Systems Testing

System test reports are required and must be electronically filed with the Mishawaka Fire Department through its online third-party vendor at www.complianceengine.com.

The filing fee is $17 per report. There is one fee per system type per year with the exception of hood systems, which have an annual fee every six months. Repair reports are also required to document the completion of any work required. These fees are the responsibility of the contractor who you hire to test and maintain your building’s fire protection systems.

All reports must be submitted no later than seven calendar days after the inspection or maintenance is completed. Red-tagged systems and systems with impairments must be reported immediately.

Required Systems Test Reports and Submittal Frequency

For planned or emergency malfunctions that are expected to cause a fire safety system to be out of commission for more than eight hours, you must notify the Mishawaka Fire Department Prevention Bureau at FireMarshals@mishawaka.in.gov. This information allows us to evaluate the risks and make the necessary operational decisions to keep building occupants and firefighters safe.

Notification requirements

When to provide notification:

• Emergency impairments: Immediately notify the Mishawaka Fire Department
• Planned impairments: Contact the Mishawaka Fire Department a minimum of five (5) business days in advance. When possible, we recommend notifying the fire department immediately after beginning to plan for the impairment.

Notification process:

To notify the Mishawaka Fire Department, you are required to follow the following process:

• Provide notification via email to FireMarshals@mishawaka.in.gov. Fill out the fire department’s report of impaired system form and include the form in your email. No other reporting form is accepted.
• The system test report must be submitted to the Mishawaka Fire Department’s third-party vendor, thecomplianceengine.com before the end of the day of the test.

Note: You should also notify the following parties: insurance carriers, alarm company, building owner and manager, tenants and any building supervisors who will be in the affected areas. Share information about the impairment and estimate how long the system might be out of service.

Mitigating measures:  

When a fire protection system is out of order, you need to take certain mitigation measures. For impairments last longer than eight (8) hours, an approved fire-watch or other approved mitigation is required. For more information about this process and possible exceptions, see our fire watch protocol. 

System restoration:

What to do when the building system is restored to service:  

• When a previously impaired system is restored to full working order, you need to notify the following parties:
• Mishawaka Fire Department Prevention Bureau FireMarshals@mishawaka.in.gov
• Insurance carrier 
• Alarm company 
• Building owner or manager 
• Report of an impaired system completed link

The certified technician who repaired and restored the system is required to remove all red flags placed on the system while it was impaired and replace them with new tags. The certified technician is also required to email a copy of the normal system test result to us at FireMarshals@mishawaka.in.gov. 

A report of the repair also must be provided by the certified technician performing the maintenance to the fire department via the third-party vendor’s website, www.thecomplianceengine.com.

Monitoring services:

What to do if monitoring services are interrupted:

If monitoring services are interrupted, you don’t need to report an impairment. Interruptions to monitoring services should not prevent fire protection systems from functioning.

Please note the following:

• The alarm-monitoring company must notify you about all interruptions to service
• You are required to correct any system deficiencies promptly.
• Proper notification of interruption must be delivered to ensure 911 is contacted in the event of an emergency.

What to do if monitoring services are terminated:

Termination of monitoring service occurs when monitoring contracts expire or are canceled. You are not required to report an impairment. Termination of monitoring should not prevent fire protection systems from functioning.

However, the monitoring service provider must notify the Mishawaka Fire Department whenever alarm monitoring services are terminated for any fire alarm systems that require monitoring.

To notify us, send an email to FireMarshals@mishawaka.in.gov. Do not submit a report of an impaired system.