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System Reliability
Inspections, Testing, Maintenance, and Reporting
Fire and life safety systems, such as fire alarms and sprinklers, are among the most important components in any building type for preserving lives, protecting property, and reducing risk for first responders. The International Fire Code (IFC) requires building owners to maintain their building's fire and life safety systems in good working condition at all times and to ensure that those systems are tested on a regular basis. The periodic testing of these systems is called confidence testing.
All reports for the testing, maintenance, and repairs of the following fire suppression and detection systems are required to be submitted to Redmond Fire Prevention through The Compliance Engine by the inspection company:
System Type | Submittal Frequency Requirement |
|---|---|
| Automatic closing fire assemblies | Annual |
| Clean agent | Annual |
| Emergency power generator | Annual |
| Emergency responder radio system (ERRS) | Annual |
| Fire Alarm* | Annual |
| Fire Pump | Annual |
| Hood Suppression System | Semi-annual |
| Leak Detection | Annual |
| Paint/Spray Booth Suppression | Annual |
| Private fire hydrant | Annual |
| Smoke Control System | Annual |
| Special Suppression | Annual, Semi-annual |
| Sprinkler System | Annual |
| Standpipe | 5-year |
* Fire alarm confidence test report must include an annual Fire Alarm Operational Permit Application (PDF).
The report filing fee is charged to the inspection company completing all testing. Redmond Fire Prevention monitors compliance with required testing and that any identified repairs are completed in a timely manner. Redmond Fire Prevention does not perform inspection, testing, or maintenance of fire protection systems. This work is completed by testing companies hired by the building's owners.
You can read more information about the inspection requirements for fire systems in the table below.
What constitutes a fire alarm system?
All devices connected to a single transmitter.
Inspection Requirements for dwelling units
NFPA requires all devices to be tested annually, with very limited exceptions. In general, the test is not considered complete until all the devices have been tested (or for buildings with quarterly testing, the final report for the year is not complete until 100% of devices requiring testing have been tested). Please reserve yellow tags for deficiencies, not incomplete tests. However, if you have made a good faith effort including multiple visits to complete testing, and have not been provided access to the full 100%, it is acceptable to submit the report as a yellow tag and indicate clearly which devices/building areas were not accessible for testing.
What constitutes a fire sprinkler system?
A system (and the associated components) connected to a single municipal water supply.
What percentage of sprinkler heads need to be inspected during an annual inspection?
All sprinkler heads require visual inspection except those in concealed spaces. NFPA 25 requires a complete walkthrough of the building and a visual inspection of every accessible sprinkler head and other system components, from floor level. Therefore, a sampling of different areas or portions of a system such as a percentage of apartment units is not per the standard and would not constitute an NFPA 25 compliant inspection.
What constitutes a hood suppression system?
All tanks and piping connected to a single releasing device.
How often is hood inspection and service required?
Automatic fire-extinguishing systems must be serviced at least every 6 months and after activation of the system. The service must be performed by a qualified, properly certified technician.
How often is duct and hood cleaning required?
If the exhaust system is found to be dirty in the inspection, it must be cleaned at that time. Cleaning is required twice a year, but should be completed more often if needed.
Fire Alarm Status Changes
Please contact the Systems Reliability Program Coordinator with details about the location and the reason for the status change when any of the following occur:
- Monitoring of an alarm system is discontinued (provide 30 days' notice)
- Deficiencies that prevent the initiation of a signal to a monitoring company
- If there is a lack of monitoring, a fire watch is required as per Redmond Fire Department Standard 14.00.
- What is The Compliance Engine (TCE)?
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The Compliance Engine (TCE) is a simple, web-based service used to track the servicing of fire protection systems to drive code compliance, reduce false alarm activity, and provide a safer community. Redmond Fire Prevention began using this system in 2017 as a method of tracking the performance of required inspections for all fire protection systems (such as Fire Alarm, Hood Suppression, Sprinkler, Private Fire Hydrant, Spray booth, etc.).
This service sends renewal, deficient, and overdue notices automatically to your business contact or responsible party. After the contractor completes their routine fire protection inspections, they must submit all reports to TCE. Your business will be out of compliance until the fire protection contractor submits the report in TCE. Also, the contractor is responsible for submitting any repair reports that they have completed. If a routine inspection was conducted or a repair was made and you are still receiving these notices, please contact your fire protection contractor to make sure they have submitted the information to TCE in a timely manner. If you have further questions regarding TCE or notices that you are receiving, please contact the systems reliability program coordinator. To register for a TCE account, please visit the TCE website at www.thecomplianceengine.com.
