1.14 High Risk Fire Inspections (summary)

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) standards provide criteria for defining a high-risk occupancy that can be tailored to the needs of the community. High-risk occupancies have a: * Higher than average probability of a fire or other emergency occurring due to the type and/or quantity of materials stored, used, or handled on site related to the processes performed in business operations; * higher than average risk for injury or death to occupants due to age, physical or mental abilities of the occupants, the number of occupants (occupants load), or the size and complexity of the structure. Examples may include elder care facilities, buildings with flammable liquids, and high rises where many individuals can become trapped. Both CFAI and NFPA recommend that high-risk occupancies be inspected annually. The total number of high-risk occupancies in the city may change from month to month as fire inspections and evaluations of occupancy risk are assessed utilizing the Community Risk Assessment Guideline to verify risk classification of occupancies. For example, the number of high-risk occupancies ranged from 559 in 2015, based on a risk assessment guideline developed in 1997, to 808 in mid-2018, utilizing the updated risk assessment guideline developed in 2016. The updated Risk Assessment Guideline’s definition of occupancy risk and frequency of inspections was based on NFPA 1730 (Standard on organization and deployment of fire prevention inspection and code enforcement, plan review, investigation, and public education programs), and standards set forth by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. This page provides data for the High Risk Facilities Fire Inspections performance measure. This data summarizes the percentage of high-risk occupancies completed each fiscal year. These percentages are used for the performance measure. Data used to schedule annual Fire inspections based on high-risk occupancies. High risk occupancies have a higher than average probability of a fire or other emergency occurring due to type and/or quantity of materials stored, used, or handled on site due to processes performed in business operations and a higher than average risk for injury or death to occupants due to age, physical or mental abilities of the occupants, the number of occupants (occupants load), or size and complexity of the structure. The method for calculating the percentage of high-risk inspections was adjusted in April 2018 (retroactively) to include inspections of occupancies fitting the updated Community Risk Assessment Guideline definition of a high-risk occupancy. This adjustment resulted in a change in the reported inspection rate provided for fiscal year 2015-2016, where the original value of 57% was adjusted down to 20% to account for inspections of only high-risk occupancies. Data showing the percentage of high-risk building inspections completed for a given fiscal year. Tempe's fiscal year runs from July to June. For example, Fiscal Year (FY) 2015/2016 represents July 2015 through June 2016. The performance measure dashboard is available at [1.14 High Risk Inspections] Additional Information Source: Firehouse Software Contact: Daniel_Petty Contact E-Mail: Daniel_Petty@tempe.gov Data Source Type: Tabular Preparation Method: Queried from the Firehouse Server in Excel Publish Frequency: Annually Publish Method: Manual [Data Dictionary]