Access Control

FIRE WATCH

If a fire protection system in a building fails for a period of time greater than four (4) hours or is in a trouble or supervisory mode for longer than eight (8) hours within a twenty-four (24) hour period, a fire watch is required to be initiated. Access Control & Security Systems shall be notified of any fire protection system failure on a twenty-four (24) hour basis and shall implement a fire watch. After hours, CSU Police may also initiate a fire watch, and will notify AC&SS.

AC&SS shall notify Campus Safety leadership who will in turn notify the University Administration. The fire protection system failure and subsequent fire watch shall be announced via email to emergency CSU contacts as is a fire, EMS response, etc. The fire watch shall be logged for placement in the CSU Police Daily Bulletin for the day.

Cleveland Fire Department (CFD) as the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) needs to be notified of the situation as soon as possible, and the outside vendor under contract should be contacted to evaluate and begin repairs as soon as possible.

Personnel serving as a fire watch have the following responsibilities:

  1. Establish and verify the means of communication with CFD (Fire watch will contact CSU Police Dispatch to summon CFD if needed)
  2. Maintain a fire watch log on-site at the facility that records the following information: facility address, time initiated, time each patrol is completed, name of person or persons on fire watch, any communication with CFD, time of cancellation.
  3. Conduct periodic patrols of the entire facility
    1. Every fifteen (15) minutes – occupied buildings where individuals are asleep and in institutional or occupied assembly occupancies.
    2. Every thirty (30) minutes – unoccupied buildings.
  4. Make a thorough inspection of the building spaces, including concealed areas such as attics and unoccupied storage areas.
  5. Identify and record any fire, life or property hazards.
  6. Look for and verify locations of portable fire extinguishers in the building.
  7. In the event a fire is discovered, notify CSU Police Dispatch by DIALING 9-1-1 from any campus phone or by CSU Radio if the fire watch is conducted by CSU Police or Security Guards.
  8. If a fire is discovered and the facility is occupied, notify occupants immediately of the need to evacuate.
  9. Upon termination of the fire watch, forward fire watch form to AC&SS
  10. Fire watch shall remain in effect until such time when repairs have been completed to the fire protection system
  11. Notify CFD that the fire watch has been cancelled and the repairs have been made.

PDF icon Fire Watch Log Form