SEATTLE

FIRE

DEPARTMENT

Administrative Rule 9.06.07

SUBJECT:

OUT-OF-SERVICE FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 21, 2007 REFERENCES:

2006 SFC 107.1

2006 SFC 901.6

2006 SFC 901.7

2006 SFC 1404.5

2006 SFC 110.1

NFPA 72, 1999 Edition SUPERSEDES:

Administrative Rule 9.06.07 Out-of Service Fire Alarm, Standpipe, Fire Sprinkler and Emergency Alarm Systems, May 7, 2007 Administrative Rule 26.01.07

Administrative Rule 9.07.0 FCAB REVIEW DATE:

May 15, 2007

NOTICE: Notice: Administrative Rules are established per 2006 Seattle Fire Code Section 104.1, and they are subject to the Administrative Sections 104.9 Alternate Materials and Methods, Section 104.8 Modifications, and Section 108.1 Appeals. APPROVED:

__________________________________________

KENNETH TIPLER, FIRE MARSHAL

SCOPE

This Administrative Rule specifies requirements for fire department notification and fire watch when building fire and life safety systems are out-of-service.

GENERAL

In the interest of life safety, immediate notification to the fire department in accordance with this rule is required for out-ofservice fire and life safety systems listed below.

Exception: Systems listed that are out-of-service for less than 8 hours for scheduled maintenance or testing do not require Seattle Fire Department notification.

Out-of-Service Fire and Life Safety Systems Requiring Seattle Fire Dept. Notification

Fire alarms Emergency alarmd Smoke control systems Fire pumps Fire Supression Systems Sprinklers, Foam, Halon, CO2, Inergen Fire alarm activated stairway door lock systems. Rangehood fire supression Standpipes Fire alarm activated sequencing of life safety systems. Emergency generator powering required life safety systems. Building fire protection system in which a supervisory or trouble signal has been transmitted for a period exceeding eight hours and involves an actual system impairment.

For specified occupancy groups, a fire watch may also be required when any of the above systems are out-of-service.

DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this rule, fire watch and emergency alarm are defined as follows:

FIRE WATCH is a temporary measure for the purpose of detecting early signs of unwanted fire or hazardous material emergency, raising an alarm and notifying the fire department.

EMERGENCY ALARM is an alarm required by the building or fire code to alert occupants of an emergency situation involving hazardous materials.

REQUIREMENTS

Responsibilities of Building Owner or Occupant

For all occupancy groups, the building owner, owner's designee, or occupant shall:

1. Notify the Seattle Fire Department immediately at the designated telephone 24-hour reporting line of the occurrence of an out-ofservice or trouble signal as noted above resulting from other than scheduled maintenance or testing. Scheduled maintenance or testing that will results in a life system being out of service continuously for more than 8 eight hours does require Seattle Fire Department notification.

2. Mark out-of-service standpipes with signage at the fire department connection indicating the standpipe is out of service.

3. According to building occupancy type, take measures to ensure a fire watch is being conducted in accordance with this rule.

4. Provide notification to building occupants of any out-of-service fire and life safety sytem, and provide occupant notification when restored to service.

5. Notify the Seattle Fire Department at the designated 24-hour reporting number when the out-of-service system is restored in full. Remove the out-of-service signage from the standpipe, if applicable.

The telephone number for the designated 24-hour Seattle Fire Department reporting line is 206-233-7219.

Information to be provided to the Seattle Fire Department on the reporting line includes the following:

1. Name and phone number of person reporting the information.

2. The nature of the problem or out-of-service system being reported and the estimated time before it will be back in full service.

3. The name and address of the building affected.

4. The name of the building owner, or occupant and their phone number, if known.

FIRE WATCH REQUIREMENTS BY OCCUPANCY TYPE AND OCCUPANT LOAD

Group/Division Description A Assemblies where the posted occupant load is 50 or greater. R-1, R-2, and R-4 Hotels, apartments and congregate residences. I Nursing homes, hospitals, health care facilities providing care which render patients incapable of self-preservation without assistance, jails. E Schools through the 12th grade, day care centers, preschools, and day treatment centers.

For out-of-service fire alarm, fire sprinkler system or emergency alarm in the above Occupancy Groups when occupied, a fire watch shall be required as follows:

1. A designated fire watch shall continuously patrol all areas of the building where the fire protection system is out-of-service at a frequency not to exceed 15 minutes.

Point of Information: For residential occupancies, fire watch patrol is limited to the building common areas and building facilities such as laundry, maintenance, and storage areas. Fire watch patrol is not expected to enter private apartment or hotel units.

2. Persons performing fire watch shall be provided with an immediately accessible means of providing notification to the Fire Department (e.g. cellular telephone, land-line telephone, two-way radio to continuously staffed position).

