Smartphone-enabled video technology could assume an expanded role in fire safety inspections during the COVID-19 outbreak. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the developer of widely referenced emergency planning, fire and life safety standards, has released guidance for conducting remote video inspections (RVI), stressing that they are equally as thorough as on-site scrutiny.

Notably, RVI does not replace the human element of inspections, but it does allow for parties to the inspection to be separate from each other. Typically, someone on the building site — for example, the general contractor or a subcontractor who installed a particular component that is being inspected — operates the video recording device while receiving instructions from the inspector, who is in another location.

A select number of jurisdictions in the United States have already adopted this approach. However, the NFPA acknowledges that a larger majority may have little familiarity with its possibilities.

“We need to be as creative and forward-thinking as possible to ensure that communities remain adequately protected from fire and other emergencies,” asserts Kevin Carr, a senior fire protection specialist with the NFPA. “While RVI is new to many, it can represent an effective alternative to an on-site inspection.”

Remote video inspections provide the flexibility to complete permitting processes in compliance with social distancing protocol. “We encourage jurisdictions to review this guidance to become more familiar with the benefits and limitations of RVI,” Carr says.