Fire Sprinkler Service in Los Angeles County

Sprinkler inspection, testing and repair · NFPA 25 and California Title 19

A sprinkler system can sit for years and still fail on the day it's needed. A shut valve looks normal from the floor. So does a painted head. NFPA 25 sets the inspection schedule that catches those faults, and California's Title 19 adds a five-year service and certification on top of it. Here's what each visit covers.

What a quarterly visit checks

Gauges come first. On a wet system the technician reads water pressure and compares it with what the system normally holds; on a dry or preaction system, air pressure gets the same check, because a drop can mean a leak or a valve close to tripping.

• Control valves: open, and sealed, locked or supervised so nobody shuts one by accident.
• Alarm devices: waterflow and tamper switches, which usually report to a monitored fire alarm system.
• Fire department connection: caps in place, threads clean, nothing parked or planted in front of it.
• Signs: present and readable.

Valves should be open. A closed one leaves every head downstream dry.

What the annual visit adds

Once a year, the technician walks the whole building and looks at the heads. A head can fail when it's painted, corroded, damaged, loaded with dust or grease, or blocked. Pipe and hangers get checked for leaks and loose supports. The spare head cabinet should hold heads that match your system, plus the wrench that fits them.

Then comes testing. A main drain test shows whether water reaches the riser at the pressure it should, and a drop from earlier results can point to a closed valve or a blockage somewhere in the supply. Dry systems get a trip test.

Warehouses along the I-710 corridor

In warehouses, storage is often the problem. The Gateway Cities in southeast Los Angeles County have warehouses along the I-710 corridor, and any building with tall racks carries the same risk: stock stacked too close to the heads blocks the spray before it reaches a fire. Moving pallets costs nothing. Changing what you store, or how high you stack it, can leave the system designed for a different hazard, and that calls for a sprinkler design and installation review.

The five-year service and older heads

California's Title 19 requires a five-year sprinkler service and certification by a contractor licensed by the State Fire Marshal. That's when NFPA 25 calls for the internal pipe assessment and gauge replacement or testing. Who can do it? Our California work is performed by Hedrick Fire Protection, which holds C-16 (fire protection) and C-10 (electrical) contractor licenses and is licensed by the State Fire Marshal under Title 19 for water-based fire protection systems.

Age matters too. Heads in service 50 years must be replaced or sample-tested. Not sure when yours went in? Check the year stamped on the heads.

Your fire office depends on your address

Los Angeles County has 88 incorporated cities. They don't all use the same fire prevention office.

• Unincorporated areas and 59 contract cities: the County Fire Department's Fire Prevention Division does annual business inspections through its North, Central and East regional units.
• City of Los Angeles: the city has its own fire department, LAFD, whose Fire Development Services section handles plan review, permits and new construction inspections.
• Burbank and some other cities: their own fire prevention bureaus.

The county's fire code is Title 32 of the Los Angeles County Code. Cities with their own departments may adopt their own code. Before you plan repairs, confirm the edition in force with the fire office for your address.

Call (213) 568-0188 or email socal@1profire.com with the address, the system type and the date on your last tag.