A fire inspection is mostly a paperwork check backed by a walk-through. The items written up most often are expired extinguisher tags, an out-of-date hood system certification, missing monthly inspection logs, failed or dark emergency lighting and blocked exits or blocked extinguishers — and every one of those is fixable before the inspector arrives.
This is the half that surprises people, because a building can be in genuinely good physical shape and still be written up for having no evidence of it. If it is not written down, it did not happen.
1. Expired extinguisher tags. A calendar reminder solves it. So does being on a service schedule where somebody else is tracking the date.
2. No monthly log. The checks are often being done informally and recorded nowhere. The record is the requirement, not just the check.
3. Emergency lights that fail the 90-minute test. They pass the monthly 30-second test right up until the day they are actually needed. Only the annual discharge test finds them.
4. A hood system that no longer matches the line. An appliance was moved or replaced and the nozzles were never re-aimed.
5. Blocked egress. Storage in a corridor, a wedged fire door, a rear exit used as a stockroom. Free to fix and easy to spot.
Walk the building the way an inspector will. Read every extinguisher tag and note the date. Check every exit sign is lit and every emergency light looks alive. Open every exit door and walk the route out. Find your records and put them in one folder rather than in three places.
If something is overdue, get it done before the visit rather than explaining it during. There is no penalty for booking a lapsed service late, and a corrected item is a much shorter conversation than a written violation.
A violation notice gives a correction period. The equipment items on it — tags, hood certification, emergency lighting, missing units — are almost always straightforward and can usually be cleared in one visit, with dated documentation for the re-inspection.
Call us on 312-877-2355 with the notice in front of you and we will tell you what is involved.
Current extinguisher tags with unobstructed access, a hood suppression certification dated within six months, lit and legible exit signs, working emergency lighting, clear egress routes, and the written records behind all of it — monthly extinguisher logs, annual service records, and alarm and emergency lighting test results.
Expired fire extinguisher tags, because the date is visible from across the room and needs no equipment to check. Missing monthly inspection logs and blocked or obstructed extinguishers follow close behind.
A violation notice sets a correction period, which varies with the severity of the item. Equipment items such as tags, hood certification and emergency lighting are usually cleared in a single service visit with dated documentation for the re-inspection.
Yes. Missing records are a finding in their own right — if a monthly inspection is not written down, it cannot be shown to have happened. OSHA 1910.157 requires the monthly extinguisher checks to be recorded and the records retained.
Call 312-877-2355 during business hours. We'll tell you what applies to you — there's no charge for a straight answer on the phone.
1840 N Clybourn Ave · Chicago, IL 60614
