Fire Watch Services in Tampa Bay

When a fire alarm or sprinkler system goes down, your building needs people walking it until the system is fixed. For fire watch Tampa property managers can count on, Atack Protection Group provides unarmed fire watch guards across Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater for apartment and condo buildings, hotels, offices, warehouses and job sites.

Led by CEO Hector Garcia, Atack Protection Group has 45 years in business and is disabled-veteran-owned and minority-owned. We are licensed and bonded in Florida. Call or text (954) 559-0486 for a free proposal.

When You Need a Fire Watch in Tampa

Under the Florida Fire Prevention Code, a fire watch is usually needed when a fire alarm system is out of service for more than 4 hours in 24 (NFPA 72), when a sprinkler system is out for more than 10 hours in 24 (NFPA 25), or whenever the fire marshal orders one. For hot work, the watch lasts during the work and at least 60 minutes after it (NFPA 51B). The fire marshal decides what your building needs, so call them first.

Common reasons Tampa Bay properties call us:

• A fire alarm panel or sprinkler system that is impaired, being repaired or being replaced
• New buildings where the fire systems aren’t active yet
• Welding, cutting and other hot work
• A fire watch ordered by the fire marshal after an inspection

What Our Fire Watch Guards Do

• Dedicated fire watch guards with no other duties while on the watch
• Foot patrols of the affected areas at the interval the fire marshal requires; in Tampa, plan on at least once an hour
• A fire watch log of every round, kept on site for the fire marshal
• A phone to call 911, and a working knowledge of where the extinguishers and exits are
• Alerting occupants and helping direct evacuation if there’s a fire
• Help notifying the fire marshal’s office and with any local fire watch agreement, and keeping the watch in place until the fire department says it can end

Guards use fire extinguishers the way any trained building occupant would. They don’t fight fires; they spot problems early, call 911 and get people out.

Hot Work Fire Watch on Tampa Job Sites

Welding, cutting, torch-applied roofing and grinding can start fires that smolder after the crew moves on. Our guards watch the hot work area during the work and for as long after it as the permit requires, keep extinguishers ready and keep exits clear. We can also post supplemental security: one guard on fire watch and a separate guard on the gate, so neither job is left uncovered. See construction site security.

Fire Watch Rules in Tampa and Hillsborough County

Inside city limits, Tampa Fire Rescue’s Fire Marshal’s Office handles fire watch requests and questions, and the City Code adopts NFPA 1 and NFPA 101. In unincorporated Hillsborough County, the county’s Fire Marshal’s Office is the authority. Temple Terrace and Plant City have their own fire departments. The building owner or manager notifies the fire marshal and is responsible for the watch, and the fire marshal decides what the watch needs on each job.

Sources: City of Tampa, Fire Marshal Requests and Inquiries, City of Tampa Code, Hillsborough County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Fire Watch in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and the Gulf Coast

We provide fire watch guards across Pinellas County, including St. Petersburg and Clearwater, and down the Gulf Coast to Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples. Each city and fire district sets its own rules, and we follow the one that covers your building. For security guards in the area, see security company Tampa.