Fast Fire Watch expands California coverage as wildfire risk rises

The Fast Fire Watch Company is adding guard capacity across California as wildfire conditions and PSPS shutoffs threaten to knock fire-protection systems offline. The move is aimed at helping businesses keep required fire watch coverage in place before utility outages and red-flag events spike demand.

Why it matters: - California wildfire season is increasing the chance that commercial fire-alarm and sprinkler systems go offline. - Businesses with impaired fire-protection systems may need fire watch coverage to stay compliant and keep properties protected. - Demand for guards can surge during PSPS shutoffs, leaving unprepared sites without coverage.

What happened: - The Fast Fire Watch Company California said it is adding guard capacity statewide. - The expansion covers Southern California, the Bay Area, San Diego, Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the Inland Empire. - The company is positioning the service for businesses affected by wildfire conditions and Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

The details: - Diablo winds drive fast-moving fires across the Bay Area and Sierra foothills in Northern California. - Santa Ana winds push fire through Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties in Southern California. - California utilities use Public Safety Power Shutoffs during red-flag conditions to reduce the chance of new fires sparked by power lines. - Those shutoffs can leave commercial buildings without the power their safety systems need. - A building's sprinkler pump or fire-alarm panel can go offline during a PSPS. - Wildfire impacts can also disable systems through heat, smoke, water-main damage, or low water pressure. - NFPA 25, NFPA 72, and the California Fire Code require fire watch when a fire-protection system is impaired. - Fire watch means a trained guard patrols a set route through and around a building, looks for ignition, carries communication equipment and an extinguisher, keeps a written patrol log, and calls 911 if a fire starts. - Noah Navarro, a retired firefighter and CEO of The Fast Fire Watch Company, said the company can place a certified guard on site quickly and provide the log CAL FIRE, the local fire marshal, and insurers may request. - The company says it places certified guards on California sites in under three hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays. - Coverage is available for commercial buildings on backup power or affected by a PSPS. - The company also covers construction and rebuild sites doing hot work, warehouses and industrial plants, hospitals and senior facilities, hotels and event venues, cannabis dispensaries and cultivation sites, and properties that owners cannot staff during an evacuation order. - The company's guards are licensed through California's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, background-checked, insured, and trained for hot-work watch, construction-site watch, commercial and industrial watch, event standby, and maritime coverage. - Each shift produces a time-stamped patrol log for fire marshals or insurers.

Between the lines: - The company's pitch is as much about speed as compliance. - Getting a guard before a PSPS or wind event starts may be easier than competing for limited coverage after outages hit. - Navarro said the key risk is waiting until the power is already out, when many buildings on the same circuit are trying to secure the same help.

What's next: - The company is urging California businesses to set a fire-watch plan before the next wind event. - That plan should identify who calls for a guard, which systems fail during a power loss, and which patrol-log format the local fire marshal accepts. - Businesses can call 1-800-899-7524 or request a guard at fastfirewatchguards.com. - The company's social channels include Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

The bottom line: - California wildfire season is making fire watch a planning issue, not an emergency-only fix.