Effective January 1, 2024, El Paso County Emergency Services District No. 1 – Fire Marshal’s Office requires an in-person meeting/appointment for Plan Review Intake via our ESD email address group [ inspecectionrequest@epcesd1.com ]

New Construction Submittal

Fire Protection Construction Submittal

FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION

The El Paso County Emergency Services District (E.S.D.) #1 – Fire Marshal’s Office (FMO) strives on the goal of minimizing the risk of life & property loss from fire. Enforcing an adopted fire code (International Fire Code [IFC], 2021 edition) & related standards; thus, hazardous conditions can be controlled or eliminated before a fire occurs.

Our Mission: Fire Prevention within our Community.

The El Paso County E.S.D. #1 – It is our responsibility to work with the community in providing fire safety inspections, attending meetings with business owners & contractors, and handling any requests and/or complaints from the public. We are here for your assistance and as a resource to the community. If you feel that your building, business, or operation requires our attention, or if you are unsure and wish to request an inspection, you may call (915) 852-3204 or fill out an online inspection request form and send it via e-mail. A fire inspector will be sent to conduct an inspection, answer any questions you may have, and make suggestions/recommendations for fire safety related items. Please be advised that there is a fee involved when requesting an inspector to conduct any fire-related business. Please refer to the El Paso County E.S.D. #1 fee schedule on our web page.

Local Codes

All buildings in the El Paso County E.S.D. #1’s jurisdiction shall comply with the adopted “IFC, 2021 ed.”. E.S.D. #1 also enforces NFPA standards, ordinances/resolutions, and municipal codes, if applicable. In addition to general inspections, there are numerous specific areas where inspections are also required.

These include:

  • Fire Building Final Inspections*
  • Fire Alarm System Acceptance Test*
  • Fire Sprinkler System Acceptance Test*
  • Special Agent Fire Protection System
    • Paint booths; Range Hoods; FM200; etc.
  • Underground Piping Acceptance Test*
  • Building Condemnation
  • Complaints from Public
  • Requests from Public
  • Line Company Re-Inspection Forms

* Indicates Construction / Installation Permit Required. Permit shall be Posted on Site

The process for requesting a construction / commercial inspection:

  1. Request an inspection either online (via e-mail request) to: inspectionrequest@epcesd1.com
  2. A fire inspector will arrive within (2) days and perform a thorough & detailed inspection of the building, business or operation.
  3. The fire inspector will reference the IFC, 2021 ed.®, NFPA Codes, Local Amendments and County Ordinances or Resolutions for regulations specific to that building, business or operation.
  4. The fire inspector will notify the person requesting inspection of any violations noted that need correcting prior to final acceptance. Deficiencies found during the inspection will be noted on the back of the permit document issued by E.S.D. #1; thus, result in disapproval and a re-inspection fee shall be applied. The contractor shall submit for re-inspection after all deficiencies have been corrected and the re-inspection fee is paid.
  5. If no violations are noted, the fire inspector will sign off on the appropriate permit document issued by E.S.D. #1. The approval of work completed will be signed off on the front of the permit document and noted as well on the back of the permit document.

Fire Department Building Final Inspections**

Request for a fire department building final shall be made through this office at least two (2) business days in advance, as per the request form. The assigned fire inspector will schedule and conduct this inspection within the next two (2) business days between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. Stamped plans and permit documents are required to be on site. The approval of work completed will be signed off on the front of the permit document and noted on the back of the permit document. Deficiencies found during the inspection will be noted on the back of the permit document; thus, result in disapproval and a re-inspection fee shall be applied.

Fire Alarm Systems**

Requests for this type of inspection shall be made to our office at least two (2) business days in advance. E.S.D. #1 stamped plans & permit document shall be available from the contractor at the job site. The assigned fire inspector will conduct the inspection within the next two (2) business days between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. The fire alarm contractor must have a separate permit for the fire protection system when sprinkler monitoring is required. All devices [Pull stations, Audio/Visual (A/V’s), strobe lights and/or horns, smoke and/or heat detectors, smoke duct detectors, Remote Test Indicators (RTI’s), etc.] will be tested at 100% acceptance test. Please make sure your company conducts a 100% test prior to requesting your final acceptance test. Several tests are conducted as per NFPA 72 requirements. An approved test of the system would be indicated by the inspector’s signature on the permit document. If the system fails or deficiencies are found during the inspection it will be noted on the back of the permit document; thus, result in the disapproval and a re-inspection fee shall be applied.

