We do the compliance work that keeps Front Range food trucks and trailers on the road, out of our Denver shop. LP gas pressure testing, fire suppression installs and inspections, hood cleaning and the documentation your fire department wants to see.
| Service | Price | How often |
|---|---|---|
| LP gas pressure test | $350 | Annually, and after any modification |
| Fire suppression inspection and service | $300 | Every 6 months under NFPA 17A |
| Fire suppression system install | Quoted on the build | Once, then re-evaluated if equipment changes |
| Hood and exhaust cleaning | Quoted on hood and duct | Denver policy says quarterly, with a logbook on the vehicle |
| Hood certification support | Quoted | As your fire department requires |
Call or text 720-209-2653. If you need more than one of these, book them together, it is one visit and one day off the road instead of three.
Why Front Range Operators Fail Inspections
Most trucks that fail are not badly built. They are built to the national code by someone who did not check what Denver adds on top. Denver Fire publishes its own mobile vendor policy, and several rules are stricter than the national standard.
The ones that catch people:
- Copper tubing is prohibited in Denver. The national LP gas code permits copper. Denver’s policy does not. A truck built out of state to the national code can arrive here already non compliant.
- Painted black iron pipe, minimum 0.049 inch wall, for the under vehicle gas system, with exceptions only for approved UL 21 stainless rubber coated flex connectors.
- Interior flex connectors 5 ft or less, connecting to rigid pipe through an excess flow valve. Under vehicle flex is limited to 18 inches, and only to relieve stress.
- A two stage regulator wherever multiple appliances share a tank.
- Cylinder mounting rules. Rear mounted cylinders no lower than 28 inches above the bumper or A frame, impact resistant cage on corner or rear mounts, nothing on the roof and nothing ahead of the front axle.
- A DOT 1075 placard and a flammable decal on the propane access hatch.
- No on site refilling, no cylinder swaps mid event, no spare cylinders stored on site.
- An LPG permit from one pound of propane and up, with a copy carried on the vehicle.
- Commercial appliances only. No natural gas appliances and no residential equipment.
One number to be careful with. Denver’s own documents disagree on how much propane you may carry: the permit application says 80 pounds maximum, the inspection checklist quotes the national figure of 200 pounds. We build and advise to 80 pounds, because that is the number printed on the form the operator signs, and we suggest confirming with the Denver Fire mobiles inspector before relying on the higher figure.
Denver’s Spot Check List, and Why Documentation Lives on the Truck
Denver Fire has a short list of critical safety violations that can cost you the permit, not just the day. They are worth memorizing:
- No current flammable permit
- No current fire suppression inspection or service
- Leaks found in the propane system
- No current hood and suppression cleaning documentation, or excessive grease
Notice that three of the four are about paperwork you either have on the vehicle or you do not. Denver requires a hood cleaning logbook kept on the vehicle and readily available. The national gas code separately requires your annual leak test documentation to be held in the unit and produced on request. A test you paid for that is sitting in your email does not help you at the curb.
Everything we do here comes with the document, in a form you can keep in the truck.
One Permit Now Travels Further
Colorado’s HB 25-1295 took effect on 1 January 2026 and it is genuinely useful if you work multiple Front Range towns. A valid fire safety permit issued to a mobile food establishment is now honored in other Colorado jurisdictions, provided it was issued by a local government that has adopted the most recent International Fire Code, or a code incorporating the state Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s minimum standards for mobile food establishments, and provided it followed an inspection by a certified fire inspector.
The conditions are real, so plan around them:
- You must send the permit electronically to each local government at least 14 calendar days before you operate there
- Once per calendar year per jurisdiction, unless the permit expires
- You still comply with that jurisdiction’s fire code and are still subject to its inspection
- Fail a local inspection and the reciprocal permit is void there until you pass a re-inspection
The practical effect is that getting one inspection done properly is worth more than it used to be. It is also why we would rather find a fault in the shop than have you discover it in a town you drove two hours to reach.
Which Services You Actually Need
LP gas pressure test, $350
Required annually, and again any time the system is installed or modified. The annual version is done with propane at operating pressure, with every connection checked using a noncorrosive leak detecting fluid. If anything leaks, the gas goes off and stays off until it is repaired and retested. You get written documentation to keep on board.
Fire suppression inspection, $300
Every six months, not annually. That trips up a lot of operators who assume it matches their other annual renewals. We test every actuation and control component, examine the detectors, containers, piping, nozzles and releasing devices, check that agent piping is not obstructed, and confirm the hazard has not changed.
That last check is the one that catches people. If you have swapped a griddle for a charbroiler or added a fryer since the system went in, the nozzles above are aimed at equipment they were not designed for. Tell us before we come out and we will bring what the job actually needs.
Fire suppression install
Price depends on hood length, duct count, and how many appliances you have and of what type. Fryers, charbroilers, griddles and ranges each carry different nozzle types and coverage rules from the system’s listing manual, so a longer hood with more hazards means more nozzles and a bigger agent tank. We quote from your actual layout rather than a size band.
Hood and exhaust cleaning
The whole system, not just the filters: hood, grease removal devices, fan, duct and plenum. You get the written report, including anything we could not reach and what it would take to make it reachable, plus the logbook entry Denver expects to see on the vehicle.
Hood certification support
Getting a unit through the fire department sign off, with the suppression listing and tag, the cleaning records, the gas documentation and the physical items an inspector checks, all lined up before they arrive rather than after.
We Build These Trucks Too
Everything above is work we do on our own builds, which is where the checklist comes from. If you are having a truck or trailer built, the compliance work is designed in rather than retrofitted, and the first inspection stops being an event you dread. You can see what we have delivered or read more about the service side of the shop.
Book It
Call or text 720-209-2653. Useful things to have ready: unit size, hood length, your appliance list, when the suppression system was last serviced, and which towns you operate in. That last one decides which rules you are actually being held to.
Requirements above reflect Denver Fire Prevention Division published policy, the International Fire Code, NFPA 58, NFPA 96 and NFPA 17A, and Colorado HB 25-1295. Denver’s published documents conflict on propane capacity and cleaning frequency, noted above. Your authority having jurisdiction has the final say. Verified September 2026.
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