California fire-watch coverage that holds up to an inspector.
Mission Protection Services staffs Cal/OSHA-compliant fire-watch under our BSIS Private Patrol Operator license (PPO 126825). Dedicated licensed guard, hourly perimeter sweeps logged on our platform, and a permit-ready documentation pack on-site — same-day quote and same-day deployment inside the LA / OC / IE / SD / Riverside basin.
- Same-day dispatch from Lake Forest
- Dedicated guard — never shared with another post
- Permit-ready log book + AHJ signature lines
When fire watch is required
Cal/OSHA Title 8 §3220 sets the floor. NFPA and your AHJ set the specifics.
A building under fire watch must have a dedicated person on-site, physically walking the impaired area on a documented cadence, with a log that survives an Authority Having Jurisdiction visit. These are the four triggers our customers hit most — paraphrased from the regulation, not advisory opinions.
Impaired sprinkler system
Ten or more sprinklers out of service, a closed main, an empty riser, or any impairment beyond a 1-hour temporary bypass under NFPA 25.
Hot work within 50 ft of combustibles
Welding, cutting, brazing, or torch work on or near exposed combustibles — Cal/OSHA Title 8 §6078 (hot-work permit) and NFPA 51B require a continuous watch while work is in progress and for the cool-down window after.
Post-incident compliance window
After a fire alarm actuation, a suppression-system trip, or an AHJ stop-work, the building typically must remain under continuous watch until the system is restored and signed off.
System test or impairment window
NFPA 72 detector-out windows, smoke-evacuation drills, and any test that requires the system to be out of service — even briefly — typically trigger fire-watch coverage.
What the AHJ expects to see
- Date / time / initials per sweep — every entry timestamped, never backfilled.
- Guard signature at start and end of watch, with a printed guard name.
- Site contact signature line + AHJ signature line on the end-of-watch summary.
- Incident note log — any observation outside expected conditions, written contemporaneously.
We paraphrase the regulatory triggers rather than quote text — confirm the specific wording with your Authority Having Jurisdiction before the impairment starts.
What we put on-site
A dedicated guard, an hourly sweep, and a documentation pack built for the next AHJ visit.
The same audit trail we built for armed and unarmed posts — GPS-stamped, time-carded, and downloadable from your dashboard the moment the watch ends.
Dedicated licensed guard on-site
A single guard, not shared with another post. Current California BSIS guard registration, Live Scan DOJ/FBI-cleared, current Power to Arrest training — under our BSIS Private Patrol Operator license (PPO 126825).
Hourly perimeter sweeps
A minimum of one sweep per hour, walking every required point on the impairment map. Each sweep is GPS-stamped and time-carded in our platform — the same audit trail you see on every armed or unarmed post.
Permit-ready documentation pack
A printed log book on-site with date / time / initials per sweep, AHJ signature lines, an incident note log, and an end-of-watch summary signed by the guard and countersignable by your site contact.
24-hour dispatch backup
A real human answers our dispatch line at any hour. If a sweep is missed or an incident is observed, the supervisor on rotation gets a notification — and your site contact gets a call within minutes, not at end-of-shift.
California Bureau of Security & Investigative Services Private Patrol Operator. In good standing since 2010.
Every sweep GPS-stamped from the guard’s app, surfaced in your dashboard in real time.
On-site printed log book + end-of-watch summary signed by the guard, your site contact, and ready for AHJ countersignature.
Typical pricing
Per-hour guidance so dispatch can quote on the first call.
These are typical California bands — not a published contract. Final quote reflects site geometry, duration, AHJ requirements, and whether the watch is hot-work or post-incident.
Single guard · business hours
$45–$60 / hr
Daytime impairments with a clear perimeter — office-system outages, post-incident windows during shift.
Single guard · overnight / weekend
$55–$70 / hr
Overnight or 24-hour impairments, weekend-only windows where AHJ documentation is required.
Two-guard continuous · 24h site
$90–$120 / hr
Multi-floor impairments, large footprints where a single guard cannot reach every required sweep point inside the cadence, or sites requiring a relief rotation.
Hot-work / post-incident premium
+$10–$20 / hr
Added to any tier when the watch covers active hot-work under a permit, or a post-incident window that requires photographic documentation alongside the standard log.
California does not regulate guard pricing. The bands above are a planning estimate from recent fire-watch placements in our service area; your brief lands with the fire-watch team lead, who answers within one business day with a number specific to your site.
Quote · routed to fire-watch
Need a fire-watch quote today?
The form below opens pre-scoped to the fire-watch branch — your site details route straight to the fire-watch team lead at Mission Protection Services, not a generic dispatch inbox.
What we ask for
Three minutes of filling out, and we know enough to quote: the reason for the watch (sprinkler outage, hot-work permit, post-incident, system test, or other), the expected duration, and the fire-panel / access notes dispatch needs to hand a key off to the guard.
- Reason
- Duration
- Panel notes
- Site address
- Start date
Form posts to the fire-watch team — same-day reply, usually within an hour during business hours. No phone tree. UTM param utm_source=fire-watch-page rides through so dispatch sees which campaign converted.