The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Any building 70 feet or more in height, or any building several stories or more in height, or any building containing 60 apartments or more located in a building four stories or more in height. This definition shall include office buildings, or buildings containing living accommodations for permanent residences, or any building containing permanent living accommodations for 12 or more handicapped persons.
The corporation or a designee of the corporation having title to a high-rise building having responsibility for the care and maintenance of such building.
A.
Required; approval; contents. A fire safety plan for a fire exit drill and evacuation procedure shall be formulated by the owner of a high-rise building and shall be submitted to the Chief of the Fire Department for approval. The plan shall detail routes to be used by the occupants if an evacuation is ordered. It shall outline fire exit drill procedures and shall designate responsibility to those individuals assigned as fire safety director, building evacuation supervisor and floor captains (monitors).
B.
Distribution. The applicable parts of the fire safety plan shall be distributed to the tenants of the building and to the building service employees by the owner.
C.
Duties of tenants. All occupants of the building shall participate and cooperate in carrying out the provisions of the fire safety plan. Tenants not complying with the rules of the drills and evacuations shall be prosecuted for noncompliance.
D.
Fire safety director and assistant fire safety directors. A fire safety director shall be selected by the owner, who shall be a qualified service employee who shall be available to organize, train and supervise evacuation procedures. Such assistant fire safety directors shall be appointed by the owner to provide twenty-four-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week coverage in residential building properties.
E.
Changes to approved plan. If there are changes from conditions existing at the time the fire safety plan for the building was approved, the plan shall be updated by the owner and submitted to the Chief of the Fire Department for approval.
F.
Special arrangements for handicapped persons. Special arrangements by the owner shall be made for notification and possible evacuation of handicapped individuals. This shall be incorporated into the fire safety plan.
A.
Required; frequency. Fire drills shall be conducted in accordance with the fire safety plan as follows:
(1)
A drill shall be conducted once every four months on each floor. The safety director shall observe, and the drill shall be conducted by the floor captain. Tenants shall review the plan at the time of the drill.
(2)
Twice a year, during the months of May and October, a general fire drill shall be conducted, with the entire building participating. Participation in the fire drills is mandatory for all occupants and service personnel.
B.
Record. A written record of such drills (floor drills and general drills) shall be kept on the premises for a three-year period and shall be readily available for inspection by the Chief of the Fire Department.
C.
Inspections. The Chief of the Fire Department shall visit each high-rise building twice a year for the purpose of ascertaining whether fire safety directors, building evacuation supervisors, floor captains, service personnel and occupants are familiar with the approved plan for fire evacuation drills. The Chief of the Fire Department shall keep a record of such inspection.
D.
Authority to waive requirements. In buildings where compliance would cause practical difficulty or undue hardships, the Chief of the Fire Department may, at his discretion, waive or modify the rules set out in this section and accept alternates fulfilling the intent of these requirements with regard to public safety.
A.
Posting of floor numbers. A sign shall be posted and maintained in high-rise buildings on each floor within each stairway and on the occupancy side of the stairway indicating the floor number. The numbers shall be not less than 10 inches in height.
B.
Posting of diagrams. There shall be posted in a conspicuous place on each floor a schematic diagram of the floor area indicating the location of stairways, fire protection equipment, etc.
C.
Use of elevators for evacuation. Elevators shall not be used for evacuation during a drill or fire emergency without specific order from the chief in command of fire ground operations.
D.
Local alarm system. Each building shall contain a local alarm system that will activate in case of fire and can be used for drill purposes.
