Commercial Fire Prevention

Dickinson North Dakota Firefighters Commercial Inspections are done in the City of Dickinson by City Ordinance.

We have adopted the 2003 International Fire Code.

Violations not corrected within a timely manner are handled through the City Attorney’s Office.

Currently we are inspecting 1,074 locations within the corporate city limits of Dickinson. Priorities are given to the assembly, educational and health care occupancies.

We have 2 persons assigned to conduct fire inspections throughout the year. The Fire Prevention Specialist and Fire Inspector.

Daycare Inspections

The purpose of our inspections is to inform and educate daycare providers of good fire safety practices for the home. Please call us if you ever have any questions or concerns for fire safety.

·New group daycare facilities must contact the City Building Inspection Department, to ensure that proper zoning and building requirements are met. The Building Inspection Department can be reached at 701-456-7744.

One step in obtaining a daycare license is completing a fire/safety inspection. This is done by the fire department. To prepare the daycare provider for the inspection this brochure will take you, step-by-step, through what we are looking for during a home daycare inspection. The International Fire Code and the International Building Code establish the guidelines for life safety. Both of these codes have been adopted by the City of Dickinson.

General Safety

·An operable flashlight must be provided in case of a power outage.
·All fuel fired heating appliances (furnaces, water heaters) must be shielded to protect children from harm. All fuel fired heating appliances must be properly vented to prevent a build-up of toxic gases.
·All combustibles (paints, cardboard, papers) must not be stored near sources of ignition. Flammables/paints cannot be stored in the same room as heating appliances.
·Outlets and extension cords must not be overloaded and must be for proper use. Multi outlet strips must have internal breaker and be plugged directly into wall outlet. Power strips cannot be plugged into an extension cord or another power strip. Cords and power strips must be UL listed and have the capacity to handle the electrical load being served.Extension cords are for temporary use only.It is unplugged from the wall outlet when it is not being used.
·If there are children under 6 years of age outlet covers must be provided.
·Bathroom and bedroom doors must be operable from the outside. If the door locks and a key/tool can be used, the key/tool must be in the immediate area of the door.
·Closet doors must be operable from the inside as well as outside. This prevents children from getting locked inside a closet.

Extinguishers

·Fire extinguishers need to be provided on each level of the home used for daycare.
·The minimum rating for a fire extinguisher is 2A 10BC.
·The extinguishers must be checked monthly to ensure the extinguisher is charged, easily accessible and has no deflects that will affect use.
·Extinguishers shall be serviced annually by a certified agent or a new extinguisher can be purchased every year. A tag must be displayed on the extinguisher to show that it has been serviced.

Fire Drills

·A drawing of the interior layout of the home with an exit plan must be posted.
·Review the exit plan with each new child and parent.
·A fire exit drill shall be practiced monthly and a record of the dates of the drills shall be made available to the inspector upon request.

Record Keeping

All daycares must keep records of the following:

·Monthly smoke detector test
·Monthly fire exit drill
·Battery changes in detectors.

Smoke Detectors

·Smoke detectors need to be provided on each floor of the home and inside each room used for sleeping.
·Detectors must be checked for operation monthly by using the test button.
·Batteries must be changed annually.
·Records of the date tested and battery changes in detectors must be kept and made available to the inspector on request.

Exit Requirements

·Emergency escape and rescue openings (windows) shall be a minimum of 5.7 square feet on net clear opening.
·The egress window sill shall not be greater than 44 inches in height measured from the floor.
·Basement egress windows sill shall not be greater than 48 inches in height measured from the floor.
·The minimum width is 20 inches of opening. If the window is 20 inches wide it must be at least 41 inches tall to meet minimum openable are (5.7 square feet).
·The minimum height is 24 inches of opening. If the height is 24 inches the window must be at least 34 2/8 inches wide in order to meet the minimum openable are (5.7 square feet).

Group Daycares (daycares serving 8-12 clients)

Inspection Fee: $25.00 per inspection.

·Building shall have not less than 35 square feet per client of interior recreation area. Work areas and office areas not designed for use of the client shall not be included in the computation.
·Each lot shall have an outdoor recreation area of not less than 75 square feet per client. This area shall be fenced and located behind the building setback lines. Recreation areas shall only be required for those clients under twelve (12) years of age.
·Adequate off street parking shall be available. One space for each 2 employees and one space for each ten (10) clients.
·Every sleeping room shall have at least one operable window or door to the outside that is approved for emergency escape and rescue.
·Provide interconnected smoke alarms in each room used for sleeping and on every level.
·Provide sprinkler head to protect fuel fired heating appliances in furnace room.
·Provide emergency lighting to illuminate path of travel to exit doors.