The Joint Commission publishes an amended fire watch policy
Hi everyone, it’s Scott Wallask, and from what I’ve read this week, The Joint Commission’s new fire watch policy is bound to shake things up a bit.
The June issue of Joint Commission Perspectives lays out when and how the accreditor expects hospitals to institute fire watches — but in doing so, the commission seems to pull back a bit from related requirements in the Life Safety Code.
For example, the code mandates that hospitals carry out fire watches when a fire alarm or sprinkler system is out of service for four hours in a 24-hour period. In Perspectives, The Joint Commission qualifies that requirement by stating fire watches would only be necessary during unscheduled alarm or sprinkler system disruptions.
For example, if a facility schedules the removal of a fire alarm system from service for maintenance for two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, then a fire watch isn’t required “because the outages can be considered separate incidences and are being appropriately managed,” according to Perspectives.
Stay tuned on this one as the word spreads. We’ll have more analysis in Healthcare Life Safety Compliance.
About the Author: Scott Wallask is senior managing editor for HCPro's Hospital Safety Center (
Mark | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
Does it really matter??? As long as a fire watch is being done and done the right way, who cares whether it’s done due to an outage or contractor working in the area and the system is disabled. What a bunch of crap……
Patrick McDonough | Jun 9, 2009 | Reply
When buildings are both fully protected by both sprinklers and fire alarm systems, why is a fire watch even required?
NO fire watch how well organized does not compare to one of the above systems responses. From my 26 years in the fire service and now 10 years in a large metro hospital campus, conducting proper fire watches (according to code) are impossible to maintain. The local AHJ has aggreed with this procedure especially during construction. The contractors are required to install a temporary heat detection system connected to the building fire alarm.