Understanding fire watch requirements and regulations
It is the requirement of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to enforce a fire watch to monitor if any part of the fire alarm system is malfunctioning and if your building has a water-based fire protection system or a fire alarm system. In this article, you will know about the fire watch regulations and the requirements to get a clear picture of how you need to execute your responsibility of overseeing the fire security of your building. You might also be interested to try this service: Fire Watch Guards
The Basics of fire watch requirements and regulations
According to the NFPA guidelines if the fire alarm system is deformed for more than four hours within twenty-four hours, then it is mandatory to hire a fire watch. In the case of a water-based system, if the fire alarm system is malfunctioning for more than ten hours, then the fire watch services must be called for. In both instances, it is important to notify the fire department.
There are also requirements from authorities having jurisdiction in your locality. Their requirements might be rigid or flexible or they may even have additional requirements that are established on local coding. At times there may be confusion as to when a fire watch must be called for. The general misconception is that a fire watch must be called if the fire alarm system is malfunctioning for more than four hours.
In a 24-hour duration, if the fire alarm system is not functioning for four hours then a fire watch must be called for. Everything that has been affected by the fire or if there are any life-threatening situations then the emergency authorities must be contacted and the safety of all the tenants in the building must be ensured.
The duties of fire watch services
The duties of fire watch guards involve supervising all the occupied and unoccupied regions of the building. Storage rooms, crawl spaces, closets, and other concealed areas are included in the unoccupied regions. Hence, the fireguards need to be familiar with the building and the resources.
The fire watch patrol also needs to know the fire alarm place and the fire protection gears in case of fire as stated by the fire watch requirements and regulations. There must be proper documentation for all the activities that are linked with fire watch. The fire watch personnel who are recruited from outside must be properly trained.
The fire watch services must be present there until all tests and examinations are carried out to prove that the fire watch system is working properly. Comprehending the fire watch rules and regulations about the local jurisdictions might be complex. Therefore, getting familiar with the local government rules helps in situations where fire watch services are required.
