Residential Fire Safety Plans and Guides

Effective in 2000, every residential building — including cooperatives and condominiums — must prepare a fire safety guide. This guide must be distributed annually to all the occupants and service employees of the building either during the first week of October, which is Fire Safety Month or with the window guard notice in January. The plan must also be distributed to every new building occupant and every new building service employee. It must be revised and redistributed within 60 days of any material change in building conditions affecting it. Records of distribution must be maintained; acceptable documentation includes a U.S Postal Service certificate of mailing or, for hand delivery, dated and signed receipts. The Fire Department may inspect these building records at any time and should be presented with copies of the last five annual fire safety plans.

A fire safety notice shall serve to inform building occupants, service employees, and visitors about procedures to be followed in the event of fire in the building. Fire safety notices must also be prepared, posted in a conspicuous location near any common mailbox area or near the elevators or main stairwell and distributed to every apartment. These notices must be laminated or framed under a clear plexi-glass cover to protect them from wear and tear.

Apartment residents are responsible for posting the Fire Safety Notices on the inside of their front doors. There is no requirement to inspect or to verify that residents maintain their fire safety notices on their doors, but, if a resident requests a replacement notice, this must be provided, although a reasonable charge can be levied.

Global Security Group’s Fire and Life Safety group has prepared numerous Guides and Notices for Combustible and Non-Combustible Residential Buildings. Please call 212-285-2400 for pricing and more information.