Food Truck Requirements

                     Food Truck Requirements

The Fort Wayne Fire Department Fire Prevention Bureau is responsible for inspecting food trucks in coordination with the Allen County Board of Health.  In order to sell food in Allen County this process must be completed. A FWFD Code Inspector is required to sign the Food Establishment Sign-Off Sheet form, stating an inspection has been completed and that all required standards have been met.  This sign off sheet is obtained through the Allen County Board of Health Department. 

The Fort Wayne Fire Department will inspect for the following items on ALL food Trucks:

• A mounted ABC Fire Extinguisher, 10 lb.

• New within the last 12 months, or tagged by a licensed Fire Protection Company within the last 12 months.

• NO use of extension cords or other electrical hazards.

  If the intention of the Food Truck is to cook food inside, the Fort Wayne Fire Department will inspect for the following additional equipment:

• Type I Hood and Automatic Suppression System

• Must be tagged by a licensed Fire Protection Company within the last 12 months.

• Hood shall be cleaned according to professional standards.

• Mounted Class K Fire Extinguisher, 6 liter

• New within the last 12 months, or tagged by a licensed Fire Protection Company within the last 12 months.

• Once the food truck is ready for an inspection, 311 MUST BE CONTACTED. If the Fort Wayne Fire Department is contacted directly, the caller will be redirected to 311 to request an inspection. 311 will then give you a submission number, not to be confused with a confirmation number.  Within 3 business days, a FWFD Inspector will make contact utilizing the phone number provided to 311.  The Inspector will not sign the Board of Health Form until ALL requirements have been met per the codes adopted under the local authority having jurisdiction.  FWFD has the authority to impose a charge for inspection requests for Food Trucks. 

   

  The codes referenced above:
  City Code 94.19	Portable Fire extinguisher shall be installed and maintained in all occupancies, except one and two family dwellings, as set forth in the IFC latest edition NFPA 10
  City Code 94.22	(A)   A Type I Hood shall be installed at or above all commercial food heat processing appliances that produce grease vapors in a mobile food unit as defined by the Allen County Board of Health.  (B)   The Fort Wayne Fire Department shall be charged with the duty of enforcing this section.
  IFC 904.11.5 Portable Fire extinguisher for commercial cooking equipment	Cooking equipment involving solid fuels or vegetable or animal oils and fats shall be protected by a Class K rated portable extinguisher.
  IFC 904.2.1	All type I hoods shall be protected with an approved automatic Fire Extinguishing System.

  Please note: All violations and visits are subject to Fees and/or Fines as set forth by the Authority Having Jurisdiction and City Code 94.30

Board of Health Inspection Request

Board of Health Inspection Requests

According to the Allen County Food and Beverage Ordinance, “All Food Establishments must fully comply at all times with all local and state Building, Zoning and Fire Codes.”  Therefore, the Fort Wayne Fire Department, in addition to other required departments, is required to approve all food establishments.  All food establishments must follow all City of Fort Wayne Fire Prevention Code Ordinances and all International Fire Code requirements adopted by the state of Indiana.  These include but are not limited to the following:

• New ownership of an existing food establishment

• New construction of a food establishment

• Remodel of an existing food establishment

• Existing occupancy that will begin selling either pre-packaged food items or made to order food or drink

• Mobile Food Truck

• Any emergency that requires a FWFD sign off to re-open such as but not limited to the following: Automatic protection system discharge (for any reason), a building fire, or a specific need on a case by case basis as required by the Board of Health.

The following is the process that needs to be followed to receive a FWFD Fire Inspector signature on a Food Establishment Sign-off Sheet:

1. Visit the Fort Wayne- Allen County Department of Health to obtain the Food Establishment Sign-off Sheet.

2. 200 E Berry St, Suite 360; Fort Wayne, IN 46802

3. When the establishment is ready for a FWFD Fire Inspector to come and do the inspection, 311 MUST BE CONTACTED.  If the Fort Wayne Fire Prevention Department is contacted directly, the caller will be redirected to 311 to request an inspection. 311 will then give you a submission number, not to be confused with a confirmation number. An inspector will then contact the requesting party within 3 business days.

4. The FWFD Fire Inspector will inspect the entire building/ business.  Any critical violations shall be corrected prior to obtaining the required signature on the Food Establishment Sign-off Sheet. 

5. 30 days will be given for a follow up re-inspection.  Should necessary items be corrected, the form will be signed at this time. 

6. Depending on the nature of the violations and their severity, a Fire Inspector may sign the Food Establishment Sign-off Sheet on the initial inspection, and give the occupancy 30 days to correct the non-critical violations. 

Please note: All violations and visits are subject to Fees and/or Fines as set forth by the Authority Having Jurisdiction and City Code 94.30

Fines and Fees Schedule

According to City Ordinance 94.30, The Fort Wayne Fire Department has the authority to charge inspection fees.  Beginning in 2019, this process will be executed in the following way: 

• All Fort Wayne Fire Department inspections performed, as requested by the occupant, a standard annual inspection from an inspector, a complaint inspection, a Board of Health Food Establishment Sign-off, or any other inspection thereof, will be completed as required per code guidelines.  Any violations noted during the inspection will be granted up to 30 days to make corrections, and a follow up re-inspection will be completed.

• There will be no fees or fines assessed at this time

• A re-inspection MUST be completed.  If at the time of the re-inspection, all violations have been corrected,  no fees or fines will be assessed. However, failure to correct even one violation at the time of the re-inspection will force an inspector to come back a third time. This will result in a violation status change to a citation in the form of a ticket.  The Inspector must continue to return to the property until ALL corrections have been made; fees and fines will be assessed accordingly.

