital?

Often, but ask first. New York City's rule lets the record be kept "in writing or recorded through approved electronic measures." The word that matters is approved: before the watch starts, ask your fire code official whether they'll accept a digital log.

A digital log helps with what inspectors look for: each check is timed when it happens, not written up later, and a missed round shows as missed.

Two limits: PatrolBadges doesn't record a Certificate of Fitness number or capture signatures. In New York City, keep the record FDNY's rule asks for, and sign the printed log wherever a signature is required.

Fire watch for hot work, hospitals and nursing homes

For welding and cutting, see hot work fire watch. For CMS triggers, 30-minute tours and a written policy, see fire watch in hospitals and nursing homes.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by jurisdiction and code edition, and your fire code official, the authority having jurisdiction, has the final word.