To help protect New Yorkers, both residents and business owners, the FDNY is requiring landlords to post and distribute certain fire safety and emergency preparedness documents, with these requirements applying to multiple dwellings in New York City - specifically, those with three or more residential units.

Certain professional NYC fire extinguisher supply and maintenance businesses, such as Brooklyn's Ace Fire Extinguisher, have sat up and taken notice of these protocols, passing the information along to their clients and acquaintances so they are better prepared for any changes that may take place.

While fire extinguishers are an integral part of a buildings safety and preparedness, New York City building owners must also post the Building Information Form in a lobby or mailbox area, and are also required to post a FEP/Fire Safety Notice, specific to Non-Combustible Construction or Combustible Construction, as applicable, in common areas, elevators near the main stairway and on the inside surface of the front door for each dwelling unit.

Keeping fire extinguishers near the elevator or main stairwell is not only a best practice but also a requirement, as they must be readily available and operable in the event of an emergency. Therefore having the proper signage is essential as well.

While some people may be familiar with how to operate a fire extinguisher, it's always best to have a refresher, which is why the FDNY also requires that building owners provide tenants with an Emergency Action Plan, which should be reviewed annually.

Additionally, owners need to post a "Close the Door" notice in "conspicuous locations" in every building, reminding residents to close all doors behind them when escaping a fire. Further, building owners must distribute the new Fire and Emergency Preparedness Guide - titled NYC Apartment Building Emergency Preparedness Guide - along with the building information form to building residents at the time of occupancy and every three years as part of a building-wide distribution.

Every year, owners also need to distribute the Fire and Emergency Preparedness Annual Bulletin, updated by the FDNY.

"The FEP Guide is available in a large-print format on the FDNY website, and the FEP Guide and Fire Safety Notices are available in other languages," states Jack Shammah, owner of Ace Fire Extinguisher. "We have been making our customer base aware of these points, but we would also be amiss if we didn't mention that building owners must also abide by several conditions - from delivering or mailing the guide if the email bounces back and re-transmitting the guide upon request by the resident, to providing a printed copy of the guide to any resident upon request and notifying residents of the right to receive a printed copy in any email transmission of the guide."

Shammah refers to the FDNY's policy of allowing email distribution of the FEP Guide either as a link or attachment, in addition to hand-delivery and first-class mail; however, landlords can only email residents if they have provided an email address to receive building-related communications, provided written consent to receive the guide electronically or participated in any other form of electronic communication established by the owner for all building residents.

Ultimately maintaining fire extinguishers and keeping up with these new fire safety requirements is the responsibility of the building owner, so if you are a tenant in a multiple dwelling unit in New York City, make sure your building is up to date - it could save your life.

Ace Fire Extinguisher is located at 666 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222 and can be reached by calling (718) 608-6428. For more information visit https://acefireextinguishers.com/.

ACE Fire Extinguishers

666 Morgan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 608-6428
Monday - Friday
Open 8am • Closes 8pm

###