Fire Prevention

Fire Prevention Division Responsibilities

Fire Prevention is a division of the Fire Department. The Fire Prevention Division is responsible for the application of statutes, laws and regulations to safeguard the public health, safety and general welfare from the hazards of fire, explosion or dangerous conditions in new and existing buildings, structures and premises, and to provide safety and assistance to firefighters and emergency responders during emergency operations. The Fire Prevention Division is managed by the Fire Chief. The Fire Prevention Division includes a Deputy Fire Marshal, a Senior Fire Safety Inspector, and contract Fire and Life Safety Plan Review/Inspection services. The Esgil Corporation, also the City's contract Building Department, provides these services. The Division receives clerical support from the department's Senior Administrative Assistant.

Poway Fire Code

The City of Poway adopts by reference the International Fire Code and the California Fire Code. Local amendments are included in the triennial adoption process that address Poway's unique climatic, geologic and topographic characteristics. This adoption creates Poway's Fire Code within the Poway Municipal Code. The Poway Fire Code is submitted for filing to the Building Standards Commission. A large area of Poway is located within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Area (VHFHSA) indicating its threat by wildland fire. Fire Prevention staff applies additional code requirements and fuel modification requirements to new construction projects in these areas. Vegetation management programs applied to existing parcels is managed by Code Compliance in consultation with staff from the Fire Prevention Division.

Review and Inspection Services

The Fire Prevention Division provides plan review and inspection services to ensure compliance with state and local fire and life-safety regulations. Plan reviews include the approval of new building construction, tenant improvements, landscape plans, grading plans, conditional-use permits, tentative tract maps, parcel boundary adjustments, temporary-use permits, development reviews, street and water improvements, pre-application development, and fire protection systems.

The Division is responsible for conducting fire and life-safety inspections of businesses, multifamily residential occupancies, educational, institutional, and permitted facilities. The Fire Prevention Division performs fire safety clearance inspections of preschools, Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE), and other licensed facilities assigned by the State's Community Care Licensing Division. The Division also processes applications and performs inspections for the use of large tent and canopies. Other Division activities include the on-going evaluation of fire and life-safety codes and referenced amendments, management of the fire company inspection program (FCIP), public education outreach, and support of fire cause and origin investigations.