Fire Inspections

The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office is located at 7110 N.E. 63rd St., Vancouver, WA 98661.

Phone: 360-487-7260. Deputy Fire Marshals and Fire Code Officers work at various fire stations and are frequently in the field. If you wish to stop by and speak with a staff member, please call first or make an appointment.

Contact the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office. We should be able to provide you with information on what is required for your type of business and possibly what construction features your desired location already has. As an alternative, the City of Vancouver offers a free “Pre-lease” meeting service wherein City Staff can meet you at a site and explain all potential financial impacts of leasing a space before you commit.

The best way to fight fires is to prevent them before they start. Routine building inspections are one of the most effective ways to do that. Fire Marshal Officers inspect commercial buildings, facilities and multi-family housing units. The purpose of the inspections is:

• To identify and correct fire code violations as required by law
• To educate business and property owners about fire & life safety
• To reduce potential fire loss (lower insurance rates)
• To provide less demand on public emergency services by reducing fire and life safety risks

Business owners and managers are encouraged to review their safety practices and obtain advice on current fire codes before the inspector arrives. We offer pre-inspection checklists which can prove very helpful in making the inspection quick and efficient.

The target frequency of inspection is every year. However, the actual frequency of inspection may be longer.

The Vancouver Fire Department does not have sufficient resources to fund a comprehensive Fire Code enforcement program. The frequency of these inspections is one of the factors used by the insurance industry to determine insurance rates. The purpose of establishing fees for fire safety inspections is to partially recover the cost-of-service delivery.

The fee for your fire safety inspection is based on a schedule that considers occupancy type, occupancy use and square footage. The current fee table can be found here. A single fee is charged for the initial inspection and the first re-inspection.  Subsequent re-inspections are charged an hourly rate.  Some businesses may also require a fire code operational permit or permits. A separate fee is charged for operational permits, which also helps offset the cost of enforcing more detailed requirements of the fire code.

Email your invoice questions to vanfmo@cityofvancouver.us or call the City of Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-487-7260.

Yes. By following the instructions included with your invoice you can securely pay your invoice online. The City of Vancouver also accepts payment of fees with Visa and Master Card, checks, money orders and cash. To make a payment with credit card by phone please call 360-619-1154. Payments are accepted Monday throughFriday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For proper credit, have your invoice number handy.

There are two types of fire code permits required by the International Fire Code to establish a reasonable degree of safety in commercial facilities: Operational Permits and Construction Permits.

An Operational Permit allows the applicant to conduct an operation or business for which a permit is required by the fire code.

A Construction Permit allows the applicant to install or modify systems and equipment for which a permit is required by the fire code (i.e. fire alarm and sprinkler systems, hazardous materials storage, spraying and dipping operations). Construction permits are processed through the City of Vancouver Community Development Department.

View the Fire Code Operational Permit application form.

If you have a specific need for an inspection, you may contact our office and request one.

Temporary permits cannot be renewed after the expiration date noted on the permit. A new temporary use permit and inspection must be obtained. To request an extension, contact the Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-487-7260 between 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and speak directly with the Fire Marshal Officer assigned to that specific fire inspection area.

Temporary permits cannot be renewed after the expiration date noted on the permit. A new temporary use permit and inspection must be obtained. To request an extension, contact the Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-487-7260 between 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and speak directly with the Fire Marshal Officer assigned to that specific fire inspection area.

Your fire code operational permit is valid until the inspection process is initiated again by the fire department (at least a year). Causes for automatic expiration include: A change in business ownership, a change in business location, and changes of conditions specific to the permit. Some fire code operational permits are temporary in nature. All “temporary permits” have a noted expiration date.

No. Your invoices are not transferable to the new owner of the business.

If you are the new owner of an existing business that has Fire Department Permits, notify the Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-487-7260 as soon as possible. Permits are non-transferable to new owners.

IIf you have determined that an existing permit is no longer required and you wish to cancel the permit, notify the Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-487-7260. When we verify that the activity or operation does not require a permit we will terminate the permit.

IIf you have determined that an existing permit is no longer required and you wish to cancel the permit, notify the Fire Marshal’s Office at 360-487-7260. When we verify that the activity or operation does not require a permit we will terminate the permit.

A Fire Marshal Officer will issue you an inspection report detailing all the conditions that violate the fire code and could cause a fire and endanger life and/or property. These deficiencies are required to be corrected immediately. A re-inspection to verify the abatement of the deficiencies noted will be coordinated with the business owner. Failure to correct the violations prior to the first re-inspection date will result in additional inspection fees and the issuance of a final correction notice. Violations not corrected on the second re-inspection may result in monetary civil penalties in accordance with VMC Title 22. These civil penalties will be above and beyond the inspection fees and start at $500 per violation.

Property and business owners sometimes have safety concerns about their own operation or one that they have observed elsewhere. Please call or office at 360-487-7260 and a Fire Marshal Officer will follow up with you.

City of Vancouver Community Development Department can provide the information you need. They can advise you if a permit was issued to install or replace or remove an oil tank or oil furnace at your property. Since 1984, the City has required permits to install and remove/decommission underground oil tanks. Prior to 1984 permits were not required to install or remove underground heating oil tanks.  That office can be reached at 360-487-7200.

Due to complexities within the fire code and testing standards, the Fire Marshal’s Office requires contractors to have a City of Vancouver Endorsement to conduct annual, semi-annual, quarterly and monthly inspection, testing and maintenance on fire protection systems. Contractors are required to submit copies of these inspection, testing and maintenance reports to the Fire Marshal’s Office where Officers review the reports for completeness. Contractors who do not follow the appropriate testing standard are subject to enforcement penalties and or revocation of their endorsement to perform this work inside the City limits of Vancouver.

Test reports submitted by contractors are required to indicate if a complete test was conducted or reasons why only portions of the system were tested (i.e. customer did not want to pay for entire testing). Incomplete reports or deficiencies marked on confidence reports will result in a special inspection and an additional fee. Businesses are encouraged to find contractors who are qualified to inspect, test and maintain the system with adopted standards.

There is a $44 submission and review fee for inspection, testing and maintenance reports that is assessed annually for each type of system. Systems that require quarterly, semi-annual or a more frequent service will only be charged $44 per year. There is no charge for the submission and review of the additional reports within a 12-month period.

In Clark County, the fee for the report review is assessed to the contractor who submits the report. They typically pass that fee on to the customer as a line item. You should not see a line item for a Fire Marshal review fee in your service provider’s invoice if you are inside the City limits of Vancouver.