As a result of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in September 2001 and with such "soft targets" still in the line of fire, New York City has been revising its high-rise building codes to ensure that building owners and managers can better address such attacks and better protect people's safety under any circumstance.
A bill containing new building code provisions was enacted in 2004. However, a rule relating to mandatory Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) for non-fire-related emergencies remained undefined. That is about to change.
Following a series of hearings and comment periods last year, a rule requiring EAPs of the owners of certain types of office buildings will become effective on April 6, 2006. The rule will apply to buildings taller than six stories or greater than 75 feet in height, those occupied by more than 100 people above or below street level or containing more than 500 persons in the entire building. The EAP will need to be submitted for fire department review and approval, and then implemented within a designated time frame.
Building owners will be required to provide to each employer, for distribution to all building occupants, educational materials explaining their EAPs. Furthermore, building owners will be required to conduct EAP drills and to "conduct such other educational and training sessions as may be required and/or approved by the EAP director as necessary to familiarize building occupants with the requirements and procedures of the Emergency Action Plan."
This rule differs from past ones, which mainly focused on fire safety planning. Now building owners will need to ensure that their EAPs cover multiple hazards such as radiological, chemical, biological, and other types of emergencies, including mechanical failures, hostage situations, etc.
When it comes to building codes, not all cities are created equal. Code changes in cities like Chicago and New York are scrutinized by jurisdictions around the country, serving as de facto national benchmarks against which local requirements can be compared.
Building Operating Management, 1/2005
Some key features of the new rule include:
- EAP director appointed with broad authority to act during a crisis
- EAP director trained for eight additional hours, and certified as a fire safety director
- Fire brigade structure applied to other emergencies
- Local coordination with neighboring buildings
- Plans made for in-building relocation, evacuation, and shelter-in-place
- Plans made for response to indeterminate threats (i.e., incident is not in and around
the building, but may affect the building; could also be an internal threat)
- Public address system in place for use during non-fire-related emergencies
- Scripted messages developed for use in various non-fire-related emergencies
Compliance deadlines, based on building type, will be phased in throughout 2006 as follows:
- By August 31, any building that is greater than forty stories in height, or that has been designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Commission
- By October 31, any building that is greater than twenty-five stories in height
- By December 31, all buildings not in any of the preceding categories
More than 6,000 high-rises and up to 7,500 buildings in New York City could be affected.
Other cities could follow New York's example, modifying their building codes similarly given ongoing concerns about terrorism, and in the wake of natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. This could potentially raise the total number of affected buildings into the hundreds of thousands nationally.
The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center made it clear to city officials that new procedures were needed to protect the occupants of office buildings in the event of non-fire related emergencies. City officials and emergency preparedness experts now understand that by maintaining well developed emergency action plans along with proper employee and building tenant training, fewer and less severe injuries are likely to occur when and if a non-fire related emergency should occur.
Real Estate Weekly, 12/21/05
As such, property developers, owners, managers, and safety and security officers, should consider asking themselves the following questions:
- Does the new rule apply to my building?
- Do I have an EAP in place? Has it been
tested?
- Does my EAP already address emergencies other than fire, and protective actions for
building occupants other than evacuation (i.e., in-building relocation, and shelter-in-place)? Does my EAP need to be revised?
- Is my building's communications system adequate for notifying occupants about non-fire-related emergencies?
- Have I communicated with neighboring buildings about emergency situations? What steps
do I need to take to ensure proper communication?
- Has my building appointed an EAP director who has the necessary training and certification?
- Have I designated safe rooms or other areas for in-building relocation?
- Do I know what EAP best practices are in the real estate sector?
- Have I accounted for the costs of complying with the new rule? Do my insurance
limits account for such program costs?
Faced with these questions, property developers, owners, and managers, together with safety and security officers, need to determine how best to comply with the new rule. They should first consider conducting property and hazard risk assessments and reviews, and map currently installed or planned infrastructure against the provisions of the new rule. This will lead to more informed decisions about the compliance measures to be taken and associated costs.
They should:
- Review the emergency action plans for their buildings
- Ensure that their plans meet best practices and account for all likely emergency scenarios
- Communicate with tenants about emergency action procedures
- Test plans so that tenants are aware of the safety systems and exit, relocation, and sheltering procedures in their buildings
- Contact neighboring buildings and establish a common line of communication
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact us.
