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1. What do I need to bring to the Fire Department for a plan review for construction of a new house or renovation to my current house?

Update - Due to COVID-19, the Fire Prevention Deputy has been reviewing plans electronically.  The plans still need to be marked where the detectors will be installed prior to the plan review.  Please email the plans to fireprevention@cityofwestfield.org.  If you have questions regarding this new procedure, please send your questions to the same email address.

The Fire Department requests 2 sets of plans of your new construction and/or house renovation.  Prior to Fire Department review, both sets of plans must have the smoke, carbon, and heat detector locations clearly marked as to where the detectors will be installed.  The plans should include every level of the house including basement.  For houses undergoing renovation, the plans must include the original house floor plan in addition to the renovation and/or addition.  The structure dimensions and gross floor square footage should also be indicated.  Payment for the plan review will be collected once the plans have been approved and are ready to be picked up.  The cost for the plan review is $.02 per square foot with a minimum of $40.  

2. What forms of payment are accepted by the Fire Department for permits and inspections?

The office accepts exact cash or a check made payable to the City of Westfield.  Credit cards and debit cards are not payment options in the office.  

A link is available on the "Smoke Detector" and "Fire Prevention & Permits" webpages to pay for Annual Inspections, Quarterly Inspections, Smoke Detector Inspections & Re-inspections and Plan Review fees with an electronic check, credit or debit card. (Processing fees do apply and the amount varies.)

3. I am selling my house. How do I schedule a smoke detector inspection?

Update - Due to COVID-19, we are currently scheduling smoke detector inspections over the phone rather than in person. Please call (413) 572-6330 or (413) 572-6307 to make the appointment.  We are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to take your phone calls.  We are still requesting the appointment be made 2 to 3 weeks prior to your scheduled closing date. 

Payment is currently being collected at the time of the appointment in the form of a personal check, bank check or money order only and made out to the City of Westfield.  Cash cannot be accepted.

We are now offering credit card, debit card or an electronic check as a payment option for smoke detector inspections and re-inspection fees.  Visit the Smoke Detector webpage for more information and the link to UniPay.  

4. How do I know how old my smoke detectors are?

You will need to remove the smoke detectors from their bases to see the information on the back of the detectors.  There should be a sticker or a stamp with the manufacturing date.  For example, the date may be listed as "2013 Nov. 05". If you are unable to find a date located on the back of the detector, then the detector is very old.   As smoke detectors age, the detector also turns yellow.  Smoke detectors need to be replaced if the date is over 10 years old.