Presenter
Presented by Mr. O'Connor
Title
An Ordinance amending Title Eight of the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances to require the implementation of an "All Hazard Plan" for specified high-rise buildings.
Body
Whereas, the terrorist attacks in the cities of New York and Washington, DC, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania demonstrate the need for the City of Pittsburgh, its government, businesses, schools, hospitals, organizations and citizens to be prepared to respond to potentially disastrous events; and
Whereas, to that end, the Mayor formed an internal Security Council to review and provide advice regarding the City's emergency procedures and policies; and
Whereas, the Mayor also appointed seven Emergency Operations Working Groups to assess the City's emergency operations preparedness; and
Whereas, the Emergency Operations Working Groups reviewed emergency response procedures and submitted their findings to the Mayor and his Security Council; and
Whereas, the Building Committee of the Emergency Operations Working Groups identified gaps that exist in the City's high-rise building emergency preparedness and made specific recommendations to improve it; and
Whereas, pursuant to its authority as a Home Rule Charter municipality, the City has broad powers to protect the public safety and welfare of its citizens; and
Whereas, pursuant to 53 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 25092, the City may provide for the preparation and distribution of rules and regulations to minimize the danger of fire and lessen fire waste; and
Whereas, Section 204 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Pittsburgh further provides the Mayor with the authority to make long and short range plans for the improvement of the economic, physical and social condition of the City and its neighborhoods; and
Whereas, the City now wishes to amend Title Eight of the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances to require the implementation of an "All Hazard Plan" for specified high-rise buildings.
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh as follows:
Section 1. Title Eight of the Municipal Code of Pittsburgh, known as the "Fire Prevention Code" is hereby amended by adding the following language to Chapter 7, Section F-707.0, High Rise Buildings, as follows:
The text of Section F-707.1 General/Evacuation Plan is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
§ F-707.1 General: The owner, agent or other person responsible for buildings identified as high-rise buildings in the Building Code listed in Chapter 44, shall be required to prepare and submit for review and approval an "All Hazard Plan" (hereinafter referred to as "All Hazard Plan" or "AHP") to the City's Emergency Management Director in accordance with Sections F-707.4 and F-707.5 of this section. Any AHP filed shall be in such form(s) and format(s) as is further set forth in this Section. In the event the AHP is amended or updated as a result of an annual review or more frequently on an owner's initiative, a copy of the amended or updated plan shall be filed with the Emergency Management Director within 90 days.
§F-707.1(b) Emergency Management Director: From time to time for the purpose of implementing this Section, the Mayor shall designate an Emergency Management Director, who shall be in charge of the Emergency Operations Working Groups and have such powers and jurisdiction as are set forth in this Section.
The text of Section F-707.2 is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
§ F-707.2 All Hazard Plan distribution: Copies of the All Hazard Plan (and any amended or updated plan thereafter) shall be distributed to a designated representative of each tenant and building service provider by the owner, agent, or other person designated as being responsible therefore. The AHP shall be distributed to all new tenants and building service providers of the building (including, upon request, in additional formats such as auditory directions, Braille, and/or large print) when such tenants or building service providers move into the high-rise building. Each tenant and building service provider shall distribute to their respective employees applicable parts of the AHP affecting the employees' actions in the event of a fire or other emergency. Such distribution shall occur within 30 days of a new employee's arrival. Upon any change of ownership or management of a high-rise building, the previous owner shall provide all copies of the plan required by this Section to the new owner.
The text of Section F-707.3 is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
§ F-707.3 Responsibility to update All Hazard Plan: the owner or agent shall promptly update the fire safety and evacuation procedures upon changes regarding alarms, fire and/or emergency response systems, or physical arrangement that affects ingress or egress.
The following Sections are further added in their entirety:
§ F-707.4 All Hazard Plan: An All Hazard Plan is a written emergency protocol plan for high-rise building occupants to follow in emergency situations that is prepared and maintained in compliance with this Section. The All Hazard Plan shall set forth protocol for occupants to follow in emergency situations, including but not limited to: a fire, earthquake, hazardous material spill, civil disturbance/demonstration, criminal or violent behavior, explosion, bomb threat or discovery of suspicious package/item (bomb), inclement weather/flood.
§ F-707.4.1 Emergency: refers to the existence of an event threatening the health and/or safety of occupants, business customers, and/or visitors in, around, or in close proximity to a high-rise building and generally requiring the deployment of police, emergency, and/or fire bureau resources for purposes of control and alleviation thereof. Emergency as defined herein shall include events affecting isolated portions of a high-rise building as well as public emergency situations affecting an entire high-rise building. Emergency as defined herein is not intended to refer to a medical emergency involving one individual or a small-scale civil or criminal disturbance, traffic accident, or non-public threatening event.
