FIRE DEPARTMENT INSPECTIONS
 
 
What do you need to do to be ready?
Fire department inspections occur on a regular basis. Depending on your type of business, or “occupancy” as the fire service might say, you may see an inspector as frequently as every year, or maybe just every other year. If you are remodeling, building, changing the chemicals or hazardous materials and wastes that you store, requiring a permit, a fire inspector may be involved in that process. Unless you are what OSHA considers a high hazard occupation or experience a number of occupational injuries and illnesses, it is much more likely that you will see a fire inspector more often than you would an OSHA inspector. Since the visit from the fire inspector is more likely, what should you do to prepare for it?
The good news is that preparing for a fire department inspection is much like preparing for an OSHA or other regulatory inspection. If your work place is maintained in a manner largely compliant with OSHA regulations, you should be ready for almost any inspecting agency. However, there are some things that will capture the attention of most fire departments. Here’s a quick list.
Emergency Action Plan (EAP): The OSHA requirement to have a plan for evacuations for any type of emergency includes fires. Keeping your EAP current will ensure it is ready for any inspector, whether it’s the fire department or OSHA. Your EAP should include how to report an emergency, how people are notified to evacuate, evacuation procedures, an assembly area where people report following an evacuation, how you plan to let people know they can return to the facility, and documented training on these procedures. Share that information with the fire inspector to see if your evacuation areas are not in locations that would interfere with their response.
Exiting: If it is anything that relates to how someone can safety get out of your workplace in the event of a fire, it is something that will get inspected. This includes aisles, exit doors, signs, and the emergency lighting to see your way out. The fire inspector will ensure these things are in working order, all required inspections are up to date, and training conducted and documented. They may even ask your workers as they walk through the site questions on the evacuation plan. Where can you find information to make sure your exiting is ready for an inspection?
Fire Protection Equipment: Fire extinguishers, automatic sprinklers, heat sensors, smoke detectors, kitchen hood/duct systems – these are examples of equipment that can protect your workers and your property should a fire occur. And like anything else, they require care and maintenance.
Extinguishers need to be inspected monthly, whether you do it or hire a service to come in. They also need to be serviced annually by a certified fire extinguisher company and they need a hydro test the frequency of which depending on the type of cylinder. Other protection systems should be inspected and tested on a regular basis by a certified technician. Records of the inspections should be maintained for the inspector.
Note: When performing a safety audit, we often find fire extinguishers sitting on the floor, or if mounted on the wall, being used as coat and umbrella holders. Extinguishers should be mounted with the top between 3 to 5 feet high, easily accessible and in plain view.
Fire Prevention Requirements: This is a broad category, and is dependant on your specific operation. However, fire prevention requirements can be anything from general housekeeping issues such as picking up and properly disposing of oily rags and debris, to properly storing flammable materials in specially designed and separated storage cabinets or containers.
If your business requires, you may need to have a Hazardous Materials Business or Management Plan (HMBP or HMMP). This is a written document that covers both fire and emergency plans for the safety of your workers and site, as well as the storage and use of the hazardous materials on your site. Whether you need one of these plans is determined by the amount of hazardous materials you have on site. If you are in doubt about needing one of these plans, it is best to contact your local fire department to ascertain if you meet the criteria. But much like your Hazard Communication Program, a list of hazardous materials used on the site is required for an HMBP.
Fire Department Access Requirements: Is your building properly marked with the correct address, and can it be seen from the street? Are fire lanes required in front of your site, and are they properly maintained? If you need a fire response, you will want them to arrive at your site as quickly as possible, with as little difficulty in finding and accessing your site. A fire inspector will help you by making sure these requirements are met.
While not a complete list, this gives you a brief overview of what you can expect should a fire inspector knock at your door. If you are in doubt of what you need to do for your operations, you can contact your local department for further information, or give us a call. We have former fire inspectors and regulators on staff. We can help you with the process.
If you do not have a Fire Prevention Plan or Emergency Action Plan, OSHA has an e-tool that can walk you through the process. A link is provided below.
 
 OSHA e-tool