Fire watch can be performed by the already existing staff in the building premises or the work can be outsourced to a responsible, licensed security company or fire protection contractor. In any case the people assigned the responsibility should be well trained and familiar with the procedure and be aware of the premises they are guarding and all the areas should be accessible to them.
A formal training in the proper use of fire extinguishers and other emergency fire protection equipment is necessary. The emergency evacuation procedures, safety plans, and alarm activation procedures should be absolutely clear to them and they should have practiced it in their training program.
The property’s safety plans and emergency evacuation and alarm activation procedures, including the location of alarm pull switches should be known to the watchers so they can perform their duty rightfully. IFC (3304.5.2) allows the fire watch guards to perform the security duties on construction sites simultaneously with fire watch work.
For all other properties and businesses it is forbidden. The fire watch guards are only allowed to keep an eye out for fires and not perform other cleaning, security or maintenance duties which are not related to fire. If there are people who are looking at assigning fire watch duties to employees they should look at the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements (1915.504) to understand the complete process. OSHA needs employers to develop and maintain a written policy around the fire guard system.
