Sprinkler Impairment Checklist

How to use this checklist

Keep a copy in the building’s fire protection file and with whoever will be the impairment coordinator. For a planned impairment, work through the first three sections before the system goes down. For an emergency, start at the top and go as fast as the phone allows; the notifications and the watch are the two things that cannot wait. The checklist follows International Fire Code section 901.7 as Houston and other Texas jurisdictions adopt it; the fire code official’s conditions for the building govern.

First hour

• Fire department notified, with the time and the person spoken to recorded
• Fire code official notified the same way
• Insurer notified under the property policy, and any impairment permit the policy requires requested
• Alarm monitoring company told which signals to expect or ignore
• Impairment coordinator designated, with a phone number that works around the clock
• Control valve or panel tagged with the date, the reason and the coordinator’s number
• Authority’s conditions obtained and written down: fire watch required or not, interval, areas, alarm method, any occupancy limit
• Fire watch requested if required, and the officer given the conditions, the areas, the coordinator’s number and the log

While the system is down

• Occupants, tenants and contractors notified in writing that the system is impaired and how the alarm will be raised
• Hot work stopped or covered by its own permit and watch
• Smoking and open flame limited
• Exits, stairs, extinguishers and standpipe connections kept clear and checked each round
• Temporary detection or alarm measures in place where the authority requires them
• Fire watch rounds walked at the interval and logged
• Coordinator reviews the log daily and keeps the fire department informed of progress on a multi-day impairment
• Repairs tracked, with the expected restoration date recorded and updated

Restoration

• System restored by the contractor and tested, including flow or alarm tests as the authority requires
• Fire department, fire code official and insurer notified of restoration
• Monitoring company told the system is back in service
• Tag removed
• Fire watch released and the log closed with the officer’s and the coordinator’s signatures
• Impairment file completed: notifications, conditions, occupant notice, log, restoration record, insurer correspondence

Notes on filling it in

The tag and the coordinator are the two items most often missing when an inspector arrives, and both take five minutes. Write the authority’s conditions down word for word, because the watch’s interval and areas come from them and the log will be judged against them. Occupant notice is a written notice, not a word in the elevator; keep a copy in the file. And do not let a planned shutdown drift: an impairment that was going to last a day and lasted a week is the one that draws attention. The IFC 901.7 article walks through the first hour, and the fire watch log template is the log the watch keeps. Price Protection staffs impairment fire watch across Greater Houston on short notice. This is a summary, not legal advice.