Vancouver Fire Department

The Vancouver Fire Department is a fast-developing fire department, serving the fourth largest city in Washington state. As part of the growing Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region, they currently protect over 294,000 residents and visitors across 90 square miles and answer more than 38,500 calls per year. Their Maritime Response division also protects 22 miles of shoreline along the Columbia River and includes the Port of Vancouver USA. The department was founded in 1867 in response to a fire that destroyed eight buildings in less than an hour.

Vancouver Deputy Fire Marshals and Fire Code Officers inspect buildings for compliance with the International Fire Code (IFC) but they sometimes require additional collaboration on the intricacies of interpreting the standards.

Jensen Hughes provided on-call plan review services of the fire protection and life safety aspects of architectural, mechanical, electrical or plumbing plans prepared by Washington-licensed design professionals for any residential or commercial structures within the region. Our experts supported compliance with the applicable National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes/standards and the IFC for each specific on-call project. Our work for the Vancouver Fire Department began in February 2020 and was completed in October 2022.

These detailed reviews encompassed fire protection systems and shop drawings prepared by Washington-licensed and City of Vancouver Fire Department approved contractors. Our team provided third-party reviews of firewater storage tanks, firewater pumps, fire alarm and detection systems, gas detection systems and passive fire protection systems. Our scope also included suppression system review of wet pipe, dry pipe and pre-action sprinkler systems, deluge/water spray systems, gaseous/chemical extinguishing systems, and foam systems.