Fire Prevention

The Healdsburg Fire Prevention Bureau strives to provide the best customer service to the community it serves by providing public education, detailed plan review, inspection and code enforcement. The Fire Prevention Bureau performs detailed plan reviews and inspections to ensure that properties and buildings are properly constructed in accordance with local and state requirements.

The Fire Prevention Bureau provides the highest level of fire and life safety inspections. The Healdsburg Fire Department works as a team to provide these inspections and includes the Fire Prevention Bureau performing life safety and CUPA Hazardous Materials inspections and Fire Suppression Engine Companies performing life safety and fire pre-plan inspections.

Fire Safety Inspections

Throughout the year, both suppression and prevention staff perform general and specific fire inspections in businesses and apartments throughout the city. Most of these inspections are general life safety inspections. The staff that performs these inspections look for fire hazards and exiting violations. Generally these inspections take very little time, but may help business owners remain compliant with fire and safety codes, while providing a safe working environment for their employees, and consumers.

For Inspections please contact:

Front Office: 707-431-3360
Ruben Mandujano, Fire Inspector: 707-431-3357
Lance Macdonald, Fire Marshal/Division Chief: 707-431-3125

If our phones go to voice mail please, email us since the emails can be readily accessible in the field. You can always call the fire department front office and talk with staff during business hours at 707-431-3360.

Weed Abatement Program

The fire department annual weed abatement program inspections begin in April. You may ask why the inspections occur so early in the year. The program is a long process of notification to give the City residents the longest amount of time to perform weed abatement on their properties. After the inspections in April, the residents are sent a letter providing them a weed abatement checklist and timeline. This helps keep them informed of important dates. They typically have until the first week in June to complete the abatement. There is a City Council public hearing held in June where the public can comment on the program. After the public hearing closes, City Council can declare a nuisance to exist upon the property. The fire department will contact the owners of the properties that have not been abated and see how they can assist. If the property owner still refuses to abate the property, the City will use their own contractors to complete the abatement and invoice the owners of the property. Since this has been a long standing program, most residents have their properties abated on time and prior to the City's July 4th fireworks show. This is the Weed Abatement checklist with important dates that is sent to property owners that require weed abatement.

A great way to keep up on vegetation management and weed abatement is to use the green waste bins. Every week just add dead and dying vegetation to the bin. This is much more cost effective than running to the transfer station with large loads unless you have a larger property with a lot to do.

State Mandated Inspection of Buildings with 3 or more Dwelling Units

Most fire service resources are designed and dedicated to responding to events after they have occurred to minimize any potential destruction. A small portion of our resources are directed at preventing problems from occurring. It is much better to prevent the damage from occurring than to respond to the damage after it has occurred.

Any act or omission that is predictable is preventable. We can predict that fire will occur more in residential settings than in any other type of occupancy. The number of fires in non-owner occupied residential structures tends to be high. Fires in multi-family residential structures, such as apartments, represent a high life hazard due to the large number of people. California passed legislation requiring local fire authorities to conduct annual inspections of multi-family residential structures including apartments, hotels, motels and lodging houses to prevent fires in an effort to reduce loss of life and property. The intent of the City of Healdsburg Fire Department is to inspect dwellings with 3 or more units, apartment buildings, hotels and motels once yearly for basic fire safety features.

In 2018, SB1205 was passed based upon the tragic loss of life in the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland. Thirty-six people lost their lives in a warehouse that was turned into an artist collective. It lacked proper inspection and enforcement to meet the basic fire and life safety regulations. SB1205 requires that all R-1, and multi-family dwelling units be inspected annually and inspection numbers be reported to City Council.

Please return the following Certificate of Compliance with updated information when requested by fire department personnel.

Knox Box

In order to expedite the ordering of a Knox Box, the Healdsburg Fire Department has registered with Knox Company to allow orders online. Select Healdsburg Fire Department only if you are in the city limits. If you are a county parcel select Sonoma County Fire Prevention even though Healdsburg Fire is the responding agency. Both of these agencies will be shown with others if you put in your zip code as 95448.

A Knox Box or Knox key is required when access to or within a structure or area is determined to be unduly difficult because of secured openings (doors or gates), or due to the presence of hazardous materials or fire protection systems.

Knox locking fire department connection caps (FDC) are required on all newly installed FDC’s and on any existing FDC’s found to be vandalized. FDC's will typically be found on commercial fire sprinkler systems.

The Knox Box and FDC caps are delivered to the fire department where we will remove the door with a secure key and contact you. Once the box has been installed in an approved accessible location, the fire department will put keys necessary to gain access and emergency contact information supplied by the business into the box and lock it. If it is a gate lock, the fire department will ensure that the key works correctly once it is installed.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Devices

As of July 1, 2011, the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act (Senate Bill - SB 183) will require all single-family homes with an attached garage or a fossil fuel source to install carbon monoxide alarms within the home. Owners of multi-family leased or rental dwellings, such as apartment buildings have until January 1, 2013 to comply with the law.

The California State Fire marshal has created the frequently asked questions (FAQ) on carbon monoxide devices to provide the citizens of California with information on this important matter. You may also download the State Fire Marshal approved Carbon Monoxide Alarm / Smoke Detector list (PDF).

Local Fire Code Amendments

Download the 2019 Local Fire Code Amendments for the City of Healdsburg. The Sonoma County Fire Prevention Officers (FPOs) worked together to provide consistency among the agencies on these local fire code adoptions.

2019 Fire Code Amendments
On January 1, 2020 the State of California will mandated that the 2019 California Fire Code go into effect. During the six-month period preceding this date, local jurisdictions have an opportunity to prepare amendments to the code that reflect local conditions.

The Sonoma County Fire Chiefs (the “Fire Chiefs”) directed a committee of fire and building officials to provide local amendments that could be adopted by the cities or fire districts within the County. A majority of fire officials representing Sonoma County cities participated on the committee. The Fire Chiefs saw a need for local amendments to provide County wide consistent regulations to the construction industry by alleviating obstacles for development. The Healdsburg Fire Marshal and Building Official further amended the code realizing the unique characteristics of Healdsburg’s older residential and downtown commercial buildings.

The State of California will mandate that the 2016 California Fire Code go into effect January 2020. The City of Healdsburg prepared amendments and additions to the codes to reflect local conditions through the Health & Safety Code Sections 17958.5 and 17958.7. Staff has made recommended findings to add, delete and amend specific portions of the mandated code due to local climatic, geological and topographical conditions in order to mitigate the potential damage caused by earthquakes, flooding, erosion, and fires.

The local amendments provide regional consistency with regards to the administrative portions of the codes and fire sprinkler installations. The proposed fire code amendments have very few changes from the previous code adoption.

Fire Department Fee Schedule

Download the Fire Department Fee Schedule

Office of State Fire Marshal Guidance on Residential Sprinkler Systems in Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's)

The Office of the State Fire Marshal has written a guidance document to define when sprinklers will be required in an ADU. If you are planning on building an ADU, please schedule a One-Stop at the Community Development Department at (707) 431-3346 or contact the Fire Department at (707) 431-3360 to talk with the Fire Marshal or Fire Inspector about residential sprinkler requirements. Access and water supply will dictate if fire sprinklers are required within an ADU.