Fire watch log sheet
A fire watch log records every patrol round of a fire watch: when it happened, which area was covered, who did the walking, and what they saw.
What a fire watch means
A fire watch is a short-term measure. While a protection system is down, a person walks the building watching for fire. Think of a guard beginning the night shift at a warehouse whose sprinklers are turned off. That guard's log records when they made each patrol and what they found.
Fire watch requirements
A few different rules can trigger a watch, and each one fits its own situation.
Alarm or sprinklers out of service. Section 901.7 of the International Fire Code calls for notifying the fire department and the local code official immediately. The fire code official can then order the building emptied or order an approved fire watch. That watch runs until the system works again. The building also needs at least 1 approved method of reaching the fire department.
The Cobb County Fire Marshal's Office enforces this using time limits. When a fire alarm stays down for more than 4 hours in a 24-hour span, the owner has to give notice and either clear the building or set up an approved fire watch. Sprinklers get a limit of more than 10 hours in 24. Limits where you live may differ, so ask your local fire official.
Planning for a sprinkler shutdown. NFPA 25, Chapter 15, explains what the owner should do when sprinklers are off. The owner names an impairment coordinator, the person responsible for handling the shutdown. A tag goes on each fire department connection and each control valve to show the system is out of service. Then tell the insurance company, the alarm company, the building owner, and the local fire official.
Welding and cutting. OSHA 1910.252 requires fire watchers anywhere more than a minor fire could start during hot work like welding and cutting. Combustible material within 35 feet is one example. Watching goes on for at least a half hour once the work stops. Fire watchers need training and must keep extinguishers close by.
Construction. On construction sites, NFPA 241 calls for a fire safety program to be part of every construction contract.
What the guard checks
The fire code says the watch's only duty is constant patrols, so the person on watch shouldn't be given other work. Cobb County's guide lists these among the things a fire watch checks as you walk:
- Ignition sources, meaning anything that might spark a fire
- Exits
- Self-closing doors
- Sprinklers that are active
Log sheet contents
These rules do not set log-sheet fields, so ask the fire official who approved the watch what the log should contain. Fill in the top part of the sheet once, when the watch begins:
- Site address and the area covered
- Why the watch is needed, like a sprinkler shutdown or welding
- The system that's down, or what hot work is happening
- Start date and time, plus end date and time
- Round interval, if the fire official gives one
- Fire department and monitoring contacts
- Supervisor
After that, add a row for every round, including rounds where all is well:
- Write down the date, the time, and the area you walked.
- Sign your name.
- Note what conditions you found.
- Write down what you did about it.
- Record whether the fire department was notified.
- Initial the row.
If the fire official tells you how often to do rounds, copy that onto the sheet so every guard on the watch follows the same schedule. Fill in the end time once the system is working again.
Keeping the log
These rules don't say how long to keep the log, so ask the fire official who approved the watch. Keep it on hand in case they want to look at it.