01 / Fire watch
Fire watch
An officer on continuous rounds while your fire alarm or sprinklers are out of service.
View detailsGuide
What to do when your fire alarm or sprinklers go down.
A failed alarm panel or a drained sprinkler line doesn’t have to shut your building. Here’s how a fire watch fills the gap.
Request a quoteCall (408) 539-1820
Why it happens.
Fire alarms and sprinkler systems go out of service more often than most owners expect. A panel fails after a power problem. A sprinkler line is drained so a contractor can make a repair. A remodel or a warehouse expansion means hot work near sprinkler heads. While the system is down, someone has to do what it normally does: spot a fire early and get people out.
The fire department or your insurer sets the requirement and how long it lasts, and your fire protection company usually flags it first. Our part is the officer.
The first few calls.
Once you know the system is impaired, call your fire protection company to schedule the repair and ask how long it will take. Then call us with the address, the areas the system covers and the person the officer should check in with. Having that ready helps us set up the rounds quickly.
What the officer does.
A fire watch officer has one job. They walk every affected area on a set route, again and again, looking for smoke, heat, sparks and anything that could catch. They keep exits and hallways clear, know where the pull stations and extinguishers are, and know exactly how to raise the alarm and call for help.
Fire watch is separate from a regular security post. The officer isn’t signing in visitors or answering questions at the front desk, so the rounds never get interrupted.
How the log works.
Every round goes into a timed log: the time it began, the areas walked and anything the officer noticed. The log stays on site where your team, your contractor and any inspector can see it. All of our services keep timed logs, but on a fire watch, the log is the proof that the building was covered.
How long it runs.
A fire watch lasts until the system is restored and signed off. That might be a single night after a panel failure, a weekend while a part is shipped or several weeks during a renovation. Coverage can run overnight only or on a 24-hour basis, and it ends the day the system comes back.
Food processing plants, cold storage, hotels, apartment buildings and offices around Gilroy all run into this at some point, often with very little notice.
Keeping the building open
One of the biggest benefits of a fire watch is that the building can often keep working while the repair happens. Staff stay at their desks, the plant keeps running and guests stay in their rooms, because someone is doing the system’s job while it is down. Your fire protection company or the fire department will confirm what your building needs.
Planned outages
Some outages are scheduled well ahead. Sprinkler work during a remodel, alarm panel upgrades and system testing can all be booked in advance. If you know an outage is coming, call us early, and the fire watch can start the moment the system goes offline.
Who the officer works with
During a fire watch, the officer stays in touch with the person you name on site, usually a facilities manager, a superintendent or a night manager. If the repair crew needs to shut off another area, the route changes to include it. When the system is restored and signed off, the officer hands over the log and the watch ends.
A few useful answers
Quick answers.
Can our regular guard handle the fire watch too?
Not on the same shift. A fire watch needs its own officer so the rounds never stop for a visitor or a phone call.
Who keeps the log when the watch ends?
The log stays on site and is yours to keep.
Can fire watch be booked ahead for a planned shutdown?
Yes. Give us the date and the areas affected, and the officer will be there when the system goes offline.
Can the watch cover only the affected floors?
Yes. The route covers the areas the outage leaves unprotected, whether that is one floor or a whole building.
Will the officer know how to call for help?
Yes. Before the first round, the officer learns the pull stations, the exits and the number to call.
Services
Services this guide covers
02 / Short notice
Temporary security guards
Short-notice, overnight and 24-hour officers for Gilroy properties, for as long as you need them.
View details