§ F-707.5 Minimum All Hazard Plan Requirements: The provisions of this Section set forth minimum AHP requirements. This list is not exhaustive and is not intended to restrict owners from including additional measures deemed warranted by the owner or other person responsible for the subject high-rise building.
(a) Each AHP shall include a list and/or description of the set of actions and procedures all occupants should follow in an emergency or drill. Each AHP shall include a specific procedure for an evacuation of 2 floors below and 2 floors above any fire emergency resulting from a fire on a particular floor of the high-rise building and shall also set out a procedure for a full evacuation of the building.
(b) Each AHP shall require the drafting and posting of the high rise building's floor plan, showing floor-by-floor corridors, stairways, evacuation routes, areas of rescue assistance and elevator lobbies. Such posting shall occur at conspicuous locations and gathering areas (including but not limited to elevators and stairwells) of each floor/level of the high-rise building. For residential high-rise buildings, an extra copy of the floor plan should be provided for posting within each unit.
(c) Each AHP shall list the name and usual floor location of each regular occupant who has indicated voluntarily that he or she needs assistance and the type of assistance required to quickly exit the high-rise building or relocate to a safety zone in case of an emergency. Each plan shall designate and describe the location of one or more places of safety or rescue, if any, for all such regular occupants in an emergency. The plan shall also provide a program for assisting such regular occupants as well as all other occupants, business customers, or visitors who require special assistance during emergency drills or evacuations.
(d) Each AHP shall specify procedures for notifying emergency personnel including the City's Fire Bureau, Emergency Medical Service, and Police.
(e) The AHP shall incorporate the Homeland Security Advisory System's color coded response protocol.
(f) Each AHP shall be filed: (1) in the office of the high-rise building and (2) at the fire command station or alterative location in the high-rise building as approved by the Fire Bureau. The plan shall be made readily available to building staff at all times. The AHP shall be made available upon request at such filing site to personnel of the Chiefs of the Department of Public Safety, namely, the Police Bureau, the Fire Bureau, the Emergency Medical Services Bureau, the Communications Bureau and the Bureau of Building Inspection.
(g) The plan shall be distributed as a controlled numbered document.
(h) An outline of an All Hazard Plan shall be kept on file with the City's Emergency Management Director and shall form the basis of any plan that is produced for compliance with this ordinance.
§ F-707.6 Safety drills: Each high-rise building shall exercise its building evacuation plan as set forth in the AHP on a semi-annual basis involving no less than 50% of the building occupants. Once every three years, the building evacuation exercise shall involve 100% of the building occupants in the same exercise. The other exercise in that year shall test a different aspect of the All Hazard Plan (i.e., a bomb threat or hazardous material spill). Each owner or agent will notify the Emergency Management Director a minimum of 15 days before each scheduled drill regarding the date, time, and which component of the AHP will be tested. On an annual basis, the owner shall file with the Emergency Management Director a written report in accordance with F-701.2 certifying that at least two safety drills have taken place on all occupied floors during the past year.
§ F-707.7 Emergency preparedness certificate: The emergency preparedness certificate shall be issued by the Emergency Management Director upon receipt of: an All Hazard Plan that has been inspected and approved by the Emergency Management Director or his/her designee after consultation with the Fire Chief as meeting the minimal requirements as described in this Section. Such certificate shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance, and shall be renewed annually. The certificate shall be proof of compliance with this Chapter.
§ F-707.8 Filing fee: The filing fee for the initial AHP evaluation shall be set by the Emergency Management Director and be commensurate with the administrative costs to the City in reviewing the AHPs.
§ F-707.9 Penalty for violations: The penalty for violation of this Section shall be governed by Section F-112.3 as adopted pursuant to Section 801.02 of this Title.
§ F-707.10 Procedure for appeals: Means of appeal for this Section shall be governed by Section F-113.1 as adopted pursuant to Section 801.02 of this Title.
Section 2. The All Hazard Plan required by this ordinance must be prepared and filed with the City's Emergency Management Director within 90 days of the effective date of this ordinance. The first safety drill required by Section 1 of this ordinance must be conducted within 180 days of the effective date of this ordinance.
Section 3. The Emergency Management Director and the Fire Chief are authorized to jointly promulgate rules and regulations to further effectuate the purposes of this Chapter.