Fire safety in apartment buildings: the inspection calendar.

Updated October 3, 2026 · DF Property Management

Who's responsible

Under the Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07), the owner is responsible for maintaining fire safety systems and carrying out the required checks, inspections and tests. You can delegate the work to a manager, a superintendent and fire protection contractors, but you can't delegate the responsibility. When Toronto Fire Services or another municipal fire department inspects, the order is issued to the owner.

For the broader picture — smoke and CO alarms in suites, fire separations, retrofit requirements — see Ontario Fire Code duties for landlords. This guide focuses on the recurring inspection and testing work in multi-residential buildings.

Check, inspect, test

The Fire Code uses three distinct words:

• Check — a visual look to confirm a device is in place and not obviously damaged or blocked.
• Inspect — a physical examination to confirm it will apparently work as intended.
• Test — operating the device or system to confirm it actually works.

Site staff can do many checks. Annual tests of fire alarm and sprinkler systems are done by qualified fire protection technicians.

The recurring schedule

The list below covers the systems found in most mid- and high-rise rental buildings. Exact requirements depend on what's installed and how the building is classified; buildings classed as “high buildings” have additional requirements for smoke control and firefighters' elevators. Confirm your schedule with your fire protection contractor.

Daily

• Check the fire alarm panel's power-on and trouble indicators.
• Check that exit signs are lit, clean and legible.

Weekly

• Check sprinkler control valves are open (unless they're locked or electrically supervised — then monthly).
• Check sprinkler and standpipe water supply or air pressure.
• Inspect and operate fire pumps, where installed.
• Check the emergency generator, where installed.

Monthly

• Test the fire alarm system: operate at least one initiating device (rotating through pull stations and detectors over the year), confirm alarm signals sound, and check standby batteries, emergency telephones and voice paging where present.
• Inspect and test emergency lighting units, batteries and lamps.
• Inspect every portable fire extinguisher: in place, charged, accessible, tag current.
• Inspect doors in fire separations — corridor doors, stairwell doors, chute room doors — for closers, latches and damage.
• Run the emergency generator under load, where installed.

Annually

• Full fire alarm inspection and test by a qualified technician, following the CAN/ULC-S536 standard.
• Annual sprinkler system inspection and testing, including water flow alarms and fire department connections.
• Standpipe system tests and hose inspections, as required.
• Maintenance of portable extinguishers, with hydrostatic testing and recharging at the longer intervals the Code sets.
• Emergency lighting duration test.
• Fire drill for supervisory staff (more often in high buildings).
• Fire damper inspections.

In suites

Landlords must test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms annually and after every change of tenancy, and replace them within the manufacturer's stated life. Turnover checklists should include both.

Records: the part that gets missed

Every required test, corrective action and operational procedure needs a written record of what was done and when. Records must be kept at the building for at least two years, and the most recent and previous record of each test must be available. Initial verification reports for systems installed after November 21, 2007 must be kept for the life of the system.

1. One binder or one system. Daily, weekly and monthly logs, contractor reports and deficiency lists in one place, on site.
2. Sign and date everything. Who did the check, when, what they found.
3. Track deficiencies to closure. An annual report with ten deficiencies and no follow-up is evidence against you.
4. Keep it accessible. Fire inspectors will ask to see it. So will insurers after a claim.

The fire safety plan

Buildings that require a fire alarm system need an approved fire safety plan. It sets out emergency procedures, the duties of supervisory staff, how the fire department is notified, how occupants are alerted and evacuated, fire drill procedures, and how fire protection systems are maintained. Practical points for rental buildings:

• Keep the plan current. Staff changes, renovations and new equipment all require updates.
• Post fire emergency procedures on every floor, and make sure tenants know what to do — especially in buildings where “stay in place” may be safer than evacuating.
• Keep a list of occupants who may need help evacuating, maintained voluntarily and kept up to date. RentSafeTO also expects a voluntary tenant contact list for evacuation assistance.
• Train the superintendent and any other supervisory staff, and record the training.
• Keep the plan and building drawings in the box or location the fire department expects.

Notification during testing and impairments

When fire protection systems are being tested or are out of service — a sprinkler zone drained for repair, an alarm panel being replaced — the Fire Code expects a notification procedure: tell the fire department and the occupants when needed for safety. Long impairments may need a fire watch. Post a notice on the tenant notification board and in elevators before annual alarm testing, so tenants don't panic or ignore a real alarm.

Preparing for an inspection

Fire department inspections can follow a complaint, an incident or a routine program. A building that runs the calendar above has little to prepare, but a quick pre-check helps:

1. Walk every stairwell and service room. Remove storage, confirm doors close and latch.
2. Check the records binder. Monthly logs complete, last annual reports on file, deficiencies addressed.
3. Confirm the fire safety plan is current and in its expected location.
4. Test a sample of emergency lights and exit signs.
5. Know who will accompany the inspector and who can authorize corrective work quickly.

Common orders in rental buildings

• Fire separation doors propped open, missing closers or damaged.
• Storage in stairwells, service rooms and garbage rooms.
• Missing or expired extinguisher tags.
• Emergency lighting not working.
• No records — or records that stop months ago.
• Annual inspection deficiencies never corrected.
• Fire safety plan out of date.

Fire Code obligations sit alongside Toronto's RentSafeTO requirements, which post Fire Code violations on the tenant notification board and factor building condition into evaluation scores.

How we manage fire safety

For buildings we manage, we put the full schedule into our maintenance calendar, assign each task, and keep records on site and in our system. We coordinate annual inspections with licensed contractors, chase every deficiency to closure with photos, and notify tenants before testing. Details are part of our compliance service and apartment building management.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fire Code requirements depend on your building's systems and classification; confirm specifics with your fire protection contractor and local fire department.