Fire, Safety & Security Tips; High-Rise Condominiums in Ontario
As a licensed Condominium Manager, ensuring the safety and preparedness of your condominium building is paramount. One crucial aspect that requires attention is the handling of hazardous materials within the premises. By fully understanding the hazards associated with such materials, your building supervisory staff can play a vital role in emergency response and support for arriving emergency services. Furthermore, being equipped with the necessary knowledge can elevate the level of expertise expected by police, fire, and ambulance personnel who rely on the building superintendent or onsite security. In this article, we will explore the responsibilities of building superintendents, the significance of fire safety plans, the importance of resident education, and best practices that resilient Condominium managers are adopting to enhance the safety of their residents.
This article aims to provide Condominium managers, who are already experts in crisis management on a day to day basis, with valuable insights and practical information that can drive effective emergency planning and response strategies. Understanding the requirements, obligations, and best practices outlined here will not only ensure compliance with the law but also foster a proactive approach towards building safety.
Let us embark on a journey to discover the latest trends, expert advice, and essential knowledge that will help you protect your residents and uphold your commitment to providing a secure living environment.
Condominiums & Chemicals
All employees who handle hazardous, flammable, or combustible materials are required to completely understand the hazards associated with those materials - This is a requirement of the Occupational Health & Safety Act. It is also required by law, that building supervisory staff, be responsible to respond and / or support arriving emergency services in the event an emergency occurs involving building critical infrastructure. Police, fire and ambulance personnel, always rely on the building superintendent or onsite security for having expert knowledge of the building.
One example of this responsibility is building Superintendents who are responsible for systems such as chilled water chemicals; (antimicrobial, anti-corrosion, etc), chlorine (pools), assorted degreasers and cleaning supplies, as well as refrigerants.
Building Superintendents (and your condonminium Security Staff) must be aware of the location of all Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and must be able to readily present them to Fire, Police or emergency medical services upon their request.
As a matter of best practice, the master binder of all MSDS sheets for the building shall be located in a separate binder within the Fire Safety Plan box so that it is easily accessible in the event of an emergency by arriving fire, Emergency Medical Services, or Building Supervisory personnel.
The Condominium Manager is responsible to ensure that the MSDS binder is kept updated with all chemicals which are brought on site, including any temporarily onsite, due to ongoing contractor work. Furthermore, building management is also required to ensure that staff who are in direct contact with any hazardous materials have been properly trained and are aware of the relevant hazards. This includes building security personnel, who are required to patrol these rooms on a daily basis. It these security personnel who will be assisting arriving emergency services during off hours, as such, must be familiar with the systems, hazards associated with these systems, and their response. Quite often, basic chemical spill procedures will be outlined in your building’s approved fire safety plan.
Fire Safety Plans are for more than just arriving fire services
Fire Safety Plans are a required document for almost all residential buildings, required by the Ontario Fire Code, Section 2.8. A typical safety plan outlines “site specific” evacuation procedures, critical information on building life safety systems, emergency contact information, and building drawings. The Fire Code requires the owner to be responsible for carrying out the provisions for fire safety, including the implementation of a building fire safety plan, and defines “owner” as any “person, firm or corporation controlling the property under consideration”. Consequently, the owner may be any one of, or a combination of parties, including building management, maintenance staff and tenant groups.
From a Property Management perspective fire safety plans have typically been viewed as code compliance document, and not very useful. On the other hand, detailed and current information contained within a Fire Safety Plan will assist responding fire services in formulating a response that may save lives and property. Additionally, in cases of major incidents apart from fire emergencies, these plans may provide invaluable assistance to responding police services requiring technical information in support of an effective tactical response.
For example, a police service Incident Commander may utilize technical drawings found within a Fire Safety Plan to assist in the formulation of a tactical response during an incident involving the investigation of a bomb threat, suspicious package, an improvised explosive device, an armed and barricaded person, and in the most extreme cases an active shooter. In addition, fire alarm, sprinkler system isolation, electrical and HVAC system isolation procedures are available to incident commanders through the Fire Safety Plan. It is important to note that not all plans are written with this information, but it costs no more to include them into your plan, ultimately enhancing the safety of your residents.
In taking this a step further – a best practice, resilient property managers are now demanding digital fire safety plans, allowing for rapid access of building drawings, emergency resident information, including persons requiring assistance during evacuation, not to mention calling up sprinkler isolation information in two clicks of a mouse, or wave of a thumb. This best practice is moving forward with many Condominium Managers as the benefits are clear, rapid access to emergency information during building emergencies saves lives, and assist property managers in property conservation – reducing costs of an emergency. Both residential and commercial buildings property managers are raising the bar, and better protecting their family of residents.
