Correction Services · Western North Carolina
Failed a fire inspection? Here is what to do.
First, it is common and it is usually fixable. Most findings in ordinary commercial buildings are straightforward — expired tags, blocked exits, storage in the wrong place, emergency lighting that fails a full-length test.
What matters is the correction period, and it is usually short. So the useful thing to do with that report is triage it today rather than read it once and put it in a drawer.
First: find the deadline
Before anything else, find the correction deadline and the re-inspection date on the report. Everything else gets scheduled around those two dates, and they are usually shorter than people expect.
If a correction genuinely cannot be completed in the window because equipment has to be ordered, call the fire marshal’s office and say so before the deadline rather than after. An inspector who knows you are working the list is in a completely different frame of mind than one who arrives to find nothing done.
Second: separate the free fixes from the rest
A surprising share of any fire inspection report costs nothing to correct. Do these today, before you call anyone.
- Move whatever is blocking an exit, and keep it moved
- Clear the working space in front of electrical panels
- Restack storage out of sprinkler clearance
- Unlock or rehang any exit door that needs a key from the inside
- Remove extension cords being used as permanent wiring
- Take decorations and signage off exit signs and lighting
- Clear stairwells and under-stair storage
Third: group what is left by trade
The remaining items usually fall into three or four buckets. Grouping them means three phone calls instead of fifteen.
| Finding | Who handles it |
|---|---|
| Expired or missing extinguisher tags | Us |
| Wrong extinguisher class for the hazard | Us |
| Extinguisher placement, mounting, or travel distance | Us |
| Emergency lighting failing a duration test | Us |
| Exit signs out, dim, or pointing the wrong way | Us |
| Kitchen suppression out of certification | Us |
| Nozzles no longer matching the appliance layout | Us |
| Missing inspection documentation | Us, for equipment we service |
| Sprinkler system deficiencies | Licensed fire sprinkler contractor |
| Fire alarm system deficiencies | Fire alarm contractor |
| Wiring and permanent electrical | Licensed electrician |
| Door hardware and panic devices | Door or hardware contractor |
We do not do sprinkler, alarm, or electrical work, and we will tell you that plainly rather than taking the job and subcontracting it back to you at a markup.
What we correct
- Fire extinguisher service, recharge, replacement, and re-tagging
- Correct extinguisher class and sizing for the actual hazard
- Mounting, brackets, cabinets, signage, and placement corrections
- Emergency and exit lighting testing, battery and unit replacement
- Exit signage replacement and directional corrections
- Commercial kitchen suppression inspection, service, and re-certification
- Suppression nozzle review after appliance changes
- Documentation you can hand to the inspector at re-inspection
Then fix the reason it happened
Most failed inspections are not caused by neglect. They are caused by nobody owning the calendar. Extinguishers are annual, emergency lighting is monthly and annual, kitchen suppression is semi-annual, and there is usually no single place tracking what is due when.
Once you are through the correction list, it is worth putting the recurring items on a schedule so the next inspection is uneventful. That is what our service agreements are for, and it is a far cheaper way to run a building than correcting violations under deadline.
Common questions
How long do we have to correct the violations?
It varies by jurisdiction and by how serious each finding is. The deadline will be on the report. Conditions presenting immediate danger carry much shorter timelines than documentation findings.
Can we be shut down over this?
For most ordinary findings, no — you get a correction period. Conditions presenting immediate danger are treated differently, and commercial kitchens are a specific case: in most jurisdictions a kitchen cannot operate with a suppression system that is discharged or out of certification.
We do not understand some of the findings. Can you explain them?
Send us the report. We will go through it with you and translate the ones that fall within our scope, and tell you honestly which ones need a different trade.
Will you charge us to look at the report?
No. Send it over and we will tell you what we can help with and roughly what it involves. If most of it is not ours, we will say so.
What if we already missed the deadline?
Call the fire marshal’s office and call us. A missed deadline is a worse position than a met one, but it is not unrecoverable, and demonstrating that corrections are underway matters.