3. A fire watch log shall be maintained at the occupancy and must be available for viewing by the Seattle Fire Department at all times during the fire watch. The log shall contain the following:

* Address of the facility under fire watch

* Description of fire watch duties (e.g. patrol route, frequency of patrol, location of telephone or cellular phone to notify Fire Department)

* Running log of person conducting patrol, including name, starting and ending time of patrol shift, and signature

* Record of any communication to the Fire Department and/or fire protection system monitoring company. See page 4 for sample log.

4. In a mixed-use occupancy, if any portion of the affected building contains an occupancy group listed above which is occupied, fire watch requirements shall apply.

Example: A four story residential occupancy is located above a retail store (M occupancy). In the process of conducting tenant improvement to the M occupancy, the fire alarm in the retail store is placed out-of-service. If a fire occurred in the M occupancy, residents in the above R occupancy would not receive notification of the fire. Therefore, a fire watch is required. If you have questions regarding fire watch in a mixed-use occupancy, contact the Seattle Fire Department Confidence Testing Unit at 206-386-1351.

Note: Persons performing as a designated fire watch in occupied Group R-1, R-2, R-4, A, I and E Occupancies may not perform other duties while serving as a fire watch.

FIRE WATCH REQUIREMENTS IN SPECIFIED B, M, H, F AND S OCCUPANCY GROUPS

Group/Division Description B Offices.

Eating and drinking establishments with occupant load of <50. M Stores accessible to the public H Occupancies containing hazardous materials F-1 Moderate Hazard factory and industrial occupancies. S Buildings occupied for storage uses. For out-of-service fire alarm, fire sprinkler or emergency alarm systems in occupied Group B, M, H, F-1 and S Occupancy Groups, when occupied, a fire watch shall be required as follows:

1. During the hours the building is occupied, building occupants performing their regular duties, including construction workers, may act as a fire watch in lieu of a designated fire watch.

2. During the process of remodel or phased -in occupancy, when fire alarm, standpipes, fire sprinkler systems or emergency alarms are out-of-service, a dedicated fire watch must be specified to continually check floors on which there are no occupants. Example: During remodel, if construction workers leave a floor vacant during lunch, a fire watch must be established to patrol the unoccupied floor. (During the period the construction workers are in the construction area, a designated fire watch is not required.)

Point of Information Fire watch shall be provided in accordance with Seattle Fire Code 2604.2 for hot-work activities and shall continue for a minimum of 30 minutes after the conclusion of the work. The fire code official is authorized to extend the fire watch based on the hazards or work being performed.

3. Persons serving as a dedicated fire watch shall be provided with an immediately accessible means of providing notification to the Fire Department (e.g. cellular telephone, land-line telephone, two-way radio to continuously staffed position).

4. When a dedicated fire watch is required, a fire watch log shall be maintained at the occupancy and must be available for viewing by the Seattle Fire Department at all times during the fire watch. The log shall contain the following:

* Address of the facility under fire watch.

* Description of fire watch duties (e.g. patrol route, frequency of patrol, location of telephone or cellular phone to notify Fire Department)

* Running log of person conducting patrol, including name, starting and ending time of patrol shift, and signature

* Record of any communication to the Fire Department and/or fire protection system monitoring company.

FIRE LOG EXAMPLE

Crestwell Arms Apartment Building

12345 Main Street, Seattle WA

Fire Alarm Out of Service Fire Department notified 4-23-02 via direct reporting line.

Fire Watch Patrol Route: Begin in basement, laundry, storage and recreation area. Move to Lobby and through hallways, floors one through four. Repeat at intervals not to exceed 15 minutes. Use cell phone provided for Fire Department notification.

Tuesday, April 23, 2007

Date Name Firewatch Shift Start Firewatch Shift End Comments Signature 4-23-07 Jane Doe 11:42 pm 2:00 am

4-24-07 Jack Smith 2:00 am 6:00 am

4-24-07 Ted Hall 6:00 am 10:00 am

4-24-07 Jack Smith 10:00 am 10:30 am Repair Completed at 10:30 am by ABC Alarm Company. Fire Department notified.

FOR ALL OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATIONS -

REQUIREMENTS ESSENTIAL FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

This administrative rule does not preclude the requirements of Seattle Fire Code, Section 102.8 which provides that requirements essential for public safety of an existing or proposed activity, building or structure, or for the safety of the occupants thereof, may be determined by the fire code official. Additional safeguards, including fire watch requirements, may be enacted by the fire code official under this provision.

Seattle Fire Department For Information Call (206) 3861450 Administrative Rule 9.06.07

220 3 Avenue South Effective October 21, 2007 Page 1 of 5

Seattle, WA 98104 www.seattle.gov/fire