Fire Watch
Fire Watch is required as a short-term emergency measure to provide an acceptable life safety precaution in any buildings / spaces that have an impaired fire alarm system, fire sprinkler system, or any other life safety feature of the building that could put occupants in danger. The primary responsibility of the person performing fire watch is to conduct scheduled checks of all affected areas of the building during the system outage, watching for any fire or life safety emergencies, and promptly notifying PSU CPSO, 911, and building occupants to take the appropriate emergency actions as soon as possible.
Fire Watch Determination
When a fire watch is required:
- When hot work is being performed. Hot work is the leading cause of fires during construction and maintenance activities. Hot work includes welding, brazing, grinding, open flame use, or any action that could produce sparks or flame.
- When a fire protection or detection system, fire alarm system, or other system designed to maintain the fire resistance of the building is taken out of service, either wholly or in part, planned or unplanned.
- When a need is determined, by the Fire Prevention Team (or designee), PSU Insurance Provider, or Portland Fire and Rescue, to be essential for public safety in any place where people congregate (due to the number of persons, nature of the performance, exhibition, display, contest, or activity).
Fire Watch
The person assigned to perform a fire watch shall:
- Be responsible for ensuring safe conditions are maintained during a fire system impairment and/or hot work operations and have the authority to stop hot work operations if unsafe conditions develop.
- Make patrols of affected areas every thirty (30) minutes unless otherwise specified by the Fire Prevention Coordinator or their designee.
- Record the following information in the Fire Watch Documentation Log:
- Name of the responsible person(s) making the rounds
- Date and time of the fire watch rounds. Include the end time
- Significant findings during the watch period
- Have a working flashlight and access to a working phone during the watch period.
- Be responsible for having fire extinguishing equipment readily available at the work site and trained in its use.
- Be familiar with the facility in which the hot work is being performed and the procedures for sounding an alarm in the event of a fire.
- Be permitted to perform additional tasks while conducting fire watch responsibilities, but those tasks shall not distract from their fire watch responsibilities.
Fire watch patrols exceeding eight (8) hours in duration shall be provided by a separate person for each 8-hour period (e.g. fire system impairment is scheduled for sixteen (16) hours, two 8-hour shifts are scheduled).
Personnel shall not be assigned to more than five (5) floors to patrol during a fire watch period (e.g. fire system impairment affecting six (6) floors will require two (2) people to patrol each half of the building).
Training
PSU Employees serving as a fire watch must have read these procedures and confirm that they understand their role and can perform the fire watch functions. Contractors must have training in hot work and / or fire watch safety and confirm that they are able to perform the functions required of a fire watch.
Record-Keeping
Records of fire watch patrols will be kept by the Fire Prevention Coordinator for six (6) months after the completion of the patrol.
Sample Fire Watch Patrol Log