City of Tempe, AZ
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Fire Codes
The purpose of the 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.
The City of Tempe adopted the 2018 International Fire Code (IFC) effective October 1, 2018. The Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department has created amendments to the IFC, which have been incorporated into the city's fire code.
2018 Tempe Fire Code Amendments
Fire Permits and Inspections
Construction Permits are required for the installation and modification of fire/or life-safety systems/equipment and for a broad range of operations and systems involving hazardous materials. Construction documents are submitted for review at Community Development, Building Safety Division located at Tempe City Hall 31 E. Fifth St., Garden Level, Tempe, AZ. 85281.
Construction Fire Permits and Review Times
Once a construction permit has been issued and the work has begun, all permit inspections must be requested through the 24-hour Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) or they can be scheduled online through the Tempe's Citizens Access Portal.
Operational Permits are required to conduct a hazardous operation or business for a prescribed period or until renewed or revoked. Operational permit applications can be submitted online.
Operational Permit Application
Permit applications must be submitted at least 10 working days prior to the anticipated commencement date. Once the application is received, a Fire Inspector will contact the applicant to obtain any additional documentation needed to conduct a review.
A Fire Inspector will contact the applicant to schedule the site inspection once review has been completed and the operational permit has been issued.
Permit Fees will be assessed in accordance with the adopted Schedule of Permit/Inspection Fees.
General Fire Inspections
General Fire Inspections of existing occupancies are a critical component of the service provided by the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department. It is important not only for the safety of our citizen’s, but for fire fighter safety and their ability to perform emergency operations at the building.
Fire Inspectors and Firefighters conduct Inspections to identify and eliminate fire and life safety hazards in accordance with the Tempe Fire Code and to promote safe practices and awareness of fire and its potential for occurrence.
When an occupancy fails to meet a provision of the fire code, the responsible party will be notified and given reasonable time to fix the problem. A re-inspection will confirm that fire and life safety standards are met. When all normal enforcement efforts are exhausted without compliance, violation penalties will be pursued through legal action.
Our goal is to inspect commercial occupancies in accordance with the community risk assessment guidelines with emphasis on high-hazard and moderate-hazard occupancies.
Community Risk Assessment Guidelines
Investigations
Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department has a team of trained Fire Inspectors that respond to fires, explosions, hazardous material releases and fire protection system activations to determine the cause, how to better mitigate, control and prevent similar incidents from re-occurrence.
Incident investigations play a significant role in development and implementation of public education outreach programs as well as engineering and enforcement efforts. Data collected through incident investigations are a key element in addressing the community's risk reduction program.
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