Tips: Secure Vacant Buildings

  • May 21, 2009

As property vacancies continue to rise across the U.S. due to a weakening economy, Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. is providing commercial property owners with important tips to help reduce their liability and risk.

"Vacant buildings are frequent targets for arson and vandalism, therefore it's important for building owners to be vigilant about monitoring and securing them," said David Cohen, senior director of real estate, commercial insurance at Fireman's Fund. "With rising vacancy rates and a weak economy, there are increased risks for vacant real estate. Property owners can adopt best practices to reduce their risk."

Outlined below is a checklist for vacant buildings to help mitigate potential liability exposures:

  • Keep sprinkler systems in operation. Conduct weekly recorded inspections of sprinkler control valves, fire extinguishers, and other fire protection equipment. Test all fire protection system alarms quarterly to ensure they are still operative.
  • Strengthen security to prevent arson and vandalism. Notify both the police and fire departments that the building will be idle, and retain a central station to monitor water-flow and security alarms. Increase watch service, increase exterior lighting, and provide additional locks for gates, doors and windows. Make frequent and unscheduled rounds.
  • Avoid freeze-ups. Operate boilers to provide heat and/or steam to prevent freezing of fire protection equipment (water supply tanks, sprinklers, sprinkler piping, etc). Convert sprinkler systems to dry-pipe systems if building heat is not provided or convert to nonfreeze systems for small unheated areas.
  • A minimum of one recorded visit per week to inspect all areas of the building should be made. The visit should include checks of general conditions, to ensure that important buildings are secured, and to ensure that all fire protection and detection systems are maintained in working order.
  • Remove unnecessary combustibles. Eliminate fire hazards within buildings by removing as many combustibles as possible. Remove any debris or other combustible items within 25 feet of any building. Keep grass cut short, ideally three inches or less.
  • Mitigate exposures from hazardous operations, in particular those involving flammable liquids, and turn off electrical equipment. Secure any utilities that aren't going to be kept in service. Make sure flammable liquid tanks are drained and secured (by removing them or filling them with sand or concrete).
  • Review insurance policy. It's important to notify your insurance company and review the policy to ensure compliance with a vacant property.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.