Welcome to the Ozaukee Central Fire Department's Fire Inspection & Prevention Page

ANY addition or alteration to a fire alarm, sprinkler or other suppression system in the Village of Saukville or the Village of Grafton requires a permit. This includes a 1-for-1 swap of any component in most cases. In addition to the permit application that can be filed here, you will need to submit detailed plans- scope of the work, drawings and information on the device(s) to be used. Review must be completed and conditionally approved prior to work commencing. Failure to file a proper permit will result in additional fees/fines, work stoppage and potential denial of future permits for contractors.

For work in the Town of Grafton or the Town of Saukville, contact the Town office AND the Fire Department for requirements.

Whenever a new system or modification to an existing system involves 20 or more devices or 20 or more sprinkler heads, plans must be submitted for an FSCI review.  A Village permit and required documentation are still required to be submitted. See question above for submittal requirements.

A device is ANY component of a system. This includes, but is not limited to, cell dialer, smoke detector, heat detector, annunciator panel, strobe device, pull station, etc.

OCFD does not have dedicated inspection staff. Inspections and plan review are shared tasks by emergency responders. For projects of less than 20 devices/heads, OCFD reviews projects on a first-come, first-served basis. Average lead time is approximately 30 days, but could be longer based on other projects within our 60 square mile jurisdiction, 9-1-1 calls and other high priority activities. Incomplete applications and plans that require revision will lead to delays in permitting and approvals.

For FSCI timelines and information on the expedited review process (20 or more devices/heads). Please see their website or contact them directly.

OCFD and FSCI review projects to the most current edition of the applicable NFPA standard(s). There are also local ordinances, state statutes and IBC requirements that may apply. Where conflict exists in the codes, the more stringent requirement will be enforced.

OCFD is required to inspect all commercial properties in both Villages at least once per year. Properties in both Townships are required to be inspected twice per year. Additional inspections may be required if violations are noted, there is a change in use/occupancy type or complaints are received. In total, the OCFD completes over 1,000 in-person inspections per year.

For permitted work, at least one (final) inspection is required. There is likely additional inspections (rough) that need to take place. Examples of additional inspections may include  inspection of wiring/piping prior to covering with drywall or other finishing material, flush test for sprinkler work, 2-hour hydro testing on sprinkler systems, etc.

OCFD generally requires violations to be corrected in 30 days or less. 

If, in the opinion of the inspector, a violation is so egregious that it poses an immediate or imminent threat to life or property, the inspector has discretion to require immediate action to remedy the violation. This may require evacuation or closure of the business and limited access to the property until safety can be restored.

Depending on the situation, business owners or building owners will likely be required to repair the fire alarm system in four (4) hours or less or a sprinkler system in ten (10) hours or less. If the system cannot be restored within the allowable timeframe, a fire watch will be required 24 hours a day until the system is restored.

There’s a common misconception that a fire watch is only required when a fire protection system has been impaired for four cumulative hours in a 24-hour period (or 10 hours in the case of sprinklers). This isn't the case. The NFPA specifies a fire watch to be instituted if the sum of all outages exceeds the stipulated time frame in a 24-hour period.

The watch must be conducted by personnel trained in fire prevention and fire department notification measures. During a fire watch, the person assigned would be responsible for:

• Preventing a fire from occurring
• Checking for potential fire ignition sources, such as improperly stored flammables
• Verifying there are enough fire extinguishers, that they are undamaged and in their proper locations
• Extinguishing small fires
• Notifying the fire department and building occupants in the event of an emergency
• Protecting the public from fire dangers
• Patrolling all areas of a building, including unoccupied and hidden areas, must be continuously patrolled for smoke, fire, and other hazardous situations.
• No other responsibilities during this period

A fire watch log is required to be filled out and submitted to the OCFD upon request and/or upon completion of the fire watch.

Yes and no. The fire department only checks to make sure that the systems and safety components have been serviced and certified by a third party contractor. The fire department does NOT perform the routine certification or maintenance of these systems.

In most cases, these life safety components and systems need to be serviced at least annually. Extinguishers and sprinkler systems must be serviced immediately after activation/use. There are also certain checks that need to be completed at regular intervals above and beyond the annual inspection, such as a 5-year sprinkler pipe inspection. 

In addition, there are some occupancy types and components that require servicing more often. 

For example, a hood suppression system may need to be cleaned and serviced quarterly in high-volume restaurants with lots of grease-laden vapors.

The fire department does NOT make recommendations for contractors. There are many contractors in the greater Milwaukee area that are qualified to provide these services. 

We always recommend that business owners get multiple bids to compare services and utilize insured, licensed contractors. A tag or sticker should be located on or near the extinguisher/sprinkler riser/alarm panel that will have the most recent contractors' information on it. You can start with that contactor if you are happy with their service/cost. If not, you are free to choose someone else.

The paperwork from the most recent inspection by your contractor is required to be located within close proximity of the alarm panel and/or sprinkler riser. It must be easily accessible and available to be viewed at anytime by the fire department.

Unless the fire department specifically asks for it, do not mail or email it to the department.

Deficiencies are the same as fire code violations and should be corrected as soon as possible, but no more than 30 days after the deficiency was noted. Most contractors will also make recommendations for items that may need to be addressed, but don't rise to the level of a deficiency. You should discuss these recommendations with your contractor and if you still have questions, contact a fire department inspector.

An example of a deficiency is a rusted sprinkler head. 

An example of a recommendation might be to replace the hard-wired phone line of an alarm system monitor with a cell dialer. As long as the phone line is functioning properly, it would not be a deficiency. Note: If you decide to install a cell dialer, a permit will need to be filed.