Fire watch
A fire watch is required whenever fire alarm or sprinkler systems are offline to keep our campus safe and compliant with the Ontario Fire Code. Learn more about fire watches and how to request support below.
What is a fire watch?
A fire watch is a temporary safety measure when a building’s fire alarm or sprinkler system is offline. Designated personnel patrol the affected area to detect hazards and respond quickly. This ensures compliance with the Ontario Fire Code and keeps everyone safe.
When is a fire watch required?
A fire watch is required when:
- Fire alarm or sprinkler systems are shut down for maintenance or renovations
- Systems are out of service due to an unexpected failure
A fire watch can apply to an entire building or specific areas.
Your responsibility
If you are planning a renovation, capital project, or maintenance or repair work that will result in the fire alarm or sprinkler systems being offline, you must initiate a fire watch.
A fire watch involves having a designated person(s) patrol the affected area hourly and document their patrol using the fire watch log sheet.
A designated staff member or contractor may conduct a fire watch. If there isn’t a designated staff member or contractor available, you must request support from the Campus Safety team by following the steps in how to request support for a fire watch below.
Once the fire alarm or sprinkler systems are back online, you must contact the Campus Safety team to end the fire watch support.
How to request support for a fire watch
1. Submit a fire watch support request
Complete this web form to request fire watch support. Ensure you have a service order created; you will enter the service order number into the form.
2. Scheduling and confirmation
The Campus Safety team reviews your request and schedules the fire watch support.
3. Automated notifications
You receive email updates when the fire watch support request is received, scheduled, active, ended and/or cancelled.
4. Fire watch support in effect
Designated Campus Safety personnel or a contracted security guard patrol hourly and record activity in a log sheet.
Responsibilities during a fire watch
- Conduct a patrol every hour and document it using the fire watch log sheet
- Be trained in:
- Identifying and controlling fire hazards
- Detecting early signs of fire
- Triggering alarms and notifying the Campus Safety team
Restrictions during a fire watch
- No hot work (for example, welding)
- In commercial kitchens, cooking may be suspended until fire extinguishing systems are restored
Questions or support
Contact your fire prevention officer for questions about fire emergency procedures.
You can also reach the Fire Prevention team at fireprevention@utoronto.ca.