Ensuring that a Fire Safety Plan (FSP) is up to date as deemed necessary, at increments no greater than 12 months, is a requirement under the fire code. It is also a requirement to accurately implement the FSP to ensure effective utilization of fire safety systems and adherence to current building evacuation procedures. To protect the occupants in the event of a fire, it is the building manager’s responsibility to familiarize all occupants with the emergency procedures, and to provide them with the ability to monitor their own environment. This shared accountability and advance preparation aims to provide a higher level of evacuation readiness. The contents of an approved FSP illustrate the floor plan layout of a building, including all exits, stairwells and the location of fire and life safety equipment. To assist building managers and operators, the FSP contains customized and precise occupant evacuation procedures, the locations of safe haven points outside the building and the fire drill schedules. Fire drills are to be conducted to ensure that all the occupants are fully prepared should a real emergency arise in a building. To assist building operators with drills, there are directives contained within the approved FSP. The aim is to enhance the level of awareness among the tenants of a building, which is vital to their safety should an emergency event arise.

Click here to sign-up and receive the Weekly Round Up in your inbox every Saturday

When updating a Fire Safety Plan, the first step is to locate the workable copy, whether in soft or hard copy form. Once the copy has been found, the FSP itself will usually indicate when it was accepted and/or approved by the city. Normally, the date can be found on a letter from the City, or a stamp located on the front cover of the FSP. Should these two indicators not be present, it may be of benefit to contact the original author of the FSP to obtain this information. As the owner of an FSP, obtaining an electronic version has the advantage of allowing copies to be printed whenever needed, marking up the pages or drawing accordingly, and sending them to the author to complete the requested revisions at minimal costs. For extensive modifications to the drawings, such as fire alarm and sprinkler system retrofits or structural add-ons, a site assessment of the building may be warranted by the author of the FSP, followed by a re-submission to the City for examination and acceptance.

For more information contact Firepoint Technologies Inc.

www.firepoint.ca