Santa Monica's fire department does the inspecting
Santa Monica runs its own fire department. The Fire Prevention Division of the Santa Monica Fire Department handles commercial fire inspections: it checks fire protection systems in new buildings and remodels against the Santa Monica Fire Code, and it issues the city's annual fire permits.
We do the work between visits. Our technicians inspect, test and maintain your restaurant's sprinkler system on the NFPA 25 schedule, so the valves, gauges and heads are in working order whenever the city's inspector walks in. Have a question about what the city requires at your address? Call Fire Prevention at (310) 458-8915.
The NFPA 25 schedule for restaurant systems
Restaurant sprinklers are water-based systems, and NFPA 25 sets their schedule.
- Every quarter: an inspection.
- Every year: an annual inspection with testing.
- Every five years: an internal pipe assessment and gauge replacement or testing. California's Title 19 also requires a five-year service and certification by a contractor licensed by the State Fire Marshal.
- At 50 years: heads still in service are replaced or sample-tested.
Dates are easy to lose. If you don't know when your last five-year service was done, tell us when you call and the technician will start by looking at the tags on the system.
What restaurant sprinkler testing covers
Inspection is mostly looking. Testing means operating things. On a typical annual visit the technician confirms the control valves are open, reads the system gauges, flows water through a drain or test connection to see that pressure holds and the waterflow alarm sounds, and walks the space checking every head in view.
Storage matters too. Shelving stacked close to the ceiling in a dry storage room can block a head's spray pattern.
Grease and paint on the heads
Kitchens are hard on sprinkler heads. Cooking vapor leaves a film of grease on heads near the cook line, and over time that coating can slow a head's response or keep it from opening the way it was built to. Paint does the same.
The fix for a loaded head is a new head. Wiping it down doesn't count. We've had calls from Santa Monica about heads that painters covered during a facility paint job, and sprinkler work is the second most common reason callers here reach us, after fire extinguishers. Head replacement falls under our sprinkler repair service.
Who does the work
Hedrick Fire Protection does our California work. Hedrick holds C-16 (fire protection) and C-10 (electrical) contractor licenses and is licensed by the California State Fire Marshal under Title 19 for portable extinguisher service and for inspection, testing and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems. Hedrick is also licensed to install and service commercial kitchen hood suppression systems, and the hood over your line is covered by our hood suppression service.
Not a restaurant? Offices, shops and other buildings are on our fire sprinkler service page. For extinguishers, including the Class K unit a kitchen with a suppression system needs, see fire extinguisher service. Outside the city, see restaurant sprinkler inspections in Los Angeles County and Orange County, or go back to our Santa Monica services page.
To book an inspection or get a quote, call (213) 568-0188 or email socal@1profire.com. Tell us whether the fire department has given you a date.
Santa Monica restaurant sprinkler questions
Do you service fire sprinklers, or only extinguishers?
Both. Sprinkler inspection, testing and maintenance is part of the same State Fire Marshal licensed work described above.
How soon can a technician come out?
It depends on that week's schedule. If you have an inspection coming up, give us the date when you call. We'll tell you our earliest opening.
Can painted-over sprinkler heads be cleaned?
No. Painted or grease-loaded heads get replaced with new ones.
Who answers questions about what Santa Monica requires?
The Santa Monica Fire Department's Fire Prevention Division, at (310) 458-8915.