Office of Technology Management Bulletin # 12-1/2015
December 1, 2015 — Office of Technology Management Bulletin # 12-1/2015
Subject: The Bureau of Fire Prevention Policy/Advisory/Guidance to Foster/Promote Design of Fire Alarm Systems for Mixed Use Occupancies.
To: Public Agencies, Real Estate Entities, Architects, Engineers, Fire Alarm and Construction Industry Entities, Fire Safety Directors and Building Managers
THE NYC FIRE DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF FIRE PREVENTION IS ISSUING THIS POLICY ADVISORY AND GUIDANCE TO FOSTER AND PROMOTE DESIGN OF FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS FOR THE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF A TYPE OF MIXED USE OCCUPANCY IN WHICH STAIRS, ELEVATORS AND BUILDING SERVICE SYSTEMS ARE SHARED, SEPARATED AND/OR COMBINED.
The FDNY Fire Operations Response units are in need of coordination and communication tools within each such complex configured building structure to achieve the mission of the public safety agencies. The following are guidelines used to examine variance applications, plan examination and inspections of fire alarm systems within such myriad configured buildings in addition to the city wide adopted codes, rules, standards, and references for the design of fire alarm systems.
Advisory # 1
Mixed use Hi-rise OR large area building where occupancies share a common lobby, stairs and or elevators
• Install one fire alarm system (Hi-rise system) with CODE MANDATED One-way voice capability throughout which may consist of multiple fire alarm systems networked together so to comprise one operationally coherent system for Command and Control.
Advisory #2
Mixed use Hi-rise or large area building where occupancies DO NOT share a common lobby but share stairs, or elevators, or building service systems, or smoke control systems, or fire protection system(s).
• Interconnect fire alarm systems for alarm activation, may comprise one system with multiple fire alarm panels(FCC’s) for separately designed and/or demised occupancies.
• Provide two-way voice communications between the FCC’s
• Provide selective one-way voice capabilities from all FCC’s to the shared stairs
• Extend selective one-way voice capabilities from the predominant building occupancy FCC fire alarm system to all other occupancies through such FCC’s for paging only.
• All floors of an Accessory or Ancillary use Occupancy that occupies below grade spaces shall be protected by one system determined by anticipated selected command and control FCC(s).
• A separate Occupancy Group ‘E’ School entity that occupies a group of complete low-rise floors and operates as a multi-level education occupancy of a hi-rise building shall be treated as a zone and be notified as such, otherwise high-rise fire alarm sequence for evacuation/notification.