- Fire watch is an unexpected expense, but may be less expensive than sending everyone home.
- Even if you send everyone home, you still need to deploy a fire monitor until risk is resolved.
- Trained and certified fire watchers maintain compliance with DFD, NFPA, OSHA, and insurance policies.
When you water main line is out or your fire sprinklers or fire alarm are down, businesses must immediately dispatch fire watch. Your gut reaction might be to “save money” by sending everyone home. However, fire watch costs are often less expensive than closing your business. More importantly, you’re still required to implement fire watch when your systems are down. Even if you’ve sent everyone home or are closed for the day.
Fire Watch Is Required When Buildings Are Empty
First and foremost, the circumstance is what triggers the need for a certified monitor. However, occupancy type can influence the frequency of patrols. For office buildings and retailers, you may only need to staff 1 or 2 fire monitors. Residential buildings, healthcare facilities, and high-risk scenarios often require more.
Factors that influence the number of fire monitors include:
- Initial fire watch trigger
- On-site risk factors
- Square footage
- Number of floors
- Facility layout and grounds
- Business class/type
The True Cost of Sending Staff Home
Local fire codes require commercial businesses to staff fire watchers when fire safety systems are down, or when hot work is required during repairs. This includes office buildings, retailers, restaurants, warehouses, and more. If the DFD determines closure is the safest option, they will mandate closure. For general maintenance, repairs, and outages, you can often stay open.
Closing your business may cost more than remaining open:
- Idle Payroll: Assuming an average wage of $35 per hour, staffing 200 workers costs $7,000 per hour, or $56,000 for a single 8-hour shift.
- Lost Sales and Productivity: Missed deadlines, unreceived deliveries, breached Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and reducedbrick-and-mortar sales compound payroll losses.
The True Cost of Fire Watch
You can’t put a price tag on safety. The first priority is keeping your staff, guests, customers, and community safe. As an added bonus, dispatching compliant fire watch keeps you semi- or fully operational. Monitoring must be continuous and conducted 24/7 until your systems are fully operational.
Emergency Fire Watch in Denver and The Springs
The need for compliant monitoring is almost always unexpected. You can dispatch Scout Security’s team 24/7 when the need arises. Our trained and certified personnel keep you compliant and remain on-site until your NFPA paperwork is submitted to the DFD.
Book now or add us to your emergency call list!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I have to dispatch fire monitoring?
When in doubt, immediately call the DFD at 720-913-3474. Your business can be fined and closed due to non-compliance, and liable if fire, damage, or incident occurs.
Can the fire marshal close my business if I don’t deploy fire watch?
Yes. The DFD can shut you down if you fail to immediately deploy compliant monitoring. When in doubt, contact the fire marshal, DFD, or the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control.
