Building Fire Watch

The fire code requires that buildings equipped with fire alarm systems are to be fully operational at all times. However, a building manager can be faced with a fire alarm panel repair whereby the system must be temporarily disabled for a scheduled period of time. This results in all the fire and smoke sensors, manual pull stations and audibles being off line while the maintenance work is being completed. read more...

Occupant Evacuation Readiness and the FSP

Ensuring that a Fire Safety Plan (FSP) is up to date as deemed necessary, at increments no greater than 12 months, is a requirement under the fire code. It is also a requirement to accurately implement the FSP to ensure effective utilization of fire safety systems and adherence to current building evacuation procedures. To protect the occupants in the event of a fire, it is the building manager’s responsibility to familiarize all occupants with the emergency procedures, and to provide them with the ability to monitor their own environment. This shared accountability and advance preparation aims to provide a higher level of evacuation readiness.read more...

Preparing for Building Emergencies

Although building codes contain sizing requirements for exit ways and corridors to ensure that the maximum number of occupants may escape quickly in the event of a fire emergency, additional steps are to be taken towards minimizing the risk to occupants.
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Becoming Familiar with Fire Emergency Procedures

Whether one owns or manages a building, the responsibility of identifying all potential risks for fires is a high priority. By far, the best line of defense to reduce injuries from fires is to prevent the fires from occurring in the first place. This is followed by implementation of an approved fire safety plan (FSP) to ensure the building occupants gain confidence and become familiar with emergency procedures.read more...

Building Escape Routes

Building management must maintain clear paths of escape, a sufficient number of suitably protected exit ways, emergency lighting, and signage. If a rapidly-spreading fire occurs, all occupants must be able to leave the building without injury and without being trapped by the fire. Occupants must know the location of all emergency exits and alternate paths to safety. read more...

Planning for Building Fire Evacuations

While there are common elements in all building fire evacuations, the actual procedures will almost always be customized in each fire safety plan to be submitted for approval. The reason for this is the diverse range of buildings and types of occupancy.

When a fire safety plan is developed, the fire evacuation strategy is designed based on the nature of the activities in the building, the building classification, and the type of fire safety systems present. Once approved, these procedures are the responsibility of the elected fire wardens to implement, along with the pre-planned arrangements for providing assistance to occupants with special needs in the event of an emergency. Procedures to assist occupants vary from being accompanied by their assigned designate to the safe haven area, to awaiting further instructions from the arriving fire services. An additional duty of a fire warden or their designated team member is to check every room during an evacuation, including utility rooms and washroom facilities. Fire wardens must be very familiar with the fire procedures and escape routes in their building. They will be the last person to leave the floor for which they are responsible but will remain in the area only as long as it is safe to do so. Normally, fire wardens are not expected to try to determine the source of a fire or attempt to extinguish it. In most cases, fire wardens are designated for a specific area of the building which does not extend beyond one floor. Their training must ensure they are familiar with the fire evacuation procedures in their building, the nature of the alarm signals, the location of the fire exits in their area, as well as the locations of refuge for people who may require assistance during an evacuation. In some cases, building operators recommend fire wardens wear an orange or red baseball hat so that they are clearly identifiable in their floor area. If a building has security personnel, they may be assigned the responsibility of summoning the city fire services, grounding the elevators and investigating the alarm signals. Their role may also include manning the vehicle entry access point(s), preventing re-entry into the building by occupants, and assisting the first responders in gaining access to secured areas of the building upon request.

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Advanced Evacuation Readiness

When updating a fire safety plan (FSP), the first step is to locate the workable copy, whether in soft or hard copy form. Once the copy has been found, the FSP will itself usually indicates when it was accepted and/or approved by the city. Normally, the date can be found on a letter from the City, or a stamp located on the front cover of the FSP. read more...

Fire Safety Planning for the New Year

As the new year gets underway, it is an absolute must to ensure that the contents of the fire safety plan (FSP) are up to date. Each FSP is required by code to be reviewed at intervals of no greater than twelve months. This undoubtedly may seem like a huge task as the FSP can easily run over sixty pages, and a building manager can be overwhelmed with the update process.read more...

Smoke and Fire Controls in a Building

The means of egress depicted on the floor plan drawings of an approved fire safety plan (FSP) should be the first choice for evacuation by building occupants in the event of fire. Although it’s a rarity that building fires occur in multiple locations at the same precise time, the possibility of spreading smoke may very well annunciate on the fire alarm detection systems of multiple zones. read more...

Emergency Preparedness and the Building FSP

For the most part, the goal of a residential or commercial business operator is to ensure the satisfaction and safety of their occupants. It is critical to be proactive and follow the requirements outlined in the approved fire safety plan (FSP) for the building. Most important is following the evacuation procedures described in the FSP so that occupants can quickly and efficiently evacuate the building in the event of an emergency.read more...