On the building
- Fire watch
- One or more trained people patrolling a building to look for fire, smoke and hazards and to raise the alarm, while its fire alarm or sprinkler system is out of service, or during hot work. The local fire marshal decides when one is required, how many people and how often the rounds are.
- Impairment
- A fire protection system, or part of one, that is out of service. It can be planned (repairs) or not (damage, a break).
- Riser room
- The room where the building's sprinkler water comes in from the water main and rises into the building. It holds the main sprinkler control valves, the alarm valve, pressure gauges and the waterflow alarm switch. It is not an electrical, plumbing or HVAC shaft.
- Fire department connection (FDC)
- The pipe inlet on the outside of the building, often a two-headed connection, where firefighters pump water into the sprinkler or standpipe system. It must stay visible and unblocked.
- Fire alarm control panel (FACP)
- The panel that watches the smoke and heat detectors, pull stations and sprinkler flow switches and sounds the alarm. "Trouble" or "supervisory" on it means something needs attention.
- Standpipe
- A water pipe running up the stairwells with hose connections firefighters use on each floor.
- Fire pump room
- The room with the fire pump that boosts water pressure for the sprinklers and standpipes, mostly in taller or larger buildings.
- Control valves (PIV, OS&Y)
- The valves that turn sprinkler water on and off. They should be open, and usually locked or sealed open. A closed valve means the sprinklers are impaired.
- Pull station
- The manual fire alarm handle on the wall.
- Fire doors and exits
- Fire doors must close and latch on their own and never be propped open. Exits and the paths to them must stay clear.
- Knox Box
- The locked key box outside a building that only the fire department can open.
- Hot work
- Welding, cutting, brazing or torch work. It often needs a fire watch during the work and for a set time after it stops. Follow the hot work permit.
- Fire marshal / AHJ
- The Authority Having Jurisdiction: the official, usually the local fire marshal's office, who enforces the fire code and decides what a fire watch must do.
- NFPA
- The National Fire Protection Association, which publishes the fire codes and standards that states and cities adopt, sometimes with their own changes.
In the app
- Round
- One walk through the buildings on watch, visiting every checkpoint. The watch sets how often a round is due, for example every 30 minutes.
- Checkpoint
- A spot the person on watch must reach on every round, such as a riser room, a stairwell or a hallway. Each one has a FireWatch Pro Tag.
- FireWatch Pro Tag
- A small NFC sticker at a checkpoint. Tapping a phone on it records the time, the person and their GPS location.
- GPS check-in
- Checking in by location when a building has no tags yet. It works inside the property's area (geofence). Tags are more precise.
- Shift
- The time one person is on duty on a watch, from Start Shift to End Shift.
- Missed round
- A round that was not finished in time. The app texts and calls the person on watch, then the people on call, so it never goes unnoticed.
- Tech-hour
- One person on duty for one hour. Two techs for one hour is 2 tech-hours. It is how FireWatch Pro bills.
- Fire watch log
- The record of every round: when, who, where and what was found. FireWatch Pro builds it automatically from each tag scan.
These are general meanings, not legal or code advice. Rules vary by city and code edition, and your local fire marshal has the final word.