Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Prevention Policy PDF

11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 1 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 11/1-01.01 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL -01. L.A.F.D. POLICY.01 RESPONSIBILITY Fire prevention in the City of Los Angeles is as much...

11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 1 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 11/1-01.01 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL -01. L.A.F.D. POLICY.01 RESPONSIBILITY Fire prevention in the City of Los Angeles is as much a part of every firefighter's duty as fire fighting. Each member must accept full responsibility for fire prevention as an integral part of the duties of a firefighter, regardless of position or assignment. The acceptance of this responsibility enables us to accomplish our primary job -- the preservation of life and property..14 OBJECTIVE: It is the responsibility of every member to ensure the uniform application of the Los Angeles City Fire Code throughout the City..28 COORDINATION There will be one fire prevention policy for the City. Uniform application of this policy shall be the objective of all segments of the Department. The Fire Marshal shall develop and promulgate the overall Fire Prevention Program of the Department according to the policies established by the Fire Chief..42 COVERAGE The purpose of the Station Fire Prevention Program is to obtain complete coverage of the City. Such a program must be sufficiently flexible to meet the diverse needs of the City. This, of necessity, will demand more frequent inspections of certain types of occupancies than of others. Station Commanders will govern their inspection activities by the conditions which exist in their fire prevention districts (refer to Vol. 6, 11/1-28.85)..45 DRIVE-THROUGH INSPECTION Each Station Commander shall perform a drive-through inspection of their inspection district once each calendar quarter (3 months). The purpose of the inspection is to locate, identify and evaluate hazardous conditions, and to initiate corrective action. The inspection also identifies new multi-unit (16 units or more) occupancies that are still in the framing stages of construction. A report of the hazardous conditions noted and corrective action taken shall be forwarded to the Battalion Commander having responsibility for the district inspected, within ten (10) days of the date of each inspection..47 PLANNING WORK LOAD Station commanders shall plan to complete a minimum of one-tenth (1/10) of their total inspection work load during each calendar month. This scheduling will allow for interruptions or unscheduled activities due to emergency activity, adverse weather conditions or unanticipated work programs. Battalion Commanders have the authority to adjust the inspection work load between the various stations in their battalions in order that stations may meet the cycle requirements as shown in 11/1-28.85 or as otherwise approved. Stations commanders shall indicate scheduled reinspection dates on their monthly F-957 station activity schedule. 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 2.56 STANDARDS Thorough and constructive inspections are the minimum LAFD standards of acceptance. It is not desired, nor required, that inspections be made hurriedly. Conversations during inspections should be confined to educational and constructive comments..70 SUPERVISORS All matters relating to fire prevention at the station level are under the direct supervision of the line officers concerned. When conditions are found which require special information, technical knowledge, or change, it is the responsibility of the line officers to secure the necessary information as per the manual of operation..84 KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED A good understanding of the basic fire prevention principles of elimination, separation, isolation, and limitation, along with the use of the procedures and code excerpts contained in the following material should provide a satisfactory solution to the majority of problems encountered in the field. One of the necessary qualifications of a good and effective inspector is knowledge of the laws which govern their work. Members shall familiarize themselves with the Fire Code, as it constitutes the authority upon which fire prevention operations are based. In addition, members shall be knowledgeable of the Station Occupancy Record Tracking System (SORTS) or Fire Prevention Occupancy System (FPOS) and the administrative process of fire prevention recordkeeping. -28. INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITY.01 GENERAL Each Fire Station shall develop and maintain their Fire Prevention records in accordance with the Department wide record keeping and inspection cycle. The following information is to be used in determining inspection responsibility..25 NEW CONSTRUCTION All new construction, including major additions or remodeling, will be supervised by the Fire Prevention Bureau. Upon completion, the inspection responsibility will be determined by the Fire Prevention Bureau. EXCEPTION Fire station personnel will make new construction inspections of the following residential occupancies which are not required to have a fire alarm system: A. Apartment houses two stories or less in height or containing 15 dwelling units or less. B. Hotels two stories or less in height or containing 19 guest rooms or less. Station Commanders shall verify the fire station fire prevention inspection file has been updated for the newly constructed occupancy. 