How To Prepare For Your Fire Marshal Inspection

By Ironclad Fire Protection · November 4, 2025 · 7 min read

The short answer is: Walk your building like a Fire Marshal. Make sure extinguishers are current and visible, exits are clear, emergency lights work, and nothing blocks sprinklers or creates obvious ignition risk.

Truth is, “How do I prepare for my Fire Marshal Inspection” is a loaded question. There’s many different types of inspections and it also depends on what kind of business you have.

Types of Fire Marshal Inspections

The types of inspections depends on your local Fire Marshal. They can come by and inspect for just about any reason but in general you’ll see the following types:

Annual Routine Inspections
Complaint Inspections
Change of Occupancy
Follow-up Inspections

Annual Routine Inspections

Annual inspections are when the Fire Marshal drops by and checks for violations.

They typically check the following:

Fire Extinguishers

Making sure the tags are up to date
They are not damaged
The pressure gauge shows they are in the green
You can actually reach them (not blocked by boxes or furniture)
They’re mounted at the right height

Emergency Lighting

Test button works and lights come on
Bulbs aren’t burned out
Battery backup actually functions (they’ll test this)

Exit Signs

All lit up and visible
No burned out letters
Not covered by decorations or signs

Exits and Hallways

Nothing blocking the path to exits
Doors open easily (no locked exits during business hours)
Stairwells aren’t being used as storage

Sprinkler Systems

Heads aren’t painted over or damaged
Nothing hanging from them
At least 18 inches clearance below heads
Control valves are accessible and supervised

Fire Alarm System

Current inspection certificate
Panel shows no trouble lights
Pull stations accessible
Devices aren’t damaged or painted over

Complaint Inspections

Someone called and complained. Could be an employee, customer, or neighbor. These are usually unannounced and focused on whatever they complained about - but once the inspector is there, they’re looking at everything.

The complaint might be real or completely made up. Doesn’t matter - you still get inspected.

Change of Occupancy

Moving into a new space or changing what your business does? You need this inspection before you can open. This is thorough - they’re checking everything from scratch because the building use is changing.

Common trigger: Restaurant moving into what used to be a retail shop. Different occupancy type means different requirements.

Follow-up Inspections

You failed something on the first inspection. Now they’re coming back to verify you fixed it. Usually focused on whatever violations you got, but they might spot new things while they’re there.

What Fire Marshals Really Care About

Let’s be honest about priorities. Fire Marshals care most about:

Life safety first. Can people get out if there’s a fire? Are exits clear and working? That’s priority one.

Active fire protection. Do your fire extinguishers, sprinklers, and alarms actually work?

Documentation. Can you prove you’ve been maintaining everything? No paperwork = it didn’t happen in their eyes.

Obvious hazards. Combustibles near ignition sources, electrical nightmares, sketchy storage situations.

They’re not trying to shut you down. They’re trying to make sure nobody dies in a fire at your building. Once you understand that, the inspection makes more sense.

How to Actually Prepare (30 Days Out)

Get Your Paperwork Together

This is where most people fail. You can have perfect equipment but if you can’t prove you’ve been maintaining it, you’re getting violations.

You need:

Fire extinguisher inspection tags and service records
Fire alarm inspection certificates (annual testing required)
Sprinkler system inspection reports
Emergency lighting test logs
Exit sign maintenance records
Evacuation plans
Any permits for fire protection work

Pro tip: Put it all in one folder. Don’t make the inspector wait while you hunt through filing cabinets.

Walk Your Building Like an Inspector

Start at the main entrance and walk every exit path. Look up, look down, open doors. Pretend you’re trying to find violations.

Common things we see:

Boxes stacked in front of exit doors
Extension cords daisy-chained together
Storage rooms packed so tight you can’t access the fire extinguisher
Emergency lights that haven’t worked in months
Exit signs with half the letters burned out
Stairwells turned into storage closets

Fix the obvious stuff now. Don’t wait for the inspector to find it.

Test Everything

Fire extinguishers: Check the tags, pressure gauges, and accessibility. If tags expire within 30 days of inspection, get service done now.

Emergency lights: Push the test button and actually watch them. Time how long they stay lit. Should be at least 90 minutes.

Exit signs: Are they all illuminated? Any flickering or dark letters?

Fire alarm: If you’re due for annual testing, get it done before the inspection. Current certificate matters.

Sprinklers: Walk and look. Damaged heads? Stuff hanging from them? Less than 18” clearance? Fix it.

The Week Before

Day 7: Do your paperwork check. Missing anything? Order it now.

Day 6: Physical walkthrough. Make a list of every issue you find.

Day 5: Fix the issues from your walkthrough. All of them.

Day 4: Housekeeping sweep. Clear exit paths, organize storage, clean electrical rooms.

Day 3: Test everything again. Replace any questionable bulbs or signs.

Day 2: Brief your staff. Make sure someone can escort the inspector and answer questions.

Day 1: Final check. Confirm inspector arrival time. Have documentation ready.

Building-Specific Issues

Offices

Usually pretty straightforward. Main issues:

Conference rooms over capacity
Breakroom appliances with sketchy electrical
Supply closets blocking fire extinguishers
Decorations blocking exit signs

Retail

Your merchandise is probably your biggest problem:

Displays blocking exits
Storage rooms packed beyond safe limits
Back of house electrical nightmares
Seasonal decorations creating hazards

Warehouses

Different beast entirely:

Rack storage clearances (specific rules for sprinklered buildings)
Aisle widths must stay clear
Chemical storage compliance
High-piled combustibles need permits

Restaurants

Highest risk, most scrutiny:

Kitchen hood suppression system (required annual inspection)
Grease management
Exit capacity calculations (based on occupancy)
Cooking equipment clearances
Outdoor dining compliance

During the Inspection

Be professional but not weird about it. You’re not on trial. Answer questions honestly, provide documents when asked, don’t volunteer information they didn’t request.

Don’t argue with findings. If they cite a violation, write it down, ask for the specific code reference, and move on. Arguing accomplishes nothing.

Take notes and photos. Document what they’re looking at and what they say. Helps with corrections later.

Ask for reasonable timelines. Life safety issues get fixed immediately. Other stuff, ask for realistic correction periods.

If You Get Violations

It happens. Even well-maintained buildings get violations. Here’s what matters:

Prioritize life safety issues. Blocked exits, non-functioning alarms, sprinkler problems - fix these immediately.

Create a correction plan with dates. Don’t just say “we’ll fix it.” Say “we’ll have this corrected by [specific date].”

Document everything. Take before and after photos. Keep receipts. Get service reports.

Request re-inspection in writing. Once corrections are done, formally request the follow-up.

What It Really Costs

Violation corrections vary wildly depending on what’s wrong. Could be $50 for a new exit sign or $20,000 for a fire alarm upgrade.

The expensive violations are usually deferred maintenance that compounds. Catch problems early through routine service and you avoid the big bills.

Also in general it depends on how big your building is and what equipment you have.

Work With The Fire Marshal Not Against Them

Most Fire Marshal violations are preventable with basic attention. Keep exits clear, maintain your equipment, document your inspections.

The inspection itself isn’t the problem - it’s the reminder that you’ve been ignoring maintenance. Fix that pattern and inspections become routine.

Fire Marshals aren’t the enemy. They’re preventing your building from being on the news after a tragedy. Work with them, not against them.