Resident Education: Building Emergency Preparedness
Historically, a significant challenge for residential high-rise Condominium Managers is the engagement of residents to participate in emergency planning initiatives, primarily, code required fire and evacuation drills.
Proactive Managers have recently hit this challenge head on, by bringing in high-rise safety experts to present building safety seminars, and provide opportunities for both residents & building staff to uniquely understand their own roles & responsibilities in the event of an emergency, and allow each of the parties involved, resident and staff, to uniquely understand each other’s roles.
This allows for seamless response and quick action to emergencies. This practice of holding resident information evenings, where they review building procedures, and of course, answer the infamous question “Do I leave when the fire alarm goes off at 2:00 AM?” has rapidly become the gold standard in ensuring your residents understand the procedures in your building.
Typically, this session allows property managers to document communication of these important procedures, providing for documented due diligence, but also allows the resident to truly understand critical information like
1) Understand the varied Life Safety features & systems in their building, and understand how they impact resident safety, including the vital role that building operations and security personnel play when a fire alarm goes off;
2) Understand that the decision to leave a suite during a fire alarm is that of the resident, after reviewing evacuation procedures found within the buildings approved fire safety plan, including discussing human behavior in fires, challenges to the fire department response in high-rises, as well as emergency preparedness for Persons Requiring Assistance during evacuations. This allows residents to make informed decisions at time of a fire alarm. Persons requiring assistance during a building evacuation may be described as anyone who has reduced mobility, a speech, hearing or visual impairment, or a cognitive limitation. In the event of a building evacuation, the PRA List, along with a copy of the building’s fire safety plan is made available to municipal emergency services upon their arrival.
3) Residents should be comfortable in understanding options in the event they cannot leave due to smoke and / or fire, explaining common terminology “Defend / Shelter In Place”, and ensuring the resident understands; to go or to stay when the fire alarm goes off. Each option involves a major commitment on the resident’s part, and their choice will depend on the circumstances at the time of the emergency, each option with its own consequences.
Most of the time, the best thing to do in a fire is leave the building as soon as possible. If you let this opportunity pass, you must be prepared to protect yourself from smoke and other effects of fire until you are rescued or told by the fire department that it is safe to leave.
This may take a long time and the conditions in the building may deteriorate. Residents need to understand that they should not leave their suite a long time after the fire alarm has sounded. The longer you wait to evacuate, the more risk there is that heavy smoke and heat will have spread into the stairways and corridors. Resident need to be informed, plan ahead, and establish their own respective plans for leaving their suite. Reminder - If you decide to stay inside your suite during a fire alarm - dont change your mind and leave during the later stages of the fire / alarm. Residents typically dont read all of the materials proactive porperty managers issue - and this includes fire safety messaging. It is reccomnded that this messaging still be sent every 12 months, as a rmeinder, but that residents themselvwes are afforded an opportunity once a year to attand an edcuational session - and answer any questions they have - in advance of the next fire alarm.
Best Practice: Own a “Defend In Place Kit”
It is recommended that Condominium Managers include this vital information to residents during information sessions, that allows residents of high-rise buildings to better prepare their families, for the event that cannot leave their respective suite due to fire and / or smoke.
A unique “shelter / Defend In Place Kit” may be purchased online or the contents maybe sought after individually and are typically inexepensive. A typical shelter in place kit contains; Bottled Water, Duct Tape, Towels, Whistle, Glow Sticks, and at times, small first aid kits.
The following steps can be taken to protect yourself from smoke entering the suite during a fire emergency:
· Call 911 and advise that you cannot leave due to fire / smoke and you are defending in place.
· If smoke enters your suite - use duct tape (masking tape may also be effective) to seal cracks around the door to your suite and place wet towels at the bottom. Seal vents, air ducts and other areas where smoke is entering the suite in the same manner.
· If smoke is worse in one room go to another internal / smaller room (e.g. bathroom), close the door and seal off the room with tape and wet towels as noted above. Always update 911 of worsening conditions.
· If the suite fills with smoke, move to the balcony (if you have one) and close the doors behind you. Take a cordless or cellular phone with you if available. Call the fire emergency number (911) and provide details of your situation. Also, take warm clothes or blankets if the weather is cold.
· If you do not have a balcony, go to the most smoke-free room, close the door and seal it with tape and towels. Open the window for fresh air but be prepared to close it again if this makes the conditions worse. Never break the window to get fresh air or you will not be able to seal it off if conditions change.
· Keep low to the floor where the air is cleaner.
Be safe out there!