Fire Department permits for a business or a building

The Puerto Rico Fire Bureau is the Public Safety Department component that inspects premises, buildings and activities from a fire-prevention standpoint and issues the corresponding permits. Its legal basis is Ley 158 of 9 May 1942, today Ley 20 of 10 April 2017, the “Puerto Rico Public Safety Department Act”. Its requirements rest on the 2018 Puerto Rico Construction Code and the 2018 International Fire Protection Code, and for the electrical system on the NFPA 70-2018 Electrical Code. The page expressly warns that the applicant is responsible for meeting any other applicable Bureau requirement: the basic requirements are a floor, not a ceiling.

The basic requirements Bomberos publishes are stated for commercial premises of up to 1,000 square feet. Each permit with a published fee has its own scope: the common-areas permit is for existing residential buildings with occupied apartments and multifamily units; the substitute-home or day-care permit is for new or existing premises with a capacity of six people or fewer; the mobile-business permit is for that type of operation. Any business requiring a Use Permit must also apply for the Permiso Único through the Permit Management Office platform, under Ley 161-2009, the Puerto Rico Permit Process Reform Act.

• A 5 lb ABC extinguisher fixed to the wall, visible and accessible near the exit, one per 75 feet of travel distance, installed 5 feet from floor to bracket and properly signed with reflective or photoluminescent signage.Verified against the official source
• Emergency lamps located on every evacuation route and exit door.Verified against the official source
• An electrical system complying with AEE norms and the NFPA 70-2018 Electrical Code.Verified against the official source
• Doors opening in the direction of evacuation, from inside out. Any closing device impeding people’s entry or exit is prohibited.Verified against the official source
• Meeting any other applicable Fire Bureau requirement: the page itself warns the applicant is responsible for it.Verified against the official source

• The service request sheet, completed in full. It is the document common to all these permits.
• An internal-revenue voucher to account number 5300 for the amount applicable to the permit you are requesting.
• For fire-protection system drawing review: an explanatory memorandum of the project in PDF, the engineer’s or architect’s certification sheet in PDF, and the drawings in PDF, stamped and signed, with the site plan showing hydrant locations, the architecture with its dimensions, the electrical system and the plumbing.
• For installing a flammable or combustible liquids tank: an explanatory memorandum stating the type of fuel to be stored, and a site plan in PDF without colour showing the tank’s distance to significant buildings, boundaries and public roads, signed and sealed by a licensed engineer or architect, plus the tanks’ capacity with details and specifications. Different liquids are submitted separately.

1. 1

   Step 1: Get the premises up to standard before applying

   The four basic requirements for a commercial premises of up to 1,000 square feet are concrete and you can check them yourself before anyone shows up. A 5 lb ABC extinguisher fixed to the wall, visible and accessible near the exit, one per 75 feet of travel distance, 5 feet from floor to bracket, with reflective or photoluminescent signage. Emergency lamps on all evacuation routes and exit doors. An electrical system meeting AEE norms and the NFPA 70-2018 Electrical Code. And doors opening from inside out, in the direction of evacuation; any closing device impeding people’s entry or exit is prohibited.

2. 2

   Step 2: Identify which permit is yours

   Bomberos publishes distinct procedures, each with its own fee. Common areas of existing residential buildings, if you manage an occupied condominium or multifamily building. Substitute homes or day-care centres, for new or existing premises with a capacity of six people or fewer. Mobile business. Emergency plan review and approval. Fire-protection system drawing review. Flammable or combustible liquids tank installation. And consultations or amendments on a filing already submitted.

3. 3

   Step 3: Complete the service request sheet in full

   Every procedure starts the same way: the service request sheet, and Bomberos insists on the parenthetical “complete in full”. An incomplete sheet is the most common way to lose your turn.

4. 4

   Step 4: Buy the internal-revenue voucher to account 5300

   This number does not change between procedures: the account is 5300 for all of them. What changes is the amount. $10.00 per floor for common areas of occupied apartments and multifamily buildings. $60.00, $70.00 or $80.00 for substitute homes and day-care centres depending on square footage. $60.00 for a mobile business. $60.00 for an emergency plan review. $100.00 for fire-protection system drawing review, tank installation, consultations and amendments.

5. 5

   Step 5: Submit to your municipality’s District office

   The application is not submitted to a single central location: it goes to the District office covering the municipality where the building or business will operate. It is the instruction Bomberos repeats for every procedure in the fee schedule.

6. 6

   Step 6: If the business requires a Use Permit, also go to OGPE

   Ley 161-2009, known as the Puerto Rico Permit Process Reform Act, provides that any business requiring a Use Permit must apply for a Permiso Único through the Permit Management Office platform. Bomberos says so on its own permits page: the Bomberos procedure and the Permiso Único do not replace each other.

To the Fire Bureau District office covering the municipality where the business or building will operate. The Permiso Único, where it applies, is requested through the Permit Management Office platform.

• Putting the extinguisher on the floor or behind a door: it must be fixed to the wall, visible and accessible near the exit.
• Installing a single extinguisher in a long premises: it is one per 75 feet of travel distance.
• Leaving doors that open inward, or fitting them with a closing device that impedes exit.
• Submitting the service request sheet incomplete.
• Buying the internal-revenue voucher to an account other than 5300.
• Taking the application to a District office that does not cover the municipality where the business will operate.
• Believing the Bomberos permit replaces OGPE’s Permiso Único, or the reverse.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Negociado del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Puerto Rico

  Bomberos

  bomberos.pr.gov