- How do I register for a TCE account?
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Please be advised that as of January 1, 2017, Redmond Fire, along with several other jurisdictions in the metro Seattle area, have begun to use a new system, The Compliance Engine (http://www.thecomplianceengine.com), for receiving our confidence test reports. All confidence test reports are required to be submitted through this system.
To submit the report, you will need to register an account with the system. To do so, please click the Register link at the top of The Compliance Engine’s website. From there, follow the prompts for account creation. Please note that the information being asked for during the registration process is for a designated company administrator; you will be given the opportunity to set up additional users after the administrator’s account has been created. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office for additional assistance!
- What does The Compliance Engine cost?
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The Compliance Engine charges the contractor $10 per report, per site. For example, a warehouse with one sprinkler system ($10 report submission fee), one fire alarm system* ($10 report submission fee), and one hood suppression system ($10 report submission fee) pays a total of $30 in report submission fees. If your contractor uploads the report 15 days after the inspection, there will be a $10.00 late fee. If your contractor uploads the report 31 or more days after the inspection, there will be a $20.00 late fee.
*Fire alarm systems require an annual fire alarm operational permit, which is $100/per year.
- How can a contractor submit their report to TCE?
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Inspection reports can only be submitted by contractors registered with TCE. The following link provides access to TCE Training: TCE Training Link. On this site, you can request online training, or alternatively, reach The Compliance Engine directly by calling 630-413-9511 or support@mybrycer.com.
- Can a business owner upload inspection reports to The Compliance Engine?
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Unfortunately, business owners cannot submit inspection reports to TCE. In order to maintain the integrity of the system, it is necessary that only contractors submit inspection reports to TCE. Please note that contractors are required to also provide inspection reports to property owners, in addition to uploading the report to TCE.
- Why do I receive automatic notices?
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In an effort to stay proactive, The Compliance Engine automatically sends out renewal, deficient, and overdue notices to keep business owners or property managers informed of the status of their fire protection systems. These automated notices are a requirement from Redmond Fire Prevention, as we want all responsible parties informed when actions are required on their respective fire and life safety systems. If you would like to be added or taken off a property address, please e-mail firesystems@redmond.gov. TCE retains records under property addresses and property business names. If you have several properties that you manage or are no longer responsible for within the City of Redmond, please report said properties via e-mail so that we can update our records.
- Can I e-mail, fax, or mail the confidence test reports to Redmond Fire?
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Confidence test reports can no longer be submitted directly to the Redmond Fire Department. Confidence Test reports are required to be uploaded to The Compliance Engine website by the contractor that performed the service.
- Why is my report still listed as "open"?
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A report in an “Open” status means it has not been fully submitted and is not visible to Redmond Fire Prevention. Your contractor will need to access their "Open/Rejected Reports" and click on the RN number. Then the contractor will need to select “Submit to AHJ”. There is an overnight billing process that will delay the status from changing from the “Open” status. If the status still remains open, then it is likely that Redmond Fire Prevention rejected the report or the contractor’s form of payment was declined. Either way, the report will need to be reviewed and submitted by your contractor.
- Do I have to use the same contractor to make repairs?
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The contractor that performed the inspection, testing, or maintenance may observe issues and list them as deficiencies on your inspection report. This will result in a deficiency notice being sent to the responsible party and Redmond Fire Prevention. Contact the contractor directly regarding deficiencies. It is acceptable for the repairs to be completed by a different contractor from the one that performed the initial inspection.* After the deficiencies are corrected, a “deficiency repair” report needs to be uploaded to TCE by the contractor that corrected the deficiency.
*Fire alarm repairs require a letter of authorization from the prime contractor listed on the fire alarm operational permit to perform any work on the fire alarm system.
- Can I have an extension to repair deficiencies?
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An extension is dependent on the severity of the deficiency. Any deficiencies that impact the operation or activation of a fire protection system need to be corrected as soon as possible. A fire violation penalty may be issued by Redmond Fire Prevention if the deficiency is not addressed in a timely manner. Any extensions do need to be reviewed and approved by Fire Prevention staff.
- I am a building owner or property manager. How do I access my reports?
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Please e-mail firesystems@redmond.gov to obtain a secure access code. This access code will allow you to log onto The Compliance Engine website and view any fire reports associated with your premise.