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In September of 2006 it will be five years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. City officials, real estate owners and managers, architects and construction professionals have all been reviewing the city's high-rise building codes in an effort to improve building safety. There is much work to be done; much of it is costly but necessary to improve safety for occupants of New York City's high-rise properties.

The impact of the newly improved building codes and recently enacted Local Laws are already affecting building owners now, and moving into 2007 and beyond.

In 2002, a World Trade Center Building Code Task Force was formed that consulted with safety experts and 9/11 survivors who together developed assorted recommendations that have now been partly incorporated into law. The 9/11 tragedy led to mandatory new provisions under Local Law 26/27, making major changes to New York City buildings codes that have made a significant improvement to the safety of high-rise office buildings, their occupants and emergency responders.

One of the first changes that went into effect under LL 26 relates to improving occupancy signage to show occupants of commercial high-rise building the way out if power is lost or smoke obscures overhead lighting. There is now a law (LL26 RS 6-1) calling for photo luminescent exit path markings and directional signs (installation deadline is July 1, 2006). These photoluminescent low mounted egress markings make emergency evacuations run more efficiently and should help to ensure safe evacuations in emergency situations such as power outages and fires. Many building owners and managers have been taken by surprise by this new law. Immediate action should be taken to prepare your property to meet the requirements.

Clearly marking exits is just one of numerous improvements that have been made into law. There are a number of other new and retroactive requirements applying to existing and new construction high-rise office buildings, such as: Restricting the use of scissor stairs, prohibiting the use of open-web steel joist construction, restricting the use of oversized fuel oil transfer piping, mandatory inspection of fireproofing and fire dampers used to prevent the spread of fire through mechanical duct work, use of impact resistant stair and elevator enclosures, installing smoke stop barriers in elevator vestibules to prevent the spread of smoke throughout a building during a fire, raising air intake locations to prevent unwanted pollutants or contaminants from entering the ventilation system; and exclusion of certain floor drains from normal fixture counts to prevent water used in firefighting from draining into elevator shafts.

Here are some retroactive requirements for high-rise office buildings that are coming next year: there will be a requirement for powered illuminated exit signs in stairwells and their horizontal extensions to indicate the transition from vertical to horizontal direction and at turns along the horizontal path, mandatory back up power for exit signs. In the years to come there will also be a retroactive requirement for full sprinkler protection for office buildings 100 feet or higher (by 2019). This requirement will be very, very costly for many building owners.

Though these revisions to the high-rise building codes have now become law, the evaluation process has truly just begun. There may be further modifications to existing laws and the laws applied will likely extend into other occupancy groups to improve safety regardless of zoning classification.

With all the new changes, property owners and managers, life/fire safety and security officers responsible for such issues need to know if new codes apply to their building and what should be done to become code-compliant. They must actively conduct property and hazard risk assessments. Owners/managers are encouraged to seek expert advice to make informed decisions about the measures needed to be code-compliant and the retrofit and new construction costs associated with compliance.

In addition to the property infrastructure changes, property managers and owners, as well as life/fire safety and security officers, must review emergency response and evacuation plans for their buildings. In the very near future, requirements for emergency action plans will be finalized by the City Council. A professionally prepared plan should establish best practices and account for numerous possible scenarios. Safety threats come in many forms and evacuation can place occupants of a building in harm's way if the situation does not call for an evacuation. Building managers will need to communicate with tenants about the proper emergency response and conduct drills frequently enough so that tenants are aware of the safety systems and exit procedures in their buildings. Building owners/managers must coordinate with police, firefighters and other first responders to ensure that their plans meet with city standards and establish a well conceived plan in advance of any incident.

There are so many revisions and additions to local laws and building codes taking place to help improve high-rise building safety. As more studies are conducted and new information becomes available, building owners should count on additional modifications that will be required to improve safety for their occupants.

EVAN LIPSTEIN

CEO 

HYLINE SAFETY COMPANY