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Q&A
FDNY procedures for evacuating buildings during structural fires
0:34:38
ยท
123 sec
Chief John Esposito of the FDNY explains the department's procedures for evacuating buildings during structural fires in response to questions from Council Member Joann Ariola.
- Evacuation decisions depend on building size, construction type, and fire severity.
- FDNY may evacuate part or all of a building, maintaining control during firefighting operations.
- After the fire is under control, FDNY gradually turns the building back to the owner or other agencies.
- In some cases, like high-rise buildings, only affected floors may be evacuated.
Joann Ariola
0:34:38
That being said, fire department.
0:34:42
FDNY procedures, what what are your procedures for evacuating the scene of a structural fire?
John Esposito
0:34:49
So depending on the the size and type of the building and the building construction and the severity of the fire, we may evacuate part of the building or the entire building.
0:35:00
But during firefighting operations, the fire department would have control of that building.
0:35:05
And for the safety of all the residents and and the public, keep them out, keep them away.
0:35:11
Once the fire is out and under control, we would slowly turn that building back to the the owner, the representative, again, depending on the size and type of the building.
0:35:22
If we have structural issues with structural stability, that were fire damage, we would notify, DOB, and eventually hand the building over either back to the owner or the NYPD.
Joann Ariola
0:35:35
Okay.
0:35:36
And in what circumstances is an entire building evacuated?
0:35:41
What what would be a circumstance?
John Esposito
0:35:42
So the you know, it's highly dependent on the the construction of the building.
0:35:49
So a smaller private private dwelling, clearly, would evacuate.
0:35:53
We have had a fire in there, evacuate the entire building.
0:35:58
The the fire that we've spoken about, the fifth alarm on On Wallace in The Bronx in January, the size of that building and the size of the fire.
0:36:06
We evacuated that entire building.
0:36:09
But it's also possible that we could have a have a fire on the Sixth Floor of a six story building and only evacuate that Sixth Floor and and leave the other residents in.
0:36:21
It it depends on the severity of the fire, the amount of damage, the amount of water that's used.
0:36:28
And in the and in high rise buildings that are fireproof or fire protected construction, we may only evacuate individual apartments or a floor or two where the fire is and the fire above.