COVID19: A Fire Safety Focus on Commercial High-Rises
The landscape of occupancy in office towers in the Greater Toronto Area has changed dramatically with “work from home” programs, demanding additional safety precautions from both building owners and tenants. The following is meant to provide a brief overview of current concerns, considerations and recommendations to move forward with a fire-safe commercial building.
Work from home has led to outdated fire warden programs
Tenant fire wardens are an integral component of the fire safety team in a commercial building. In a commercial tower fire safety plan, fire wardens are more than often an extension of Supervisory Staff that are required to be trained, and be able to implement a fire warden’s roles and responsibilities during emergencies – supporting the tenant employees. With the current reduced workforce, tenant employees who were previously assigned as fire wardens in their workplace may not be returning to the office. In fact, there is such a reduced occupancy currently that numerous high rise buildings will have no fire wardens. While this has impacts to the building’s fire safety plan, it also represents a significant challenge for tenants to effectively manage their workplace during emergencies. Now, being in the Ontario 3rd lockdown, employers (tenants in the building) are still required to follow the building’s approved fire safety plan - and follow the requirements of tenants.
Fire wardens are an extension of the buildings supervisory staff often found in the building’s fire safety plan, and are responsible to support both the building evacuation process, and the tenant workplace evacuation. Employers within commercial high-rise buildings are required to appoint fire wardens and/or supervisory staff within their respective work areas, and train them on the building’s approved emergency fire and evacuation procedures. While this training is often provided by the landlord, its vitally important that during reduced occupancies, staff who remain in the workplace are trained. In fact, its a code requirement in Ontario.
It is recommended that building owners and Managers engage tenants to remind them that the fire safety program still is required in their “tenant” workplace as per the building’s “approved” fire safety plan. As a building Owner, retain that documentation for both Fire Code compliance and Insurance purposes.
On the other side of the coin, it is just as prudent for tenants in commercial buildings to ensure that the landlord has reviewed and updated their Fire Safety Plans - required annually by code, and that the Building Management shares the latest up to date building emergency procedures to all tenants in the building. As a tenant in a building, you want to ensure every year that the Fire Safety Plan is up to date, and at minimum, you have shared the official emergency procedures to all of your occupants in your tenant space.
PRA lists are likely inaccurate due to reduced Occupancy
A Person Requiring Assistance (PRA) during a high-rise building evacuation is anyone who has reduced mobility, a speech, hearing or visual impairment, or a cognitive limitation, regardless of whether these conditions are obvious, temporary or permanent. The building owner is required to maintain this list in partnership with tenants of the building.
The fire safety plan and PRA list is available to municipal emergency services during building evacuations when they arrive onsite at a building. This fire safety plan identifies the fire safety team, their procedures, and provides vital information about the building to serve as a tool during the fire response. It’s important that fire services have accurate counts of who and where PRAs are located within the building. Inaccurate information will lead to delays in rescue and can impact negatively impact occupant and firefighter safety.
While this list is created by the building owner and updated every 12 months, the development and collection of this vital information is a partnership required by landlord and tenants. Due to work from home, and the now 3rd Lockdown and individual tenant responses to COVID-19, this list is likely both outdated and inaccurate. It is recommended that buildings owners engage employers and tenants in the building to ensure they accurately capture this life saving information and that their PRA lists are up to date. If firefighters use outdated data during their response to the building, this will hinder both rescue operations and firefighter safety.
Fire safety procedures impacted by the Pandemic
Fire safety plans are required for all high-rise commercial office buildings and they provide valuable information for employers, tenant fire wardens and building staff. Fire and evacuation plans are the foundation of a building’s risk management program.
Now is the time to complete annual reviews and update building fire safety plans for 2021 to address the new risk exposures due to COVID-19 and determine additional gaps in the plan.
The fire safety plan must be reviewed and updated every 12 months and should include a review of the building’s supervisory staff training program. The review should consider updated emergency procedures to address questions on social distancing during evacuations, personal hygiene after evacuations, how to approach fire drills at the property due to COVID-19, the use of masks, and the building’s team response to an evacuation, including staff and tenant safety during re-occupation of the building.
Tenant Fire warden and Building Staff Training – Still Required?
So you just reviewed and updated your commercial office high-rise fire safety plan, now, the building Owner must implement that plan, as required by code, to all supervisory staff before being given any responsibilities. Building owners and tenants are now faced with how to deliver this code required training - while respecting social distancing.
The requirements are clear under both the Ontario Fire Code and the Occupational Health & Safety Act, that building (and workplace) supervisory staff must be provided training before being given responsibilities in the workplace. Non compliance can result in significant consequences.
Each fire safety plan is unique for that high-rise, and fire wardens (or supervisory staff, including building security and operations staff) must be familiar with their approved roles and responsibilities for that building. This is a requirement under the Ontario Fire Code 2.8.
While this training has been typically delivered onsite in-person, due to COVID-19 restrictions this training will likely not occur in the masses as it once did and that does not alleviate the building owner, or tenant employers from their requirement to complete the training.
In response to this, National Life Safety Group, is now offering this code required training – online – to support both the demand and need for this training – respecting social distancing.
“We’re excited as the online training program has just achieved internationally recognized accreditation, and is certified to meet the requirements of the Ontario Fire Code by the Institution of Fire Engineers,” says Rebecca Gicante, who is in charge of special projects at National Life Safety Group. “We’ve been working on this project for over two years recognizing the need for accredited training in the industry. The program is AODA compliant and meets the training requirements under Section 2.8 of the Fire Code.”
This training is designed to allow tenant fire wardens and building staff to not only understand the emergency procedures for the building, but to also understand what systems are installed within the building to protect the occupants. It is this understanding that will provide for a safer workplace for all involved.
To learn more about Ontario’s first accredited online program,
Jason Reid is Senior Advisor for National Life Safety Group, and specializes in High-Rise Building, Fire, Safety and Emergency Management.