Who checks your building depends on your address
No single agency inspects every California business. Depending on where your building sits, a city fire department, a county fire department or a fire protection district handles that work for your address. If you've received a notice, the agency named on it is the one you answer to. Not sure who that is? Ask your local fire marshal's office.
What each system needs, and how often
Most buildings have several systems, and each one runs on its own schedule.
- Fire extinguishers. Your staff should look them over monthly. A licensed technician services each unit every year and records it on a tag, and stored-pressure dry chemical units also get an internal teardown every six years. Hydrostatic tests come every 12 years for dry chemical, and every 5 years for CO2, water and wet chemical (Class K) units.
- Fire sprinklers. NFPA 25 calls for quarterly and annual inspections. Every five years, Title 19 requires a service and certification by a State Fire Marshal licensed contractor, and NFPA 25 adds an internal pipe assessment plus gauge replacement or testing on that same five-year cycle. Older buildings have one more item. Heads in service for 50 years must be replaced or sample-tested.
- Fire alarms. Tested at least once a year under NFPA 72. Some devices need it more often.
- Kitchen hood suppression. Inspected every six months under NFPA 96 and NFPA 17A, with metal-alloy fusible links replaced at least that often. Older dry chemical systems don't meet UL 300, the test standard for wet chemical systems that protect cooking appliances.
- Private fire hydrants. Flow tested and inspected every year under NFPA 25. The state regulates about 7,500 public water systems, so which utility takes part in your flow test depends on the street address of the site.
What happens on a service visit
An annual visit usually starts with a walk through the building with you or your site contact, so the technician can locate every device that's due. Each one is then inspected or tested to the standard that covers it. Units that pass get a current tag. Units that fail get written up. That list tells you what needs repair or replacement before your inspector finds it.
Keep your service records on site. Inspectors often ask for them. To set up a visit, call (844) 505-4532 and tell us which systems you have, roughly how many devices, and when each one is due.
Who may do the work
In California, any company that services portable extinguishers for a fee needs a fire extinguisher concern license from the State Fire Marshal. Our California work is performed by Hedrick Fire Protection. Hedrick holds C-16 (fire protection) and C-10 (electrical) contractor licenses and is licensed by the State Fire Marshal under Title 19 for extinguisher service and for inspection, testing and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems.
Why both licenses? The C-16 class covers fire protection systems but excludes electrical alarm systems, so alarm work runs under the C-10.
Counties we serve
Choose your county for local details.
City pages cover places such as fire protection in Los Angeles, Anaheim, Oxnard, Chula Vista and Palm Springs.