The problem was that a needs assessment to identify changes required to institute a fire company inspection program in the Sterling Heights Fire Department (SHFD) had not been conducted. Due to budget cuts and position eliminations in the Fire Prevention Division of the SHFD, a majority of the buildings in the city were not getting inspected. The city would like to see this function be handled by fire companies in the future. The purpose of this research was to identify the issues needed to conduct a needs assessment for the institution of a fire company inspection program in the SHFD.Descriptive research was used to identify key issues that would need to be addressed should SHFD choose to use extinguishment personnel to perform fire inspections, by answering the following questions: 1) What are the legal considerations involved with performing fire inspections? 2) What are the potential liabilities to this type of system? 3) What training and certifications should fire personnel have in order to perform fire inspections? 4) What impact would performing fire inspections have on the work load of the extinguishment division? and 5) What Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) would need to be changed with the implementation of such a program? The procedures used for this research was a review of standards, laws, codes and other legal documents, as well as the study of the workload and SOGs of the SHFD and the practices and findings of similar organizations.The results revealed that there were no legal restrictions that were unique to company inspections and that sufficient training and solid guidelines would be needed to reduce liability and provide a good service. However, the workload could be problematic, and would need further review. The recommendation was to develop a committee to further research the exact parameters of the issue and how it would best be instituted in this organization.