Fire Marshal's Office
The Santa Clara County Fire Marshal's Office works to protect lives, property and the environment through education, plan review, inspection, and code enforcement in the community. Although the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District (also known as the Santa Clara County Fire Department) is not a formal division of the County of Santa Clara, the Board of Supervisors serves as its Board of Commissioners. In 1987, the County entered into a contract with the Santa Clara County Fire Department for the administration of the County Fire Marshal’s Office. The County Code assigned the title of “County Fire Marshal” to the Chief of the Fire Department, and the Fire Department provides staff perform all duties for the Office.
Visit www.sccfd.org for additional information on the Santa Clara County Fire Department.
NOTE: Responsibility for the Weed Abatement Program has been transferred to the County Division of Agriculture.
Authority
The County Fire Marshal’s Office derives its authority from Division A-33, Chapter IV, Article 1, Section A33-40 through A33-59 of the Santa Clara County Code, and from the California Health and Safety Code.
Responsibilities
The County Fire Marshal’s Office is responsible for fire prevention activities in most unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County, however there are a few areas where our responsibilities are shared and/or deferred to other agencies for various reasons. Since it is often difficult to determine exactly which agency you should be contacting for your project or issue, we have tried to simplify the process by including helpful information and links to the other agencies you might need. If you cannot determine who you should be in contact with, please feel free to contact the office at (408) 341-4420, and the staff will assist you.
Duties of the Santa Clara County Fire Marshal's Office
- Offer consultations to the public at pre-application meetings for proposed Land Development permits.
- Review submitted plans for Use Permits/Renewals, Architectural Site Approval, Building Site Approval, agricultural exemptions, etc. referred from the County Planning Office to establish applicable project conditions. Reviews are coordinated with partner fire response agencies, as appropriate.
- Review grading permits referred from Land Development Engineering.
- Review plans for operational/entertainment permits (fairs/festivals, bingo, tents, etc.).
- Review building permit plans referred by Development Services (fire approval required prior to issuance of a building permit).
- Review Building Permit plan submittals for fire and life-safety code compliance.
- Review Fire Marshal Permit plan submittals (e.g.: fire alarm, sprinklers and other suppression systems, hydrant systems, hazardous materials, fuel tanks, generators, propane tanks, process piping, etc.). Conduct field inspections for conformance with approved plans for both Building Permit and Fire Marshal Permit submittals.
- Review plans and inspect installation of Residential Water Systems for residences without a water purveyor.
- Tents and canopies
- Special events (fairs, festivals, haunted houses, etc.)
- Fireworks and special effects
- County owned and leased facilities
- Stanford University Campus
- Multi-family dwellings, private & public schools (grades K-12), detention facilities & high-rise occupancies throughout the unincorporated areas of the County, as required by the California Health & Safety Code.
- Review plans for public school construction projects for fire department access & fire protection water supply as required by the Department of the State Architect
- Inspect Licensed Facility for Fire Clearance, as requested by the California Departments of Social Services, Health Services, Alcohol and Drug Programs, and Santa Clara County Social Services (Foster Care).