Fire Marshal's Office

2021 International Fire Code Adoption


The Town Council of the Town of Trophy Club has adopted the 2021 edition of the International Fire Code including local and regional amendments. Amendments to the fire code can be found here.

Plan Review and Construction Permits 


All construction plan review submittals and permits are handled by the Community Development Department. For more information, please contact Permit Technician Thad Johnson at 682-237-2917 or visit our Permitting Page.

  • Residential Plans – Plans for single-family residential sprinkler systems are reviewed in-house by the Fire Marshal.  
  • Commercial Plans – All commercial plans must be stamped and approved by a professional engineer, licensed in the state of Texas before submitted for plan review.
  • Remodels – No plan review is required for sprinkler system alterations involving 20 or fewer fire sprinkler heads. A permit is required for alterations involving the addition or relocation of more than 20 fire sprinkler.

All plan reviews will be completed within 10 business days.

Fire Marshal Information Lines 


The following information lines are available to assist the public understand items that are frequently asked of the Fire Marshal's Office. If you still have questions about a topic after reading the information line, please don't hesitate to contact Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal Rawlinson at [email protected]

Annual Fire Safety Inspections


Licensed Fire Inspectors conduct fire safety inspections at all commercial businesses, churches, schools, and apartment buildings every year. The most common fire code violations found during inspections include:

  • Fire protection equipment (fire alarm systems, fire sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers) that are past due for their annual service inspection by a licensed contractor.
  • Housekeeping, including the storage of items in prohibited areas such as electrical rooms, riser rooms, or exit stairwells.
  • Blocked emergency exits.
  • Improper use of extension cords or surge protectors. 
  • Exit or emergency lights with defective bulbs or back-up batteries.

Violations observed during the inspection must be corrected in a timely manner.

Knox Key Box


Knox BoxAll commercial properties, churches, schools, and apartment buildings in Trophy Club are required to have a Knox key box on their buildings. These metal boxes manufactured by Knox allow firefighters to gain rapid access to a building in an emergency without damaging doors or windows.

Fire inspectors will check the installed Knox Box for current keys to the business during the annual fire safety inspection. If you change your exterior door keys, please notify the fire department so we can update the keys in the Knox box. 

Knox Boxes are ordered on-line at Knoxbox.com.

Fire and Arson Investigations


The Trophy Club Fire Department has specially trained fire and arson investigators who are called to the scene after a fire to determine the origin and cause. Arson investigators are cross trained as police officers and firefighters, and conduct investigations into both criminal and non-criminal fire causes.

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Fire Sprinklers Protect Lives and Property


Do fire sprinkler systems really work? Yes! A properly installed and maintained fire sprinkler system protects a building 24 hours a day. Each fire sprinkler head has a heat-activated element that will allow water to flow out of that individual sprinkler head when a specific temperature is reached. Often, a single fire sprinkler can completely extinguish or prevent the fire from growing until firefighters arrive on scene. Fire sprinkler systems are also connected to a building’s fire alarm system. They will notify the occupants to evacuate the building while also sending signals to emergency dispatchers that the building is on fire and emergency crews are needed.

 Fire scene after a fire sprinkler extinguished a fire at a hotel

Fire Sprinkler Save- Incident #23-0415

  • Address: 2900 Hwy 114
  • Date: 6/14/2023
  • Property value: $12.5 Million

This incident is an excellent example of how effective fire sprinkler systems can save lives and protect property. Early in the morning, a guest at this 78,000-square-foot, four-story hotel was using a treadmill inside the fitness center on the first floor. Several minutes after the guest left the room, that treadmill ignited. This fire occurred in an unoccupied part of the building when most hotel guests were still asleep. If the hotel did not have a working fire sprinkler system, this fire would have continued to grow until someone noticed the fire and called 911.

Fortunately, this building contained a fire sprinkler system. Once the ceiling temperature reached 155 degrees Fahrenheit, a single sprinkler head activated, allowing water to flow through the network of piping above the ceiling toward the burning treadmill. One sprinkler was all it took to keep the fire from spreading. The fire alarm system activated and notified dozens of hotel occupants that there was an emergency and they needed to evacuate. The fire alarm system also sent a signal to a dispatch center which initiated a response from the fire department. When firefighters arrived on scene, they were able to fully extinguish the fire in a matter of minutes. Since the fire sprinkler system prevented the fire from growing beyond the treadmill, there was minimal damage to the hotel. Although some cleanup was required for the water from the fire sprinkler system, the guests were able to safely reenter the building about an hour after the fire occurred. There were no injuries, and the sprinkler system protected the building and the contents belonging to all the hotel guests.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), every 64 seconds, a fire department in the United States responds to a fire inside a structure. The damage caused by any of those fires can be drastically reduced when the building is protected with a working fire sprinkler system.