Fire Watch Security

It is extremely important for contractors and owners of a building to understand fire watch requirements in detail. In some cases companies might overdue the fire watch, because they assume that the requirement is 24 hours per day while in some cases the requirement is 24 hours a day fire watch and the requirements are not met. In the first case the client is overpaying a significant amount for a security guard to conduct a fire watch while he faces a hefty fine in the second case, because he is not following the fire marshal's requirements. Additionally, he faces liability up to prison time in case there is actually a fire.  Many clients that are required to keep a fire watch have never dealt with a fire watch before or do not understand the local requirements or the requirements the fire marshal has set forth. A good security company will provide a fire watch consultant, who will provide expertise, experience and additional service at no additional cost. He will contact the fire marshal to determine the details of the fire watch and will set up a fire watch plan accordingly. The details of a fire watch include, but are not limited to the exact location the fire watch has to be conducted at, the time periods, exact protocol of the fire watch, proof paperwork requirements, number of security guards and supervisory requirements. In any case a security consultant will obtain all that information and set up a fire watch plan according to the requirements. A security company with experience in conducting fire watches will be able to start a fire watch with a moment's notice. A security guard with the necessary skills and expertise will be dispatched and will meet with the responsible party until a security consultant will be able to look at the property, talk to the fire marshal and create a fire watch plan. It is important to hire security guards with experience in conducting fire watches, because a fire watch does not consist of simply guarding a property. The security guard must be aware of his responsibility and the exact protocol of the fire watch. Many fire watches require exact locations to be patrolled frequently, the security officer must look for the smallest signs of fire, smoke or a gas leak and write detailed and timely reports. If a fire watch log is not maintained properly it might lead to extremely high penalties by the fire marshal. A good security company will manage the fire watch process from beginning to end and will provide the contractor with the peace of mind to focus on the work he was hired to do. Fire watch requirements may change during the fire watch and a security consultant will be in direct contact with the fire marshal to ensure that the fire watch plan is adjusted as changes are required. Experienced security guards, field supervisors and security consultants will make the process much easier and will ensure that clients are protected from liabilities and fines.