New York, NY – Council Vote Set To Inform Fire Department of Building Changes

New York, NY – The City Council’s Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services is to vote on a bill that would require the Department of Buildings to notify the fire department when major structural changes are made to city buildings. Under the new bill, building owners must provide a document detailing a plan of the floors in their buildings.

The UFA began pushing for the bill after the deaths of two firefighters in 2006 fire, when a shoddily reconstructed floor in a Bronx building collapsed beneath them.
When the UFA introduced the bill it originally required owners of large buildings to submit detailed floor plans to the fire department. But after a public hearing, the language of the bill changed, and it now requires only that the “flight” plan be provided.

Still, many believe that further steps need to be taken and owners need to submit detailed plans in order to expand the intelligence firefighters receive before entering a burning building.
But the president of the Rent Stabilization Association, Frank Ricci, said forcing building owners to submit detailed floor plans is an unnecessary financial burden. [NY Sun]