Annual Fire & Life Safety Inspections

Catoosa County Fire Department's Fire Marshal's Office conducts Annual Fire & Life Inspections of local businesses (does not include commercial buildings in the unincorporated areas of Catoosa County). To request an inspection, please contact our office at (706)861-4194 or at glenn.davis@catooa.com.

The following is an example of common items that the Fire Inspector will look for during an Annual Fire & Life Safety Inspection. This is not an all-inclusive list.

The exterior of the building/unit:

• • Address numbers shall be posted on the front of the building in numbers large enough to be clearly visible from the street. These numbers shall be a minimum size of four-inch numbers on a door or six-inch numbers on a building and in a color contrasting to the background on which they are attached. If the occupancy is in a multi-tenant building, the address should also be posted on all other exterior doors to the occupancy.

  • Correct  keys in the Knox Box key box.

  • Fire Department Access - No parking lanes and signage present and maintained

  • Fire Hydrants - All hydrants are accessible, visible, and operational.

  • Fire Department Connection (FDC): FDC is accessible, unobstructed, and has the proper signage.

  • Exterior Utilities: Gas and electric meters are labeled in multi-tenant buildings.

The Interior of the building/unit:

• • Exit signs are properly placed, functional (110V and battery back-up), clearly visible, and unobstructed.

  • Emergency lights are properly placed and functional.

  • Portable Fire Extinguishers:

    • Portable fire extinguishers are present, mounted on walls or columns as required.

    • Portable fire extinguishers are fully charged, free of damage, and unobstructed.

    • Portable fire extinguishers have a current yellow inspection tag from a third-party inspection company licensed in GA affixed to each extinguisher.

    • K-Class portable fire extinguisher(s) have the proper signage above the extinguisher(s).

  • Fire Sprinkler System:

    • Fire Sprinkler System has a current green inspection tag from a third-party inspection company licensed in GA affixed to the system.

    • All old inspection tags shall be maintained with the system. They can be affixed to the system or placed in the document cabinet.

  • Fire Alarm System:

    • Fire Alarm System is functional with an in-date NFPA 72 Fire Alarm Inspection & Testing Form showing no deficiencies in the system in the document cabinet.

    • Fire Alarm System devices (pull stations, horns, and horn-strobes) are visible and unobstructed.

  • Kitchen Hood Exhaust System

    • Hood exhaust ducts shall be cleaned to bare metal from the roof down to the filters by a third-party cleaning company at least quarterly or more often as necessary.

  • Kitchen Hood Suppression System

    • Kitchen Hood Suppression System has a current blue inspection from a third-party inspection company licensed in GA affixed to the system.

  • Exits and Exit Access is clear and accessible.

  • Exit Doors have the proper hardware installed, are unobstructed, and easily open with one motion.

  • Doors Signage:

    • Rooms containing certain systems shall be labeled:

      • Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP)

      • Fire Sprinkler Riser

      • Electrical

      • Mechanical

  • Electrical, Mechanical, and Fire Sprinkler Riser rooms are maintained free of storage.

  • Electrical Panels hall have all circuits labeled or a card should be placed inside the panel indicating what each circuit controls.

  • Electrical switches, outlets, and junction boxes shall have proper cover plates installed.

  • Extension cords are used on a temporary basis and not as a replacement for permanent wiring.

  • Relocatable power taps (power strips) with built-in breakers are plugged directly into hard-wired outlets and not into other power strips or extension cords.

  • Rated fire barriers, partitions, and walls are labeled and maintained with no unprotected openings or penetrations.

  • Flammable and/or combustible liquids are properly stored in UL listed flammable storage cabinets. 

  • General housekeeping and required aisle widths maintained.

  • Any other obvious potential fire and life safety hazards for occupants or firefighters.