Bay Area
garages.
Bay Area parking is mostly enclosed: podium garages under apartment towers, basement levels under offices, subterranean structures under hotels and hospitals. Enclosed garages are exactly the ones the code requires to have working carbon monoxide detection tied to the exhaust fans, and they are also the ones where a drifting sensor is invisible until something goes wrong.
What we do for Bay Area buildings
- Annual and semi-annual calibration of CO and NO2 sensors with certified span gas, plus a dated service report per sensor
- New system design and installation for garages with no detection or no working ventilation interlock
- Retrofit and replacement of obsolete panels and sensors that can no longer be calibrated or sourced
- Ventilation and VFD control work so the exhaust fans run on demand instead of around the clock
- Troubleshooting the calls that start it all: a beeping panel, a fan that suddenly runs constantly, an inspection correction notice
The code is statewide, the enforcement is local
California Fire Code 916.11 requires gas detection systems to be inspected and tested not less than annually and each sensor calibrated at the manufacturer’s interval, typically every 6 to 12 months. The International Building Code 406.4.2 requires mechanical ventilation for enclosed parking garages, which may run continuously or be controlled automatically by CO detection. Cal/OSHA Title 8 section 5155 sets the exposure limit the system exists to keep you under: 25 ppm over an 8 hour average.
What varies in the Bay Area is who asks. San Francisco Fire Department inspectors, Oakland and San Jose fire prevention bureaus, and the building inspectors handling a change of use all ask the same question in different words: show me the current report for the gas detection system. Full detail is on our fire code requirements page.
Why owners here call us
Gas monitoring is the only thing we do. Mechanical contractors add it to an HVAC visit without span gas or the right regulators, which is how a garage ends up with a “serviced” sticker and sensors nobody actually calibrated. We have been doing this since 1988, we work on the panel already in your building rather than replacing it to suit us, and we leave a report you can hand straight to an inspector.
Multiple buildings across the Bay
If you manage a portfolio, one visit per building on separate invoices is a bad way to run this. We schedule portfolios together, calibrate on one routed trip, and return a single set of reports building by building, which is how REIT and property management customers keep every garage current without tracking dates themselves.
Get a quote
Tell us the address and roughly how many sensors are in the garage, or send a photo of the panel if you do not know. We will tell you what service it needs and what it costs, with no obligation to buy anything.
Common questions
What does the fire code require in San Francisco or Oakland?
The California Fire Code applies statewide, so CFC 916.11 governs everywhere in the Bay Area: gas detection systems inspected and tested at least annually, with each sensor calibrated at the interval its manufacturer specifies. Local fire departments and building inspectors enforce it, and what they ask for is a dated service report.
Which cities do you cover?
San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, South San Francisco, Daly City, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Fremont, Hayward, San Jose, Santa Clara, Walnut Creek, Concord, San Rafael and the surrounding cities.
Can you take over from our current vendor?
Yes, and it is most of what we do in a new market. Send us your last service report, or tell us you cannot find one, and we will inspect what is installed and tell you what condition it is in before quoting anything.
Talk to a gas monitoring specialist
Tell us the building and how many sensors you have. We will tell you what service it needs and what it costs, no pressure.