Fire Watch Patrol Intervals

Contents

1 Fire Watch Patrol Intervals

Fire Watch Patrol Intervals: 15, 30 or 60 Minutes

Pick the wrong interval and the marshal writes you a ticket. Pick the right one and you sleep through the night. Below is the no fluff guide to choosing fire watch patrol intervals so you stay compliant without burning cash.

The Code Says This

NFPA 601 wants a guard to visually inspect every impaired zone every 15 minutes when sprinklers are offline. Some smaller towns allow 30 minutes if the building is fully evacuated, but 60 minutes is never legal for active impairment.

High hazard areas like paint booths or generator rooms always default to 15 minutes regardless of city size. If you guess 30 to save money, the fine will erase any savings.

When 30 Minutes Is Actually Allowed

Only if the building is empty, power is cut, and no hot work occurs. Think of it as a vacant warehouse waiting for final inspection. The second a contractor flips a breaker or strikes an arc, you snap back to 15.

And you still need written approval from the fire marshal beforehand. Call and ask; an email confirmation beats a surprise citation.

Real Cost Math

15 minute rounds on a 6 hour outage equals 24 patrols. 30 minute rounds cut that to 12. At $70 per hour you save roughly $210, but one $5 k violation wipes out 23 future shifts. The cheaper interval is only a bargain until the inspector arrives.

Hidden Factor: Guard Fatigue

Walking a 12 story high rise every 15 minutes is equal to 3 miles per shift. Tired guards miss things. We rotate two guards every 4 hours so eyes stay fresh and logs stay accurate. The extra $140 beats a missed ember that turns into a $400 k claim.

Technology Shortcut

Our tablets beep every 14 minutes. The guard must scan the NFC tag on each floor or the app flags a missed round. Supervisors see the alert in real time and can redirect the nearest float crew if needed. No guesswork, no blank spaces in the log.