Los Angeles Municipal Code § 57.408 Emergency Planning and Evacuation Requirements for High-Rise Buildings

Emergency planning and evacuation requirements for high-rise buildings shall be in compliance with Sections 57.408.2 through 57.408.11.

Every owner, manager, operator, administrator, and tenant of a new or existing high-rise building shall, in cooperation with the Fire Department, establish, implement, maintain and update an Emergency Plan for the building that complies with, but is not necessarily limited to, the requirements set forth in Sections 57.408.2.1 through 57.408.2.5.

The owner shall electronically submit the Emergency Plan annually to the Fire Department and maintain a current hard copy on the premises. Prior to each annual submittal, the owner shall also review the Emergency Plan and as a result of that review shall update the Emergency Plan as necessary to ensure that it is accurate and complete. All Emergency Plan transactions shall be electronically submitted by means of a Fire Department- approved method. The updated Emergency Plan shall be submitted to the Fire Department within ten days of its completion. If the owner determines after an annual review, that the Emergency Plan does not require updating, the owner shall so inform the Fire Department in writing as soon as that determination is made. This requirement does not preclude an owner from reviewing and updating the Emergency Plan more frequently than annually.

Any changes to the lists of private first responders, essential building personnel, or emergency contact telephone numbers shall be submitted to the Fire Department within ten days of the date of the change.

The Emergency Plan shall be made available upon request to personnel of the Fire Department. Upon any change of ownership or management of a high-rise building, the previous owner shall provide all copies of the Emergency Plan required by this chapter to the new owners within ten days of the change of ownership. The new owner shall, after receiving the Emergency Plan submit any required updates within ten days.

Hotel guests are exempt from the requirements set forth in this section. Building staff and employees shall participate in the requirements as set forth in this section.

All Emergency Plans, procedures and evacuation signs shall be completed and submitted to the Fire Department for inspection and approval prior to their implementation. All plans, signs, procedures and training programs formulated by, or purchased from, a “High-Rise Life/Safety Service” shall also be submitted for approval. All persons engaging in the business of “High-Rise Life/Safety Service” shall be required to obtain a Certificate of Fitness in accordance with Section 57.117. The Fire Department may deny approval of any “High-Rise Life/Safety Service” which fails to meet minimum standards set by the Fire Code Official.

A building inventory on a form provided by the Fire Department shall be completed and submitted as part of the Emergency Plan and be subject to approval by the Fire Department.

Each Emergency Plan shall include the personnel as designated in Sections 57.408.5.1 through 57.408.5.4.

The Fire Safety Director and Assistant Fire Safety Director shall be employees of the building owner or manager or reside on the premises or be otherwise approved by the Fire Department.

The responsibility of the Fire Safety Director shall be established in Sections 57.408.5.1.1 through 57.408.5.1.4.

Editor’s Note: Ord. No. 187,994 included two sections numbered as Sec. 57.408.5.1.

The Fire Safety Director shall be responsible for the establishment, implementation and maintenance of the Emergency Plan, the annual emergency evacuation drills, training and all documentation required by the Emergency Plan.

The Fire Safety Director shall also verify that all security personnel have a valid State certification. The Fire Safety Director and the Assistant Fire Safety Director shall obtain and maintain a valid Fire Safety Director Certificate approved by the Fire Department, and shall present their certificate for inspection upon request to Fire Department personnel.

The Fire Safety Director shall be responsible for renewing their certificate at least once a year in order to maintain a valid certificate. The Assistant Fire Safety Director shall be prepared to assume the Fire Safety Director’s duties when necessary.

The building owner shall be responsible for payment of the fees associated with the issuance of the Fire Safety Director Certificate by the Fire Department as described in Section 57.408.10.1.1.

