The Fire Marshal's Office is responsible for the protection of life and property through code enforcement, plans review, fire inspections, and fire cause determination.
Important Message from the Fire Marshal’s Office
Effective September 1, 2021, the City of Austin adopted the 2021 edition of the International Fire Code with local amendments. The Austin Fire Department is revising and updating the Fire Protection Criteria Manual through the City’s rule making process. When the revision is completed, a link to the updated manual will be provided. In the interim, the 2012 Fire Protection Criteria Manual can still be used for guidance in the application of the 2021 International Fire Code and amendments. Copies of either the 2021 International Fire Code adopting ordinance and amendment or the Fire Criteria manual can be obtained from the office of the City Clerk (1st floor - City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street) or from the Fire Marshal’s Office (3rd floor - 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr., Austin, TX 78752).
Fire Prevention encompasses:
- Emergency Planning - Submit your emergency plan for your building.
- Inspections - Fire/life safety inspections.
- Special Events - Determine and enforce the fire code requirements for temporary events.
- Plan Review - Engineers review plans related to sites, buildings, and fire protection systems for new and renovated structures.
- Hazardous Materials Engineering - Oversee and inspect occupancies that store hazardous materials, ensures compliance with appropriate regulations, and issues permits.
- Fire Investigations - Determines fire cause determination, conducts criminal investigations, and arrests those suspected of committing the crime of arson.
Services
- Hydrant Flow Tests
- Permits - Issues several types of permits, including, but not limited to:
- Fire Protection Systems
- Fireworks/Pyrotechnics
- High-Piled Storage
- Prescribed Burns
- Public Assembly
- Temporary Change of Use
- Tents
- Fire Department Connection (F.D.C.) Knox locking plug (cap) installation
- Knox Boxes and Knox Locks: Request online. (downloadable instructions (PDF, 272 KB))
- Residential Home Box: Request online.
- Wildland Urban-Interface Code
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We are currently working to adopt the 2021 Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) code and its local amendments, and we will be reaching out to stakeholders and citizens to present comprehensive and detailed information on both. We welcome and value your input; to provide feedback, please e-mail us or join our mailing list to be notified of major changes in the code.
- Building Code Effectiveness Grade Scale (BCEGS) rating
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This number is determined by assessing the building codes in effect in a particular community and how that community enforces its building codes, with special emphasis on mitigation of losses from natural hazards. The City of Austin is evaluated for its effectiveness in enforcing the Building Code, in which AFD also plays a key role. The City has a ranking of 4, with 1 being the most desirable and 99 being the least desirable.
- Insurance Service Office (ISO) Rating
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The Insurance Service Office (ISO) assigns two ratings to the City of Austin based upon their examination of personnel and resources related to fire protection.
Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating: Reflecting a community's local fire protection capabilities for property insurance rating purposes, the Austin Fire Department currently holds a ranking of 1, with 1 being the most desirable and 10 being the least desirable.
Building Code Effectiveness Grade Scale (BCEGS) rating: This number is determined by assessing the building codes in effect in a particular community and how that community enforces its building codes, with special emphasis on mitigation of losses from natural hazards. The City of Austin is evaluated for its effectiveness in enforcing the Building Code, in which AFD also plays a key role. The City has a ranking of 4, with 1 being the most desirable and 99 being the least desirable.
These ratings are specific to property owners within the City of Austin and do not include other fire departments within Travis County. Property owners outside of Austin need to contact their respective fire department for its specific ISO rating. For example, the Building Code Effectiveness Grade Scale for Travis County is 99.
- Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating
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Reflecting a community's local fire protection capabilities for property insurance rating purposes, the Austin Fire Department currently holds a ranking of 1, with 1 being the most desirable and 10 being the least desirable.