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 3.75 F.P.B. RESPONSIBILITY The following occupancies or conditions will normally be inspected by members of the Fire Prevention Bureau. All other occupancies will be inspected by fire station personnel. Occupancy classification definitions are contained in the Manual of Operation, 11/1-30.00 and in the Fire Code, Section 57.02.02. A. Group A Occupancies with an occupant load of 100 or more persons. EXCEPTION: Any church with an occupant load of less than 750 and which is not on the same property as a school or day care occupancy will be inspected by fire station personnel. B. Group B Occupancies: 1. Four stories or more in height. 2. 40,000 square feet or more total area of all floors. 3. Where a Division 4 permit is required in accordance with Section 57.04.03 of the Fire Code. EXCEPTION: Group A Occupancies with an occupant load of 99 or less. C. All Group E Occupancies. D. All Group H Occupancies except repair garages. E. All Group I Occupancies. F. Group R, Division 1 Occupancies six stories or more in height. 1. Group R, Occupancies housing more than six (6) persons..80 FIRE STATION RESPONSIBILITY The following occupancies or conditions will normally be inspected by fire station personnel. All other occupancies will be inspected by members of the Fire Prevention Bureau. Occupancy classification definitions are contained in the Fire Code. A. Group A Occupancies with an occupant load of less than 100 persons. EXCEPTION: Any church with an occupant load of less than 750 and which is not on the same property as a school or day care occupancy will be inspected by fire station personnel. B. Group B Occupancies with less than four stories in height and less than 40,000 square feet total of all floors. C. Group H Division 4 Occupancies (Repair garages). D. Group R Occupancies. 1. Group R, Division 1 Occupancies less than six stories in height. 2. Group R, Division 3 Occupancies. 3. Group R, Occupancies housing 6 or fewer ambulatory or non-ambulatory persons, on the premises, not including employees or relatives. 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 4.81 MULTI-OCCUPANCY BUILDINGS The inspection responsibility in multi-occupancy buildings for individual occupancies having separate street addresses may be divided between the Fire Prevention Bureau and fire station personnel..82 MULTI-STORY BUILDINGS For multi-story buildings where inspection responsibility rests with the Fire Prevention Bureau, all occupancies within the building shall be inspected by the Fire Prevention Bureau..83 EXCEPTIONS TO INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITY POLICIES: Reasonable exceptions to the inspection responsibility policies may be made by agreement of the officers concerned. Factors to be considered in accepting additional inspection responsibilities may be fire prevention work load, time required or distance from fire apparatus..84 OUTPATIENT MEDICAL CLINICS Requests for fire clearance from an outpatient medical clinic shall he handled by the Bureau having inspection responsibility for the occupancy. Fire clearances are normally requested by a facility in order to obtain a permit to operate. Requests shall be handled in a timely manner. A “Fire Clearance Verification” letter shall be issued when the facility is inspected and found in compliance with Fire Code requirements. If violations are found, a Fire/Life Safety Violation notice (F-340C) shall be issued. Clearance shall be granted after violations are corrected..85 STATION RESPONSIBILITY MODIFIED INSPECTION CYCLES FOR COMPANY FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTIONS Using Table 33-A of the Fire Code, the inspection cycle for general occupancies will be either an annual or a three-year inspection cycle based on the number of exits required. Occupancies which require only one exit shall be inspected once every three years. Occupancies with more than one required exit (see Table 33-A of the Fire Code) or containing over the allowable limits of hazardous materials (see Div. 8 of the Fire Code) shall be inspected once each year. Enclosed corridor apartments/condominiums with 16 or more units or 3-5 stories in height; enclosed corridor hotels with 20 or more guest rooms or 3-5 stories in height; and