Short answer
Denver requires the building owner, agent or lessee to report a compromised fire alarm or sprinkler system to the Denver Fire Department through its System Down Reporting website, and to report again when the system is restored. A fire watch is required once a system has been down for 10 hours, and a fire water line interruption of any duration requires a fire watch permit to be started immediately. The fire watch ends when the contractor who did the work sends Fire Prevention the completion documents.
The steps when a system goes down
These steps follow the Denver Fire Department’s System Down Reporting and Firewatch page. If anyone sees fire or smoke, or there is immediate danger, call 911 first. This guide is for managing an impairment, not for responding to an emergency.
- Report the system down on the Fire Department’s System Down Reporting website, which the city’s page links to.
- Tell the alarm monitoring company that the system is down.
- Contact the Fire Prevention Division at 720-913-3474 during business hours and start a fire watch permit when one is required. The permit is issued through the city’s E-Permits system after a Fire Prevention officer approves it.
- Staff the fire watch and keep its log on the premises, including the walks of the affected areas. The log has to be available to Fire Department personnel on request.
- When the system is back in service, report that it is restored. Once a fire watch permit is in place, the city says daily reporting is no longer needed.
- To end the fire watch, the contractor who did the work sends Fire Prevention an NFPA 72 System Record of Completion for a fire alarm, or an NFPA 13 Material and Test Certificate for a sprinkler or fire pump system, with a short explanation of the work and a request to end the fire watch.
The 10-hour clock and what else triggers a fire watch
| Situation | What Denver requires |
|---|---|
| A fire alarm or sprinkler system is compromised in any way | Report it online right away, then report again when it is fully restored |
| A system is out of service for more than 10 hours | A fire watch and a fire watch permit. If restoration is not reported within 10 hours, Fire Prevention contacts a responsible party about a fire watch |
| The fire water line is interrupted, for any length of time | A fire watch permit is initiated immediately |
| Maintenance or modification of a system | No part of the system out of service for more than 10 hours, pull stations and notification appliances kept working, and a fire watch in the areas affected |
The 10-hour limit counts the time a system is out of service, so a repair that depends on a part that has to be ordered can cross it quickly. A provider who knows the schedule for a part can tell you at the start of a job whether a fire watch is likely.
Who staffs and pays for the fire watch
The Fire Watch Guidelines put the duty to notify the Fire Department on the building owner, agent or lessee. Denver Fire’s notice adds that the owner, agent or lessee must employ fire watch personnel in the number the fire code official decides is needed. When the fire code official requires it, uniformed Denver firefighters are employed through the Department of Safety at a rate the Executive Director of Safety sets.
Fire watch personnel take orders from the fire code official, must be identifiable and stay on duty for the times the official specifies. The guidelines call for qualified personnel on site continuously, walking the building at 30-minute intervals or as Fire Prevention determines. The same notice states that maintenance on life safety systems must be completed by a contractor licensed through the Denver Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division.
Repeated alarms and repeated impairments
Separate from a single outage, Denver sets limits on systems that keep failing. The thresholds come from the Fire Watch Guidelines and the Fire Prevention notice.
| What happens | Denver’s stated response |
|---|---|
| Two or more false or nuisance alarms within 24 hours | The system is repaired, mitigated or replaced immediately, with a permit before repair work |
| Three or more within 30 days, or ten or more within a year | The same immediate repair, mitigation or replacement |
| More than ten false or nuisance alarms within a year | The notice says a fine is imposed for alarms beyond ten |
| The system is found impaired two or more times within 12 months | Legal action until the system is restored to code compliance |
What a provider needs to know right away
- Which system is affected: the fire alarm, the sprinklers or the fire water line.
- Whether the outage is planned maintenance or a failure, and when it began.
- The panel location and make, and the name of the monitoring company.
- Whether the building is occupied, and the hours when it is.
- Who can give access and who will keep the fire watch log.
If the clock is already running
Denver Fire Safety is a coordinator, not an emergency dispatcher, and it cannot promise same-day response. If the 10-hour clock is running and you already work with a Denver Fire Department licensed provider for the system, call them first. If you do not have one, call (970) 591-1310 with the address, the system and what happened, and Denver Fire Safety will work on identifying a qualified provider. Scope, timing and price are confirmed with you before anything is authorized.
Sources and limits
Written from the Denver Fire Department’s System Down Reporting and Firewatch page (reviewed October 27, 2026), its Fire Watch Guidelines revised May 6, 2021, and an undated Fire Prevention notice that cites code sections from before Denver’s 2025 code update. Confirm current requirements for your building with the Fire Prevention Division at 720-913-3474.
Denver Fire Department: System Down Reporting and Firewatch
The city’s steps for reporting an impaired alarm or sprinkler system, the 10-hour threshold, fire watch logs and ending a fire watch.
Fire Watch Guidelines, Fire Prevention Division policy (revised May 6, 2021)
Notification duties, the fire watch permit trigger and the 30-minute walk interval.
System Down Reporting and Firewatch notice
An undated Fire Prevention notice covering problem systems, fire watch responsibility and licensing. It cites code sections from before Denver’s 2025 code update.
Denver Fire Department: Fire Safety Systems Licensing
License categories, who needs a license and how to apply.
Who publishes this guide
Denver Fire Safety is an independent commercial service coordinator for Denver-area properties. It is not affiliated with the City and County of Denver or the Denver Fire Department, and it does not hold the licenses described above. A qualified provider, named to you before you authorize work, performs and documents the regulated work. Call (970) 591-1310 to start a request. If there is an active fire, smoke or immediate danger, call 911.