Sprinkler Systems**

Requests for this type of inspection shall be made to this office at least two (2) business days in advance. E.S.D. #1 stamped plans shall be available from the contractor at the job site. The assigned fire inspector will conduct the inspection within the next two (2) business days between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. The fire sprinkler contractor must have a separate permit for the fire protection system when sprinkler monitoring is required. All pipe joints, sprinkler drops, and main branch lines are to be left exposed for a visual check of leaks during the 2-hour hydrostatic test. Several tests are conducted as per NFPA 13 requirements including a 200-psi hydrostatic test. An approved test of the system would be indicated by the inspector’s signature on the permit document. If the system fails or deficiencies are found during the inspection it will be noted on the back of the permit document; thus, result in the disapproval and a re-inspection fee shall be applied.

Special Extinguishing Systems**: Range Hoods, Paint Booths, FM 200, etc… 

Any request for this type of inspection shall be submitted at least two (2) business days in advance. Tests shall be conducted to ensure proper installation and operation as required per NFPA Standards. An approved test of the system would be indicated by the inspector’s signature on the permit document. If the system fails or deficiencies are found during the inspection it will be noted on the back of the permit document; thus, result in the disapproval and a re-inspection fee shall be applied.

Underground (UG)/ Aboveground (AG) Piping Acceptance Test**: Sprinkler System and/or Private Hydrants

Any request for this type of inspection shall be submitted at least two (2) days in advance. Tests shall be conducted to ensure proper installation and operation as required per NFPA Standards. All pipe joints are to be left exposed for visual inspection of leaks and required piping, thrust blocks, etc. Testing requirements include a 2-hour, 200 psi hydrostatic test; therefore, pressure must be obtained and maintained for two (2) hours during the scheduled test time. If the system fails or deficiencies are found during the inspection it will be noted on the back of the permit document; thus, result in the disapproval and a re-inspection fee shall be applied.

Building Condemnation
Any request for this type of inspection may be submitted at any time. El Paso County E.S.D. #1 Fire Marshal’s Office and the Building Official will coordinate and act towards the condemnation of a building.

Complaints and Requests from Public

Any request for this type of inspection may be submitted at any time. El Paso County E.S.D. #1 will review the request(s) and/or complaint(s) & take the necessary actions regarding fire & life safety within our jurisdiction.

Annual Business Inspection conducted by the Fire Marshal’s Office 

These types of inspections are conducted at the Fire Marshal Office level on an annual basis. Our intent and purpose of enforcing the adopted fire code is to establish the minimum requirements consistent with nationally recognized good practice for providing a reasonable level of life safety and property protection from the hazards of fire, explosion, or dangerous conditions in new and existing buildings, structures, and premises and to provide safety to fire fighters and emergency responders during emergency operations.

Our goal is to inspect every business annually. If your business is conducting a special operation like those listed in the International Fire Code (I.F.C.), 2021 ed.; then your business will require an operational permit as required by the I.F.C., Chapter 1 – Administration, Section 105 – Permits. These required permit(s) shall be obtained from the Fire Code Official once the business is code-compliant or as approved by the Fire Code Official. Permit fees shall be paid prior to issuance of the permit. Please refer to the El Paso County E.S.D. #1 Fee Schedule.

If no operational permit(s) is/are required for your business, then the inspection process will be the same without the issuance of a required operational permit. Inspection fees and re-inspection fees will be applied as established by our fee schedule. We highly recommend that the violation be corrected, as per the fire code, as soon as practical; thus, avoiding any additional fees. If the violation(s) continues to exist, legal action can/may be initiated in a court of law due to indications of noncompliance. The person in charge shall be responsible for correcting all deficiencies and making sure the re-inspection fee is paid.

Contact Information

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