Things are heating up for the FDNY!
Last year, the city’s fire department overhauled its erstwhile Fire Safety Guide and replaced it with the 30-page Fire and Emergency Preparedness Guide. As part of Local Laws 114 and 115, building owners are now required to distribute this guide to their tenants every three years.
Now the FDNY is proposing two additional requirements for NYC building owners. No worries, though, as always, Jack Jaffa & Associates has got you covered. We’ll walk you through these anticipated laws and outline all you need to know in order to be compliant.
- Emergency Checklist
The FDNY, along with the Department of Emergency Management and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, has recently created an Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Planning Checklist. The purpose of this checklist is to help residents develop their own evacuation plans in case of a fire. The list also highlights exact steps that should be taken during an emergency, including specific information for residents with disabilities, special needs, or limited mobility.
If the proposed regulation passes, the Emergency Checklist will need to be distributed in the same manner as the Fire and Emergency Preparedness Guide.
To comply with this law: You’ll need to distribute the checklist every three years. Keep a careful record of when you’ve distributed the Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Planning Checklist and the Fire and Emergency Preparedness Guide so you know when you’re due for another distribution of each document.
- Close Door Signs
In accordance with Local Law 115, owners of multiple dwellings must post notices instructing tenants who are fleeing a fire to close all doors behind them in order to keep the fire and smoke as contained as possible. The proposed regulation will establish the exact design and content of such a sign and require building owners to post the sign in lobbies and on the side of stairwell doors that is visible to the public.
The proposed notice would read as follows:
In a Fire, Close All Doors Behind You!
Keep Fire and Smoke Out of Building Hallways and Stairs.
Keep Apartment and Stairwell Doors Closed at All Other Times.
Protect Your Neighbors and Your Home!
The message would be accompanied by an image of an open door, with flames behind it.
To comply with this law: You’ll need to obtain multiple copies of the proposed sign and post them in your lobbies and on all stairwell doors, being careful to hang them on the side of the door that is visible to the public.
There’s no need to get stressed about the latest NYC building owner requirements. With Jack Jaffa & Associates, compliance is easy! Give us a call at 718-855-6110 or shoot us an email at info@jackjaffa.com to see how we can help.
