BOMA/NY On Your Side: Working for More Flexibility Re: the New Fire Life Safety Director Training Requirements

Bottom line, the new rules relating to the 2014 Fire Code come not only with new regulations, but their own set of challenges. And the challenges are far ranging, affecting up to 30,000 workers and having a potential major impact on operating budgets, as well as the time required for related human resources and administrative responsibilities. Since the rules are still in draft form, BOMA/NY set to work immediately gathering comments and input from members, and collaborating with REBNY.

Several requirements are at issue.

With the adoption of the 2014 Fire Code, the individual Certificates of Fitness for Fire Safety Director and Emergency Action Plan Director were replaced with a unified, single Certificate of Fitness for Fire and Life Safety Director (FLSD).

The Code was also updated to cover non-fire events, including active shooter and medical emergencies. Starting March 1, 2019, the proposed rules call for "all occupancies currently required to be staffed by a Fire Safety/EAP Director or Fire Safety Director, to be staffed instead by a person holding an FLSD Certificate of Fitness."

Of particular concern is the short turn-around time currently allowed for completing all new required training—March 1, 2017—which includes the new requirement of training for active shooter and medical emergency scenarios.

The Code also calls for the suspension of an existing employee who fails to pass the exam, which would place a burden on building teams and owners. And points out BOMA/NY’s Director of Legislative Affairs, Daniel Avery, "the proposed changes will not only require considerable effort and expense on the part of building owners, managers and staff, but significant administrative expense for the FDNY to implement and operate. It should be understood that we support the goals and intent of the Code and the proposed rules. Our goal is to recommend and obtain changes that make compliance more equitable and fair. We all agree that building staff must continue to train in areas that can help them respond to the threats that continue to evolve on the local, national and global stage."

On Sept. 19, we presented our detailed set of recommendations in testimony at the FDNY hearing. Because of the widespread interest in this issue and the scope of its impact on all our members, BOMAfacts is providing you with this condensed version of our testimony.

• The proposed rules go beyond what the industry was consulted on during the 2014 Fire Code revision process. 

"The proposed rules expand the FLS responsibilities into areas beyond emergency preparedness, and will significantly add responsibilities to building staff who already have substantive duties as engineers and superintendents. These are the positions that have traditionally volunteered to pursue FS certification--specifically for overnight shifts. As proposed, FLS Directors will become an around-the-clock position in many buildings--particularly in light of the rise in co-working space throughout the City--following March 1, 2019. Given the magnitude of merging two titles, we respectfully request the comment period of 30-days be extended to at least 60-days to insure that a second public hearing is scheduled after FDNY provides clarification on the proposed rules."

• The proposed rules may create liability exposure for building owners with unknown impacts upon insurance costs. 

"Under the proposed rules, FLS Directors will be required to undergo medical emergency preparedness training, such as ‘notification of CPR-trained volunteers on the premises’, and ‘request to render assistance when appropriate’. Many FLS Directors are trained in emergency assistance such as CPR, and are prepared to render assistance as needed. However, a legal obligation to directly provide or coordinate direct assistance might expose the FLS Director/building owner to liability arising out of any further injury or death. Moreover, it is unclear how this exposure will impact the cost of building and personal liability insurance. While New York State’s "Good Samaritan Law" seems to protect the FLS’s expanded responsibilities, we ask that the City of New York seek an advisory opinion confirming such a position prior to any final rule-making."

 •  New training requirements in active shooter and medical emergencies for all FS and EAP Directors by the earlier of March 1, 2017 or the expiration of FS/EAP Director certificates of fitness are too immediate to be practical.

"This requirement is not feasible due to the limited training capacity of the FDNY and its training partners, the newness of the active shooter training, and the absence of a medical emergency training curriculum. Because of the 25-1 historical requirement of a Trainee-to-Trainer ratio, trusted training sources such as IUOE Local 94 have not yet implemented the new curriculums. For this reason, it is unclear how an existing FS/EAP Director with a certificate expiring in October, for instance, would be able to comply. There is also an 8-week backlog for scheduling practical (on-site) examinations, which would be significantly lengthened if the proposed timetable is adopted. This schedule will unduly complicate the FDNY’s administration of the proposed training and testing.

We ask that 1) the active shooter training deadlines be moved to March 1, 2019 at the very least, and that 2) the medical emergency training deadlines be decoupled and moved until five years after the first ten training facilities have been accredited and identified to the industry by the Fire Department."

• The March 1, 2019 expiration of certificates of fitness for FS and EAP Directors is too soon.

"There are more than 30,000 professionals who will have to comply with these rules; the FS/EAP Director expiration deadline is too soon and would be overly disruptive to effective building maintenance and the overall promotion of public safety. In addition to the training capacity issues, additional guidance is necessary to educate building owners and managers on how the proposed rules will impact their assumed liability and resulting insurance costs. To enable a better transition, we ask that these certificates of fitness be allowed to last until at least March 1, 2022, including extending certificates to that date that would have expired."

•  Experienced building personnel may be unnecessarily displaced.

"We’re concerned the requirements may prove to be a barrier to employment and re-employment. Some building employees without access to training opportunities may be displaced. Their suspension would disrupt building operations and make budgeting and planning difficult, particularly given that buildings will have to compensate students during all of their training efforts. Given that the COF for FLS and preceding FSD/EAP are central to the employment of a majority of individuals, suspension without adequate time frame to cure could require an owner/employer to sever the employment relationship and seek an individual that does have the qualification. In this case, there would be no pool of qualified and available candidates to interview, screen and background check, which typically takes three to four months per employee. After hiring, the FLS could still fail onsite. The ability to take and pass a test may not be the best measure of a person’s fire and life safety abilities.

We ask that 1) there be no certificate lapse or suspension for students that can provide documentation of their re-training and re-testing, and that 2) additional language be incorporated to grandfather students in the practical (on-site) examination queue and those that have already pursued active shooters training from the Fire Department or an accredited school."

"It is our hope," Daniel concludes, "that the FDNY can clarify the issues we present and hold a second public hearing and comment period before finalizing the rules. We look forward to continuing our conversations with the FDNY to improve building safety for all New Yorkers. "

Look for updates in future issues of BOMAfacts.