Key Points:
- What makes high-rise fire watch unique.
- How many firewatchers for high-rise buildings.
- Can you use an elevator for fire evacuation.
High-rise buildings have higher occupancy, a greater distance to travel during evacuation, and more exits and entrances to monitor. Maybe even more stairwells per floor. To remain in compliance with local Fire Codes, you must tailor your high-rise fire watch to your building or facility.
Buildings with sleeping floors, including hospitals, apartment buildings, dormitories, and hotels must complete and log patrol no less than every 15 minutes. This goes up to 30 minutes for most other buildings and businesses. This isn’t something 1 person can complete alone in large or multi-story buildings.
What Is Different About High-Rise Firewatch?
When a building has more than 2 floors, consider dispatching additional firewatchers. If your contractor must complete welding or hot work, single-floor facilities often dispatch 1 person to continuously monitor the hot work, and at least 1 person for patrol.
Communication Is Key
Keep fire prevention personnel and a key member or two of your team connected via radio to report smoke, fire, evacuation, and other concerns without delay. Also, notify other businesses to inform them of increased fire risk.
How Many Fire Guards Should You Dispatch?
In most cases, no less than 1 person per 4 floors, but this varies depending on:
- The size of the building or facility
- The number of floors
- Occupancy numbers
- Number of stairwells, exits, and entrances
- Level of fire risk
- How long full patrol takes
For example, if an office building schedules hot work after hours when the building is empty, the evacuation numbers are low, and patrol frequency is between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the relevant Fire Code. As such, you may assign fewer patrol personnel than when the building is occupied.
Read More:
- Fire Watch Patrol Frequency in Denver and The Springs
- DFPC-Compliant Fire Watch Services in Denver
- How to Keep Compliant Fire Watch Logs
- Server Room Fire Watch
- 4 Times to Dispatch Daily Fire Watch
Can You Use an Elevator During Evacuation?
Maybe. Elevators in compliance with the Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators and the 7.12 Life Safety Code© may be used for emergency evacuation. While elevators are never included in the fire exit and egress routes, compliant elevators accelerate evacuation in high rise buildings, healthcare facilities, and for tenants and guests with physical disabilities. They may also be helpful if access to the nearest stairwell is blocked.
Compliant elevators must have a shunt trip to automatically shut off the elevator if water enters the elevator machine room or hoistway:
Phase I Emergency Recall
This feature returns elevators automatically, or from an external manual control, to a designated floor (often the ground floor or lobby) and opens the doors.
Phase II Emergency In-Car Operation
This phase allows firefighters to operate the elevator manually from within. This feature is helpful if returning to the ground floor is not the safest option.
High-Rise Fire Watch in Denver
With Scout Security, there’s no need to go it alone. We’re available for pre-scheduled and 24/7 emergency response. Our services include advising on the number of personnel required to improve safety and ensure compliance. Each team member is trained and certified to prevent, detect, and respond to smoke and fire. Reach out to secure our services!
