Fire Inspection and Permit Services

Fire department staff is your resource if you are involved in residential or commercial new construction or renovations. Fire staff conducts inspection and provides other resources to homeowners and professionals in the construction field.

Schedule an Inspection or Request a Permit

Fire Plan Review is available for consultation on new building, remodels and code questions.

Call 480-312-1855 to reach the main Fire and Life Safety line. For Engineering/Fire Plan Review, please call 480-312-2500.

All Scottsdale firefighters are trained to inspect areas businesses to protect them from fire hazards. Additionally, the Prevention staff are trained at a higher level to ensure building plans provide the appropriate level of protection to occupants by code, to ensure the continued safety of higher hazard occupancies on an annual basis, and to perform cause and origin inspection of fires.

Are you up to Code?

Fire department staff partners with business owners and managers to review the status of their built-in fire protection and alarm system and the typical hazards found in different business occupancies in addition to ensuring code compliance.

An Engine Company Inspection program was developed and instituted for the city of Scottsdale in 2009. The program assists the Fire & Life Safety Division by utilizing on-duty crews to conduct lower-hazard commercial business safety inspections.

The program also provides opportunities for positive interaction with the local business community, raises individual safety awareness levels, and provides an opportunity for fire units to become familiar with buildings and potential hazards in their first-due area.

Any major safety or code violations identifies are referred to Prevention staff for follow-up.

The Prevention Division initiated an outreach program with large local businesses and residential properties to provide fire warden training and an evacuation program. Participants in the program thus far include high-rise residential properties, nursing homes and large commercial businesses.

The department also enhanced its collaboration efforts with local Scottsdale schools by putting into place programs to test and upgrade the safety components of existing facilities. During the same time period, staff worked closely with Scottsdale Unified School District in the design, inspection and complete rebuild of the high schools within the city of Scottsdale.

Additionally a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was established with the State Fire Marshal's Office to officially update and transfer responsibility to plan review and safety inspections for all local schools and county and state buildings to local fire departments. This ensures a higher level of review and compliance with local and national safety guidelines for facilities within our jurisdiction.

Site plans and aerial photographs of the event location may be required. If the event and/or operation does not fall into one of these permit categories, please call 480-312-1855.

Request a Permit

Fire permits are required for various events and operations including:

• Tent permit - required for any tent over 400 sq. ft. and any tent with no sides over 700 sq. ft. or multiple tents or tents with no sides at one event.
• Vehicle Display permit - required for the display of a vehicle, motorcycle, boat, etc in a building, tent, canopy or public area.
• Expo/convention permit - required for exposition and convention booth set-ups in ballrooms, etc.
• Roofing operations permit - required for any roofing operation using a torch or kettle procedure.
• Bonfire permit - required for any open burning within the City of Scottsdale for events or religious ceremonies.
• Christmas tree lot permit - required for any Christmas tree lot set-up within the City of Scottsdale.
• Consumer fireworks retail sale permit - required for any retail sales of consumer fireworks, as defined in A.R.S. 36-1601, within the City of Scottsdale.
• Fire dancing permit - required for any type of fire dancing indoors or outdoors within the City of Scottsdale.
• Compressed gas permit - required for any compressed gas installation including Bulk CO2 installations, indoor or outdoor within the City of Scottsdale.
• Special Assembly Permit - required for events scheduled in buildings and occupancies that are not designed, built or maintained to safely house large groups of people within the City of Scottsdale. Some examples would include, but not limited to, retail spaces, office and business lobbies, and aircraft hangars.

Fire permit fees for the Fiscal year of 2023/2024, effective July 1, 2023, are:

• $250 per application received 10 days or more before the event date
• $500 per application received less than 10 days before the event date