• All items not corrected at the time of the initial re-inspection, will be issued a ticket, and will be cited $100 per item, per violation.   

• Fine payment is now coordinated through (and inquiries directed to) the City Clerk’s office.

• In addition, a re-inspection fee of $150 will be mailed to the occupant from the Fort Wayne Fire Department.  All Fort Wayne Fire Department Inspection Fees shall be reconciled within 30 days of invoice. 

• Payment for fees shall be made directly to the Fort Wayne Fire Department.  Information for payment inquires will be noted on the invoice.

• Questions about the inspection/violations to the billing staff will be directed to the inspector and/or Fire Marshal.   

• 	Initial Inspection	Re-Inspection	2nd Re - Inspection
  FINE	No Fine	If all violations are corrected, there will be no fines.	If all violations are corrected, there will be no further fines.
  		Uncorrected violations will be ticketed at this time at a rate of $100/per violation, ticket will be given on site to the occupant.	Any continuing uncorrected violations will be issued additional fines and ticketed on site.
  FEE	No Fee	If a ticket is issued, an invoice for a $150 fee will be mailed directly to the occupant from the FWFD.	If all violations are corrected, there will be no further fees charged by the FWFD.
  			If additional violations exist/additional fees will be assessed at this time, fees will be charged to the occupant.

   

  All fees/fines schedules are subject to change.

Smoke Alarms

The smell of smoke will not wake you, but the sound of a working smoke alarm will! Please share these Smoke Alarm Safety videos with your family and friends:

FIRE ALARM SAFETY video in English

FIRE ALARM SAFETY video in English with subtitles

FIRE ALARM SAFETY video in Spanish

FIRE ALARM SAFETY video in Burmese

Thank you to PBS 39 Studios for creating the Fire Alarm Safety videos for the FWFD.  

Why Are Smoke Alarms Important?

Every year in the United States, about 3,000 people lose their lives in residential fires.  In a fire, smoke and deadly gases tend to spread farther and faster than heat. That's one reason why most fire victims die from inhalation of smoke and toxic gases, not as a result of burns. A majority of fatal fires happen when families are asleep because occupants are unaware of the fire until there is not adequate time to escape. A smoke alarm stands guard around the clock and, when it first senses smoke, it sounds a shrill alarm.  This often allows a family the precious but limited time it takes to escape.  About two-thirds of home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms are considered to be one of the best and least expensive means of providing an early warning of a potentially deadly fire and could reduce the risk of dying from a fire in your home by almost half.

Where Should Smoke Alarms Be Installed?

Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas, and inside bedrooms. For best protection install a smoke alarm in every room of the house.

A smoke alarm should be installed and maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When installing a smoke alarm, many factors influence where you will place it, including how many are to be installed.  Consider placing alarms along your escape path to assist in egress in limited visibility conditions. In general you should place alarms in the center of a ceiling or, if you place them on a wall, they should be 6 to 12 inches below the ceiling.  Replace smoke alarm batteries at least annually, such as when resetting clocks in the fall or spring.  Test all smoke alarms in your house once a month.

Do not place a smoke alarm too close to a kitchen appliance or fireplace, as this may result in nuisance alarms.  Avoid locating alarms near bathrooms, heating appliances, windows, or ceiling fans.  Replace smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old. Smoke alarms don’t last forever.  Develop and practice a fire escape plan, because working smoke alarms and a fire escape plan will increase your protection in case of a fire.

Which Smoke Alarm Type Is Better?

Although there are several choices to make in selecting the right smoke alarms to buy, the most important thing to remember is that smoke alarms save lives. For that reason, you should install a smoke alarm if your home does not have one.

Smoke alarms may contain different or multiple sensors

There are two main types of smoke alarms, which are categorized by the type of smoke detection sensor, ionization and photoelectric, used in the alarm. A smoke alarm uses one or both methods, sometimes with a heat detector, to warn of a fire. Ionization detectors contain a chamber with two plates that generate a small, continuous electric current. When smoke enters the ionization chamber, the smoke particles disrupt the current flow, which triggers the alarm.  Photoelectric detectors use a light beam and light receptor (photocell).  When smoke is present between the light and receptor, depending on the type of smoke chamber configuration, the reduction or increase of light on the photocell sensor triggers the alarm.

Smoke alarms may perform differently

Both ionization and photoelectric detectors are effective smoke sensors. Even though both types of smoke detectors must pass the same tests to be certified to the voluntary standard for smoke alarms, they can perform differently in different types of fires. Ionization detectors respond quickly to flaming fires with smaller combustion particles; photoelectric detectors respond more quickly to smoldering fires. There are combination smoke alarms also that combine ionization and photoelectric detectors into one unit, called dual sensor smoke alarms.

Depending on your home, smoke alarms can be powered in one of several ways: House wiring, house wiring with battery back-up, replaceable batteries,  or sealed long life batteries & the smoke alarms are disposed of after 10 years.

Interconnected smoke alarms may offer quicker escape time and improved audibility.

Hard-wired interconnected smoke alarms can be found in most homes built after 1989. Wireless interconnected smoke alarms are an alternative for older homes using single-station smoke alarms.

Disposal Of Smoke Detectors

Regulatory Factors: Federal regulations do not address the disposal of smoke detectors, heat detectors, flame detectors and/or other types of fire detection systems and/or components.

General Guidance: Recycling is the preferred option for disposal of all fire alarm components. 

Be sure to remove any battery from the smoke detector and dispose of it at a hazardous waste disposal event or facility.

Bottom Line Facts

Roughly two thirds of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms!

Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half!

Install smoke alarms in your house to protect you and your family!!

Staff FWFD

Fort Wayne Fire Department

1 E. Main Street Suite 901

Fort Wayne, IN 46802

260-427-1478

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