Los Angeles County Municipal Code § 401.10 Fire watch procedures

Where a fire watch is required by the fire code official, the owner, manager, lessee or person in charge shall provide the number of fire watch personnel that have been required. Fire watch personnel shall comply with Sections 401.10.1 through 401.10.6, the conditions and records of which shall all be subject to review and approval by the fire code official when such review is deemed necessary by the fire code official.

Fire watch personnel shall remain on duty 24 hours a day where required fire protection components are impaired or out of service. Where there is a hazard to the building occupants, fire watch personnel shall remain in place while the building is occupied.

Fire watch as directed by the fire code official, shall be continued until such time that the fire code official determines that it is no longer necessary.

Fire watch personnel shall be provided with not less than one means to notify the fire department of a fire or other emergency. If there are more than one individual assigned fire watch duties, they shall have the ability to promptly communicate with each other.

Fire watch personnel shall fulfill the following duties:

The primary duty of fire watch personnel shall be to perform constant patrol in order to watch for fires and other emergency situations, and to make proper notification thereof.

Fire watch personnel shall also be looking for obstructed exits and any other hazards. Fire watch personnel shall make the proper notifications necessary in order to remediate any such hazards. Fire watch personnel shall not become involved in any other operation to the extent that their ability to fulfill their primary patrol and notification duties is delayed or otherwise impaired.

If an emergency situation is encountered, fire watch personnel shall:

3.1.

Contact the fire department or other appropriate service.

3.2.

Ensure the notification of occupants to take appropriate action. Such action may include evacuation of the building, or in certain situations, shelter in place (sometimes known as "lockdown"). If unsure, fire watch personnel shall seek the direction of emergency services.

3.3.

Take any other prompt action, in which they are qualified, to mitigate the emergency.

Fire watch personnel shall develop a written route of inspection through the required fire-watch area.

The entire fire watch area shall be patrolled once each hour, or at more frequent intervals when directed by the fire code official. An activity log of time and locations of inspection shall be created and maintained.

Fire watch personnel shall have been provided training in the following:

Procedures for contacting the fire department in the case of an emergency.

The use of fire extinguishers and other available manual firefighting equipment.

Methods of notifying and evacuating people from the building or premises.

402 - DEFINITIONS