HIGH-RISE FIRE WATCH CASE STUDY – PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON DC

Background

The high-rise office building needed fire watch when the fire protection system went down during the ownership change. The client called Urgent Security & Fire Watch and asked for 24/7 coverage right away to stay compliant. Initially, it looked like a 14-story building needing one officer per two floors, plus someone for the fire control room.

• A large federal-area building needed immediate fire watch during ownership transition.

• Initial plan used the standard formula: one officer per two floors, plus fire control room coverage.

• The property required rapid interpretation of DC fire watch rules and direct contact with the fire marshal.

Challenge

The initial plan called for eight fire watch officers based on standard requirements. But when the fire marshal visited that same evening, he looked at the building size and said the building needed one fire watch per floor. That meant jumping from eight to seventeen people, fourteen floor fire watch officers, one for the fire control room, and two break fire watch officers, all on the same day.

• Staffing shot up from eight to seventeen fire watch officers the same day fire marshal assessed the building.

• Fire watch rules require one break officer for every six fire watch officers on duty, adding extra complexity.

• Maintaining 24/7 coverage while expanding the team meant no gaps and careful documentation for inspections.

Approach

Urgent Security & Fire Watch got eight fire watch officers on site within roughly two hours. When the fire marshal showed up with the higher staffing requirement, operations immediately calculated what was needed and brought in six more floor fire watch officers, one additional fire control room officer, and two break fire watch officers within the next two hours. That same day, all seventeen were working and everything was documented.

• Eight fire watch officers arrived within two hours; six more plus support staff added within the next two hours.

• Experienced team leaders served as break fire watch officers and supervised shifts, ensuring on-site leadership every shift.

• Three monitoring layers tracked everything: patrol technology, manual log audits, and in-person supervisor visits multiple times daily.

duration and oversight

This high-rise fire watch ran for eight straight days with officers on site around the clock. Staffing started at eight officers and scaled to seventeen the same day the fire marshal updated requirements, without any loss of coverage.

• Fire watch operated 24/7 for eight consecutive days across all 14 floors and the fire control room.
• Multiple fire marshal visits took place during the assignment, and all inspections were passed.
• Supervisors and team leads kept daily oversight so there were no missed posts or coverage gaps.

the results

The initial eight fire watch officers deployed within two hours on the first call. When staffing jumped to seventeen, all additional personnel were on site within the next two hours, zero downtime. The building stayed fully compliant through all fire marshal inspections during the eight-day assignment. All paperwork passed without issues. Fire watch officers kept detailed logs that the fire marshal reviewed and approved. After the system was repaired and inspected, the fire marshal gave approval to wrap up. The client was very satisfied with how smoothly everything ran and how the team scaled up without missing a beat.

• Initial eight fire watch officers deployed within two hours; full seventeen-person team added in the next two hours.

• Eight-day assignment maintained full compliance with all fire marshal inspections passing.

• Three-layer monitoring system (patrol tracking, audits, supervisor visits) kept everything accountable.

• All paperwork met fire marshal standards without deficiencies.

• Fire marshal approved service termination after system repair verification.

• Client expressed satisfaction with rapid scaling, consistent staffing, and proactive coordination.

Account Management

Rudo Robinson oversaw this project directly. He handled the initial planning, gave the go-ahead to scale up when the fire marshal raised the requirement, and made sure operations brought in the right number of people the same day. He stayed connected with the fire marshal and kept the client in the loop every day.

• Rudo authorized rapid expansion from eight to seventeen fire watch officers without delay.

• He managed all fire marshal paperwork, repair confirmations, and inspection requests on the client's behalf.

• Daily updates to the client kept everyone aware of staffing status and compliance progress.

Conclusion

This case shows Urgent Security & Fire Watch's ability to handle big, complex fire watch projects in sensitive federal areas. 

The team went from eight to seventeen fire watch officers the same day without any hiccups in coverage. By combining fast deployment, experienced on-site leaders, and layered oversight, the company protected residents, staff, and kept the building compliant. When the system was fixed, the client got everything wrapped up quickly. 

This case proves that pre-established relationships with large property managers and the ability to scale operations fast make all the difference in emergencies.