Fire Prevention Bureau
Public Education
To invite us to speak at your school or business, call our office at (401) 243-6050 or click here to contact us online.
The public education branch of the Fire Prevention Bureau is responsible for teaching public safety to the citizens of Providence. Each year we attend many training seminars in an effort to improve our abilities to accomplish specific goals to better serve the community. At no charge, our public educators speak to businesses, organizations, schools and at special events about the importance of fire safety. Some of the methods that are used to spread our public safety messages to citizens and visitors are:
- Smoke Trailer / Safety House
Towed to schools and events to teach prevention methods and ways to escape a fire - Presenting at City school’s throughout the school year
- Community Events
We attend many community events with the smoke trailer, safety brochures, and free smoke detectors - Business Education
We respond to the needs of local businesses by offering safety training for their employees on evacuation planning and fire drills - 911 Phone Call Simulator
This is a device that teaches young children the proper way to call in an emergency to a 911 operator. - Sparky the Fire Dog
We use a professional “Sparky the Fire Dog” costume, from NFPA, to help teach fire safety to preschoolers and other young children. Sparky always steals the show and the hearts of both the children and adults that are present! - Public Safety Brochures
We offer a wide variety of public safety related brochures free to the public. These brochures are in English and Spanish. - Safety Materials for Children
We hand out many safety related items to children as we travel throughout the city. Among these items are plastic fire helmets, coloring books & crayons, pencils, rulers, refrigerator magnets, etc.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector Distribution
All residents and visitors should be protected by smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Through grants awarded to the Providence Fire Department, we are able to offer free smoke detectors (and carbon monoxide detectors when available) to low income and handicapped residents of one, two and three-family houses in Providence.
Office Hours: Monday – Friday – 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
If you are unable to come and pick up your detectors you can call 401-243-6050 to have them delivered to you.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector Inspections
Smoke and carbon monoxide detector inspections are required for all new houses and on any homes that are being sold.
There is a $30.00 fee for these inspections. The fee must be paid at the time of the inspection. We accept business checks or money orders, made out to the Providence Fire Department. Cash or personal checks are not accepted. If you fail the inspection you will be charged another $30.00 fee for a re-inspection.
Checks should be made payable to the Providence Fire Department.
Fire Inspections are Required for Various Reasons
These may include but are not limited to:
- Sale of a business or a property
- Change of use (change of occupancy)
- Licensing
- Complaint or investigation
- Owners request
- Tent
- Nightclub
- Special Amusements, flame effects, pyrotechnics, and firework
- Occupancies required to be inspected per RIGL 23-28.5-1
Nightclubs with an occupancy of 150 and greater, places of assembly with an occupancy of 300 and greater and apartment buildings need to comply with fire alarm and sprinkler requirements listed in the Rhode Island State Fire Code. - Places of worship as defined in RIGL 23-28.1-5 shall comply with RIGL 23-28.6-24 with amendments RILSC (Add) 13.1.8.1
A fee of $100.00 is charged for all fire inspection.
Fire Prevention and Fire Alarm Plan Review
Reviewing plans for new projects is a major responsibility of the Fire Prevention Bureau. Whether it is an expansion to an existing building, a new building, a shopping center, or a residential subdivision, the Bureau is involved in the planning process.
The Bureau assesses the roadway and water resources for the development. They ensure that the plans provide for enough water to supply hydrants and sprinkler systems. The roadway plans are evaluated to determine if access and turning areas meet requirements for large firefighting vehicles.
For commercial and industrial buildings, meeting the fire code standards is required based on a variety of factors including the building’s size, intended use, and occupancy numbers. Those factors help determine the design of exits and alarm and sprinkler requirements.
Fire prevention efforts continue for the life of the building. Some undergo an annual inspection by the fire prevention bureau to ensure that safety requirements continue. The bureau may find that cluttered exit passages, overloaded electrical circuits, dangerous heating units, flammable material issues and other concerns that the business must correct.
The Fire Prevention Bureau has joined forces with other city departments to make submitting plans for a project easier and more efficient. The City has established a new plan intake procedure by creating a single point for plan submittal. All applications and plans are now submitted to the Department of Inspections and Standards and will then be dispersed to the appropriate departments internally.
The City of Providence has now advanced the plan submittal process even further with its new “eplan” review. Plans can now be submitted electronically and reviewed by all departments concurrently with immediate feedback to the submitter. The submitter will also know, at any time, the current status of the review.