Office building fire inspection checklist

Use this office building fire inspection checklist to keep fire alarms, fire sprinklers, portable extinguishers, exit signs and emergency lighting on schedule. Most devices need a yearly service visit from a licensed company, plus short monthly checks you can do in house. Landlords and tenants split the work, so write down who owns each task.

Systems in a typical office building

Compliance calendar

1. Every month

   • Look at every portable extinguisher: in place, not blocked, gauge in the green, seal intact, no damage.
   • Check that sprinkler gauges read normal and that locked or supervised valves are open.
   • Walk the exits: doors open freely, nothing stored in corridors or stairwells, exit signs lit.

2. Every quarter

   • Ask your sprinkler contractor to test the waterflow alarm and inspect the fire department connection.
   • Check that the fire alarm panel shows no trouble or supervisory lights, and log the date.

3. Every 6 months

   • Test waterflow and valve supervisory signals if your sprinkler contractor schedules them twice a year.

4. Once a year

   • Book the annual fire alarm inspection and test.
   • Book the annual sprinkler inspection, including the main drain test.
   • Have every extinguisher given its annual maintenance check and new tag.
   • Test the backflow preventer if your water utility requires it.
   • Review the emergency action plan with employees and train the staff who help others leave.

5. Longer cycles

   • Run the five-year internal pipe inspection, gauge replacement or calibration and valve interior checks that NFPA 25 sets for sprinkler systems.
   • Stored pressure dry chemical extinguishers get emptied and serviced every 6 years and hydrostatically tested on a longer cycle (12 years for the common type).

Get this calendar for your building

Who is responsible: landlord or tenant

The lease decides, so read it. In a multi-tenant office building the landlord usually owns the base-building systems: the fire alarm panel, the sprinkler risers, the fire pump if there is one, and the exit stairs. The tenant usually owns what sits inside the suite: extinguishers, suite exit signs, and keeping storage 18 inches below sprinkler heads.

When a tenant changes the layout, new walls can block sprinkler spray and alarm devices. Tell the landlord before the work starts so the system can be altered and re-tested.

Federal workplace rules also sit on the employer. OSHA requires an emergency action plan in writing, kept at the workplace, covering how to report a fire, how to evacuate, how to account for everyone, and who to ask. Employers with 10 or fewer employees may share it orally. OSHA requires a distinct alarm signal and trained evacuation helpers.

Drills, plans and training

OSHA does not set a drill schedule for general office use. Your fire marshal, insurer or the local fire code may. Ask which one applies and write the answer in your plan.

• Review the emergency action plan with each employee at hire, when their role in the plan changes, and when the plan changes.
• If you give employees extinguishers to use, train them at hire and at least once a year on the basics and the limits of fighting a small fire.
• If a fire prevention plan is required, it lists major fire hazards, waste control, who maintains heat-producing equipment, and who controls fuel hazards.

Permits and occupancy

A standard office usually needs no yearly fire permit, but your city may run a routine inspection program for commercial buildings. Cooking in a break room, server rooms with special suppression, battery rooms and generators can each trigger their own rules. Keep occupant load signs accurate and do not exceed the posted number for assembly spaces such as training rooms.

Records binder

Keep these on site where the inspector can see them: the annual alarm report, the annual and quarterly sprinkler reports, extinguisher tags and the vendor service record, the written emergency action plan and training sign-ins, and the backflow test report. OSHA requires the annual extinguisher maintenance date to be recorded and kept for one year after the last entry or the life of the shell, whichever is less. Many insurers want three years of reports, so keep that long unless your fire marshal says otherwise.

Office buildings: common questions

Requirements depend on the code edition your state and local fire marshal have adopted. Confirm with your authority having jurisdiction.

Sources

1. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 Emergency action plans
2. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.39 Fire prevention plans
3. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157 Portable fire extinguishers
4. Koorsen Fire and Security: Fire marshal inspection checklist (secondary)
5. Vancouver (WA) Fire Marshal's Office: Fire inspections
6. Rimkus: Commercial sprinkler system inspection guide (secondary, summarizes NFPA 25)

Related guides

• Fire alarms
• Fire sprinklers
• Fire extinguishers
• Emergency and exit lighting
• Requirement Finder
• Florida fire inspection requirements
• Texas fire inspection requirements
• Most common fire code violations
• False fire alarm fines by city
• Fire department response times
• Fire inspection fees by city