company assemblage occupancies (normally 99 occupants or less) shall be inspected twice each year (one daytime and one nighttime inspection -- six months apart). Non-enclosed corridor apartments/ condominiums (garden type) occupancies with 16 or more units or 3-5 stories in height; and non-enclosed corridor hotels with 20 or more guest rooms or 3-5 stories in height shall be inspected once a year. Multi-unit dwellings shall include all enclosed corridor multi-unit residential occupancies 5-15 units in size and hotels with 6-19 guest rooms which are less than 3 stories in height. This category shall require inspection once every three years. Dwelling occupancies (4 units or less) are inspected by request or as a result of a complaint. Fire Prevention Bureau occupancies shall be inspected by field personnel for pre-fire planning purposes only, once every three years. Brush and grass shall be inspected annually by the Brush Task Force or Departmental Sweep. All other field inspections are normally conducted upon request or complaint only. The platoon inspection responsibilities shall be rotated once each three years. INSPECTION INTERVALS: Fire stations shall adhere to the minimum fire prevention and pre-fire planning inspection intervals outlined in the following chart. COMPANY FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITIES 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 5 FILING CATEGORIES PURPOSE INTERVALS General Occupancies Pre-Fire Planning and Fire Prevention Once every 3 years One Required Exit General Occupancies Pre-Fire Planning and Fire Prevention Once each year Two or More Required Exits Over Threshold Limits of Hazardous 1. To verify hazardous materials inventories Once every 3 years Materials on BP-8's. 2. Check for valid Division 8 Certifications. See Departmental Bulletin 95-20 (Revised). Enclosed Corridor Fire Prevention and Correction of Immediate Twice each year (one day and one night inspection Apartments/Condominiums with Fire and Life Hazards per year -- 6 months apart) 16 or more units or 3-5 stories in height Enclosed Corridor Hotels with 20 or more guest rooms or 3-5 stories in height Assembly Occupancies (less than 100 occupants) Non-enclosed Corridor Pre-Fire Planning and Fire Prevention Once each year Apartments/Condominiums with 16 or more units or 3-5 stories in height Non-enclosed Corridor Hotels with 20 or more guest rooms or 3-5 stories in height All Enclosed Corridor Pre-Fire Planning and Fire Prevention Once every three years Apartments/Condominiums 5-15 units in size which are less than 3 stories in height. All enclosed corridor hotels with 6-19 guest rooms which are less than 3 stories in height Dwellings Fire Prevention By request or as a result of a complaint Fire Prevention Bureau Occupancies Pre-Fire Planning Only Once every 3 years Brush and grass Fire Prevention Annually by Brush Task Force or Departmental Sweep. Others by request or complaint only. Quarterly Drive Through New Construction, Street Access, Hydrants, Quarterly overall condition of district Requests for deviation from these requirements shall be made in writing, through channels, to the Commander, Bureau of Emergency Services. F-225 Forward As indicated To Bureau Commander, THROUGH CHANNELS Number of Copies Two 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 6 Routing Upon approval or disapproval, duplicate returned to point of origin. Information Required As indicated -30. GROUP OCCUPANCY REFERENCE TABLE 11-A OCCUPANCY DESCRIPTION A-1 A building or portion of a building having an assembly room with an occupant load of 1,000 or more and a legitimate stage. A-2 A building or portion of a building having an assembly room with an occupant load of less than 1,000 and a legitimate stage. A-2.1 A building or portion of a building having an assembly room with an occupant load of 300 or more without a legitimate stage, including such buildings used for educational purposes and not classed as a Group E or Group B Occupancy. A-3 Any building or portion of a building having an assembly room with an occupant load of less than 300 without a legitimate stage, including such buildings used for educational purposes and not classed as a Group E or Group B Occupancy. A-4 Stadiums, reviewing stands and amusement park structures not included within other Group A occupancies. B A building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts; eating and drinking establishments with an occupant load of less than 50. E-1 Any building used for educational purposes through the 12th grade by 50 or more persons for more than 12 hours per week or four hours in any one day. E-2 Any building used for educational purposes through the 12th grade by less than 50 persons for more than 12 hours per week or four hours in any one day. E-3 Any building or portion thereof used for day-care purposes for more than six persons. F-1 Moderate-hazard factory and industrial occupancies include factory and