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1. What is a fire watch?

A fire watch consists of:

• Regular patrols by qualified personnel
• Notification to the West Allis Fire Department at 414-302-8900
• Clearly identified, established and verified means of communication to report an emergency and initiate evacuation of the building
• Documentation of the fire watch detail, to include: dates, times, personnel names and signatures of those assigned to the fire watch

2. What is a "qualified" person?

In order to be qualified and designated to be a fire watch, fire watch personnel should be trained annually in the following:

• Evacuation procedures
• Fire awareness and recognition of obvious hazards to life and property
• Fire extinguisher procedures
• Knowledge of the building and the various rooms contained within the building
• Procedures for reporting an emergency
• Use/business specific safety policies and procedures

3. What are the duties of personnel on fire watch?

Personnel providing a fire watch shall perform the following duties:

• Determine at least one means of direct communication with the fire department
• Conduct periodic patrols of the entire facility
• Maintain a log of fire watch activities
• Have a good working knowledge of the fire protection equipment available and be trained in how to use them, including fire extinguishers
• Identify any fire, life safety or property hazards and report them by contacting 9-1-1 and stating the type of emergency and exact location
• If the building is occupied, notify all occupants to evacuate. If the sirens or public address systems are operational, use them to assist with the evacuation of the building
• Personnel performing a fire watch cannot have any other duties other than the fire watch
• Personnel performing the fire watch will not perform any firefighting duties beyond the scope of the ordinary citizen

4. How often do we need to do a fire watch?

Fire watch personnel shall patrol the entire facility every 15 minutes when:

• The facility has people sleeping in it
• The facility is an institutional occupancy
• The facility is an assembly occupancy

5. How often do we need to do a fire watch?

Fire watch personnel shall patrol the entire facility every 15 minutes when:

• The facility has people sleeping in it
• The facility is an institutional occupancy
• The facility is an assembly occupancy