The City of Tacoma's adoption of the International Fire Code authorizes and requires the Fire Department to inspect all commercial properties subject to fire regulations. A fire prevention inspection program has been development to meet this requirement.
The Tacoma Fire Department maintains an inventory of all commercial buildings in the City of Tacoma. We track all the required fire protection system confidence testing to ensure all systems are functional. All Tacoma Fire Department Fire Companies have an inspection assignment of the commercial buildings in the district they serve. The goal is to inspect the buildings once every year. The assignments are scheduled among the four shifts and are rotated each year so all district personnel become familiar with the buildings.
The scope of these inspections is building familiarization in the event of fire and identifying obvious fire hazards such as, electrical cords, combustible storage, blocked exits, and hazardous conditions. Violations are written by the Company Officer and require an additional inspection to ensure compliance with the code requirements.
Complex code violations and non-compliance of requirements are sent to the Fire Prevention Division for a Fire Inspector to intercede. Fire Inspectors are firefighters that maintain an International Fire Code Certification and take continuing education code related classes to maintain their certification and skill level.