industrial uses not classified as Group F, Division 2 Occupancies. F-2 Low-hazard factory and industrial occupancies include facilities producing noncombustible or nonexplosive materials which during finishing, packing or processing do not involve a significant fire hazard of the Uniform Building Code (U.B.C.). H-1 Occupancies with a quantity of material in the building in excess of those listed in Table 3-D of the U.B.C. which present a high explosion hazard. H-2 Occupancies with a quantity of material in the building in excess of those listed in Table 3-D of the U.B.C. which present a moderate explosion hazard or a hazard from accelerated burning. H-3 Occupancies with a quantity of material in the building in excess of those listed in Table 3-D of the U.B.C. which present a high fire or physical hazard. H-4 Repair garages not classified as Group S, Division 3 Occupancies. H-5 Aircraft repair hangars not classified as Group S, Division 5 Occupancies and heliports. H-6 Semiconductor fabrication facilities and comparable research and development areas when the facilities in which hazardous production materials are used, and the aggregate quantity of material is in excess of those listed in Table 3-D or 3-E. 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 7 H-7 Occupancies having quantities of materials in excess of those listed in Table 3-E of the U.B.C. that are health hazards as listed. I-1.1 Nurseries for the full-time care of children under the age of six (each accommodating more than five children), hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes with nonambulatory patients and similar buildings (each accommodating more than five patients). I-1.2 Health-care centers for ambulatory patients receiving out-patient medical care which may render the patient incapable of unassisted self-preservation (each tenant space accommodating more than five such patients). I-2 Nursing homes for ambulatory patients, homes for children six years of age or over (each accommodating more than five patients). I-3 Mental hospitals, mental sanitariums, jails, prisons, reformatories and buildings where personal liberties of inmates are similarly restrained. M A building or structure, or a portion thereof, for the display and sale of merchandise, and involving stocks of goods, wares or merchandise, incidental to such purposes and accessible to the public. R-1 Hotels and apartment houses, congregate residences (each accommodating more than 10 persons). R-2.1 Residential care facilities for the elderly (each accommodating more than six non-ambulatory persons). R-2.1.1 Residential care facilities for the elderly (each accommodating six or less non-ambulatory persons). R-2.2 Residential care facilities for the elderly (each accommodating more than six ambulatory persons). R-2.2.1 Residential care facilities for the elderly (each accommodating six or less ambulatory persons). R-2.3 Residential care facilities for bedridden occupants (each accommodating more than six persons). R-2.3.1 Residential care facilities for bedridden occupants (each accommodating 6 or less persons). R-3 Dwellings, lodging houses, congregate residences (each accommodating 10 or fewer persons) R-6 Residential group care facilities that provide care and/or supervisory services. No restraints. Halfway houses, alcohol and drug rehab facilities. R-6.1 Residential group care facilities that provide care and/or supervisory services. No restraints. Halfway houses, alcohol and drug rehab facilities. More than six non-ambulatory persons. R-6.1A Residential group care facilities that provide care and/or supervisory services. No restraints. Halfway houses, alcohol and drug rehab facilities. Six or less non-ambulatory persons. R-6.2 Residential group care facilities that provide care and/or supervisory services. No restraints. Halfway houses, alcohol and drug rehab facilities. More than six ambulatory persons. R-6.2A Residential group care facilities that provide care and/or supervisory services. No restraints. Halfway houses, alcohol and drug rehab facilities. Six or less ambulatory persons. S-1 Moderate hazard storage occupancies including buildings or portions of buildings used for storage of combustible materials not classified as Group S, Division 2 or Group H Occupancies. S-2 Low-hazard storage occupancies including buildings or portions of buildings used for storage of noncombustible materials. S-3 Repair garages where work is limited to exchange of parts and maintenance not requiring open flame or welding, and parking garages not classified as Group S, Division 4 Occupancies. S-4 Open parking garages. S-5 Aircraft hangars and helistops. U-1 Private garages, carports, sheds and agricultural buildings. U-2 Fences over 6 feet (1829 mm) high, tanks and towers. 