California Prisons Rely on Staff for Fire Watch Amid Alarm System Deficiencies
California prisons are utilizing their own employees as a human "fire watch" to detect fires due to widespread deficiencies in their fire alarm systems. The state has spent nearly $50 million between 2020 and 2025 on this staffing, with employees…
San Diego, CA, July 27, 2026 —
California’s correctional facilities are implementing an unconventional safety measure, assigning internal staff to serve as a human “fire watch” to identify potential blazes. This initiative stems from significant deficiencies identified within the state’s prison fire alarm systems.
Between the years 2020 and 2025, the state is projected to allocate nearly $50 million towards this staffing solution. During this period, prison employees are expected to log approximately 270,000 hours dedicated to monitoring for signs of smoke or fire. This human surveillance is a direct response to an order issued by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The directive mandates that fire watch coverage be maintained until the state can undertake the substantial repairs or replacements required for the alarm systems. The total estimated cost to address these deficiencies across California’s 31 state prisons is a significant $1.5 billion.
The current reliance on staff for fire watch highlights the critical state of the aging fire detection infrastructure within the correctional system. The Office of the State Fire Marshal’s involvement underscores the severity of the identified system failures and the potential risks associated with them.
Details regarding the specific causes of the alarm system failures or the timeline for the planned $1.5 billion in upgrades were not provided. The contractor responsible for any past maintenance or the current assessment of the alarm systems was also not specified.
Story summarized from the original created by Cayla Mihalovich on www.kpbs.org, see more information here.
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