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Home My WebLink AboutSOG 202.06 New 6-2016_PFAS Activationsf i � 202.06 — Response to PFAS Activations Effective. 6/5/2016 Revised: Replaces:11 11 11 11 11 a,.� Ham11 , F� ee:�l I. Guiding PhilosophX Within our community, there are many different types of Private Fire Alarm Systems (PFAS) in service. Personnel from the Planning Section's Community Risk Reduction Division inspect, test, and document to ensure PFASs are being maintained in accordance with locally adopted building and fire codes. Operations Section personnel routinely respond to a high volume of PFAS activations every year, where they investigate, restore (when possible), and document these activations. By effectively communicating and working together as a team, our members can keep people safe and best resolve PFAS issues. II. Purpose The purpose of the policy is to provide basic guidance on handling the most common types of situations found when responding to PFAS activations, resetting PFAS, and notifying the Community Risk Reduction Division to follow-up on systems needing service/repair. III. Goals The goals of this policy are to: A. Outline the fire department's emergency response to PFAS incidents. B. Provide guidance on resetting the PFAS. C. Define when work or repairs can be performed on PFAS, and when to contact Community Risk Reduction for follow-up. IV. Definitions A. PFAS — Private fire alarm systems are owned and installed in local businesses as outlined in the local building/fire codes. They are inspected routinely as part of the Community Risk Reduction's fire code enforcement program for commercial occupancies. Installation, repair, monitoring, and maintenance are handled by third party, State -licensed fire protection system companies. B. Fire Alarm/Protection Companies — Private companies who are paid by local businesses to install, repair, maintain, and sometimes monitor the private fire alarm systems. C. Pull Stations — boxes mounted strategically within the business so occupants and workers can manually activate the alarm in case of a fire. SOG 202.06 — Response to PFAS Activations Page 1 of 5 V. Responding to PFAS Activations A. Treat all PFAS activations as potential emergency events until there is reliable information that there is no actual emergency situation present at the location. 1. PPE should be donned as if responding to a structure fire. 2. Consider information enroute that would help determine initial actions in case smoke, electrical, or fire conditions are found on arrival. a. Consider preplan items such as what fire protection systems are present, hydrants available, life safety issues, etc. b. Consider initial actions for potential evacuation and mitigating the situation. B. If nothing is visible upon arrival, assume Command in the Investigative Mode and check the alarm panel for activation information. Assign personnel to thoroughly check the activated zones. a. If it appears there is no likelihood of an actual emergency, you may silence the alarm upon arrival. b. Use your best judgment to clear areas such as attic spaces and duct detector activations where a visible inspection is restricted or impossible. 2. If the system has already been reset prior to arrival, then: a. Verify that the system was reset properly. b. Assign personnel to do enough of a building walk thru to ensure that no potential emergency conditions are present. c. Notify on scene management that they are not allowed to reset the system until the fire department has completed investigating the activation. d. Communicate to on scene management that the system may be silenced if they have done a walk thru of the building and have verified that there is no apparent emergency. e. Notify the Community Risk Reduction Division supervisors via email that the system was reset prior to arrival. C. If the alarm has sounded and you are not able to gain unforced access into the building (no key holder on file or KNOX box), consider the following: No immediate indication of fire or emeruencv situation a. Investigate from the exterior of the structure. b. If after an exterior investigation there is still no indication of fire or an emergency situation, provide this information in a status report to Dispatch. c. If there is an indication of fire or an emergency situation found during the exterior investigation, force entry to investigate further. SOG 202.06 — Response to PFAS Activations Page 2 of 5 Signs that Indicate Forced Entry is Required • Perform a 360 degree walk -around of the structure (if possible) looking into the windows for signs of smoke, fire, or anything odd that would require the need to force entry. • Feel outside metal areas of the building, doors and windows for possible heat buildup inside the structure. • Be aware of any odor of smoke, burning materials or the presence of unusual odors. 2. If smoke or fire conditions are evident upon arrival: a. Immediately advise Dispatch to turn in an alarm! b. Treat the situation as a commercial structure fire. D. Continued vigilance is needed if an alarm comes in again after resetting. A previous alarm at a facility does not necessarily mean that the next alarm there is not an actual emergency. A second event could have triggered the alarm or something could have been missed on the investigation during the first response. E. If an alarm goes off several times during the course of a shift or over the last few shifts, then be sure to notify the Community Risk Reduction Division supervisors by email (preferred) or with a phone call during business hours that there is currently a recurring problem with the system. F. When completing the run report, write a detailed narrative describing the situation found, the zones activated, and whether or not the system was reset so that there is record to help establish when a system needs maintenance due to repeat false alarms. V. Resetting the PFAS A. Before leaving the scene, the PFAS needs to be reset, if possible. 1. The ideal outcome is that the PFAS resets completely with no zones showing trouble and no alarms present. 2. Activated pull stations may be reset by fire department personnel if they have the proper tools to open the pull station without damaging it. B. If you have to disable a zone or leave a zone in trouble toetg the system to reset: g j II �b u l � ,i s (such as apartments, theaters, nursing homes, boarding houses, hospitals, etc) and zones must be disabled for the system to reset, then inform the facility owner/manager on scene that they are SOG 202.06 — Response to PFAS Activations Page 3 of 5 required to maintain a fire watch of the disabled zones until their fire alarm company can repair the system. In this case, have a Dispatcher notify a Supervisor within the Community Risk Reduction by phone to inform them of the situation BEFORE you leave the scene. 2. ��uugr ��,u��q��,, quand zones must be disabled for the system to reset: a. Tell the facility owner/manager on scene that the system has been left in trouble for certain zones, and that they must promptly notify their alarm company of the needed maintenance. b. Provide the facility owner/manager on scene with the Fire -EMS Communications non -emergency phone number (880-3901). c. Advise the facility owner/manager on scene that he/she must call Dispatch with an estimated repair time for the PFAS after talking with their repair service. In this case, notify the Community Risk Reduction Supervisors via email detailing the problem so that they can follow-up and ensure repairs are completed. C. If the system will not reset at all g jg��b u l � ,i s (such as apartments, theaters, nursing homes, boarding houses, hospitals, etc) and the system will not reset: a. Have the Dispatcher notify a Supervisor within the Community Risk Reduction by phone to inform them of the situation before leaving the scene. b. Wait for the CRR Supervisor to arrive on scene, unless they advise otherwise. c. When the CRR Supervisor arrives, he/she will advise the business of the fire watch requirements. 2. iV iij'h:; �m %Ijp,, nut° or&111 ��,u��q �r,r� ,..p u� , ��,u°up and the system will not reset, then follow the direction provided in Section V.13.2 above. V. Performina Reoairs. Maintenance. or Makina Adiustments to a PFAS A. All repairs and maintenance to the PFAS must be completed by technicians trained and licensed by the State of Texas. Performing any work on the system without the required training and certification creates a liability for the fire department as well as the employee performing the actions. 1. Do not perform any repair or make any modification to the system beyond what was outlined above regarding silencing the system, resetting a pull station, and resetting the system. SOG 202.06 — Response to PFAS Activations Page 4 of 5 2. Do not remove any detector heads for cleaning or exchange with replacements. 3. Do not modify a system from the way it was designed and installed. B. If you are unsure of a situation, consult with the Community Risk Reduction personnel. Open and frequent communications between the Operations and Planning Sections is critical for each of us to be successful in meeting the demands of our mission. SOG 202.06 — Response to PFAS Activations Page 5 of 5