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 8 -34. TRANSFER OF INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITY.01 GENERAL Officers in the Bureau of Emergency Services or the Fire Prevention Bureau may initiate transfers of inspection responsibility. This transfer may be completed upon agreement by the responsible officers. Also initiate an F-44, if, during a pre-fire planning inspection, it is discovered that the occupancy should be a fire station inspection responsibility (refer to Vol. 5, 9/7-00.00, F-44)..33 PROCEDURE A. To transfer fire station occupancies to F.P.B., the following procedure shall apply: 1. Forward F-44, and duplicate, with reason for transfer along with the station fire prevention file for the concerned occupancy. 2. Change the fire prevention folder for the concerned occupancy to reflect the new status as a Bureau occupancy. The file shall contain: A. The forwarding member's name. B. The date file was forwarded. C. The reason file was forwarded. D. To whom the file was forwarded. E. F-44 triplicate. 3. F.P.B. unit concerned will complete the F-44 and the duplicate will be returned to the station. 4. Station will change the status of the occupancy in SORTS or FPOS to that of a Bureau occupancy 5. The F.P.B. unit will add the occupancy to the IISYS system. B. To transfer F.P.B. occupancies to the fire station, the following procedure shall apply: 1. Forward F-44, and duplicate, with reason for transfer along with the fire prevention files for the concerned occupancy. 2. The station will complete the F-44 and return the duplicate to the F.P.B. 3. The station will change the status of the occupancy in SORTS or FPOS to that of a station occupancy. 4. The F.P.B. unit will delete the occupancy from the IISYS system. -51. INSPECTION CATEGORIES.01 FIRE STATION FILES For fire station fire prevention inspection purposes, occupancy files are grouped as follows: Records for each occupancy shall be kept in an individual legal sized folder. The folders are labeled by block number and address. Occupancy files shall be stored in a file cabinet by platoon, block number, and address. To assist with easy recognition of inspection cycles, all occupancies requiring an annual inspection will be placed in a left cut folder, all occupancies that will be inspected twice a year (night inspections) will be placed in a center cut folder, and all occupancies that will be inspected on a three-year cycle will be placed in a right cut folder. NOTE: To assist with the scheduling of inspections, it is recommended that "three-year cycle" occupancies that are in the same block be scheduled for inspection during the same fiscal year. REINSPECTION Fire Prevention Notices requiring reinspections shall be filed by platoon in legal sized manila folders that correspond to a 31-day month. Field Personnel shall number each day of the month on a separate folder. Station Commanders shall place the folders in the front of each platoon's fire prevention file. When a notice is written, the fire station copy 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL 9 shall be filed in the folder that corresponds to the reinspection date until needed for reinspection. (Note: Each platoon is responsible for their own reinspections.) COMPLAINT BOOK Each station shall maintain a complaint book. This book shall be used to track all fire prevention complaints. Complaint Processing Procedure: When a complaint is received, an F-334 form shall be filled out in accordance with the Manual of Operation instructions, and the following columns of the complaint control sheet shall be filled in; address hazard type date received shift responsibility After the complaint has been inspected, the completed F-334 form will be filled in the complaint book in alphabetical order (numeric order if the address is on a numbered street, i.e., 7th St., 3rd Ave., etc.). Additionally, the date completed and members initial columns of the control sheet in the front of the complaint book will be filled in. Councilmatic complaints shall be entered in red ink. If at a later date, fire station personnel receive additional complaints regarding an occupancy, members may refer to the complaint control sheet and the completed F-334 forms to determine the status of the initial complaint. Copies of the F-334 forms shall be retained until usefulness has passed. INSPECTION GUIDES The Basic Inspection Guide (Book No. 1) shall be utilized by Fire Suppression personnel to assist with hazard recognition and code enforcement. -70. ASSESSOR'S MAP BOOKS.01 GENERAL Assessor's Map Book and Pages for the complete Fire Prevention District are to be kept at each station. These maps are used in establishing correct legal description of property on which F-1308 and F-340 Notices are to be written. Periodically, these Map Books are updated by the County Assessor's Office and are automatically sent to the affected stations by the Brush Clearance Unit. PBow 14:36, October 31, 2006 (PST) Article Sources and Contributors 10 Article Sources and Contributors 11/1 FIRE PREVENTION/GENERAL Source: http://lafd.info/index.php?oldid=8114 Contributors: PBow