A minimum of one Floor Warden per floor shall be designated to perform the duties required by this section. Additional Floor Wardens shall be required if the occupant load of a floor exceeds 500 people. The Floor Warden shall obtain and maintain a valid Floor Warden Certificate, approved by the Fire Department, and shall present their certificate for inspection upon request by Fire Department personnel. Alternate Floor Wardens shall also obtain a certificate as Floor Warden and be designated for each floor, and be prepared to assume the Floor Warden duties when necessary. In a residential building, the Floor Warden shall be a resident on that floor or an employee of that building owner or manager. In a non-residential building, the Floor Wardens shall be employees on that floor. The Floor Wardens shall receive training at least once each year in order to maintain a valid certificate. Exemptions to this regulation may be granted only upon a written request approved by the Fire Code Official. The building owner shall be responsible for payment of the annual fee associated with the issuance of the required number of Floor Warden Certificates by the Fire Department.

The operational portion of the Emergency Plan shall identify and incorporate all Private First Responders for the building.

The operational portion of the Emergency Plan shall also identify and incorporate all essential building personnel who are employees of the owner or manager in the building.

With regard to non-residential high-rise buildings, the Fire Safety Director or Assistant Fire Safety Director shall be present on-site during normal business hours.

Emergency response duties of designated personnel shall comply with Section 57.408.7.1.

The designated personnel required by Section 57.408.5 shall have, at a minimum, the duties listed in Sections 57.408.7.1.1 through 57.408.7.1.4.

The Fire Safety Director or Assistant Fire Safety Director shall:

1. During an emergency, call 9-1-1 or designate someone to place the call; report to the building’s Emergency Assistance Center; direct, evacuation operations in the building including disabled personnel in the designated refuge or rescue locations who have identified the need for assistance; and report the current conditions to the Fire Department.

2. Conduct monthly building safety inspections to identify hazards and obstructions in the egress pathways.

3. Develop procedures for implementation of the Emergency Plan and direct emergency evacuations and drills.

4. Assign wardens for each floor, selected from the occupants on that floor.

5. Incorporate Private First Responders for each occupied floor if identified by the Emergency Plan.

Floor Wardens shall:

1. Know the locations of all exits leading from occupied areas of the building and carry out the requirements in the Emergency Plan.

2. Direct emergency evacuations and drills for their respective assigned floors in accordance with the Emergency Plan.

Private First Responders shall:

1. Know the location of all exits leading from occupied areas and carry out the requirements in the Emergency Plan.

2. Assist the Floor Wardens in the emergency evacuations and drills in accordance to the Emergency Plan.

Essential building personnel shall:

1. Assist the Fire Safety Director during emergency evacuation operations in accordance with the Emergency Plan.

2. Assist the Fire Department and other emergency responders during emergency operations as described in the Emergency Plan.

The provisions of Sections 57.408.8.1 through 57.408.8.8 reflect minimum requirements and are not intended to restrict owners from implementing any additional measures.

Each Emergency Plan shall contain a description of the procedures all occupants should follow in an emergency evacuation or drill during the regular business hours and non-business hours of the building. Each Emergency Plan shall also have a procedure for total building evacuations.

Each Emergency Plan shall specify in detail the evacuation roles and duties of the designated personnel, including the names of the Fire Safety Director and Assistant Fire Safety Director, and their pager, in-house, and cellular telephone numbers.

Each Emergency Plan shall require that emergency evacuation signs be posted in elevator lobbies and adjacent to the doorway leading to the exit stairs. The signs shall include, but not be limited to, the high-rise building’s core floor plan describing all corridors, stairways, elevator lobbies, and interior evacuation routes for each floor.

The Fire Safety Director, with the approval of the Fire Department, shall establish as part of every Emergency Plan an Emergency Assistance Center where the Fire Safety Director or Assistant Fire Safety Director and other selected personnel report during an emergency incident. The Fire Safety Director shall also assign a responsible person to meet and direct the Fire Department to the location of the emergency incident. The Emergency Assistance Center may include a Fire Control Room, lobby or safe refuge area outside of the building.

Special needs requirements shall be incorporated in the Emergency Plan and shall include the current list of the names and usual floor locations of each occupant who has voluntarily, in writing, self-identified their need for assistance and the type of aid required to exit the building during an emergency. One or more places of refuge or rescue shall be designated in the Emergency Plan including a method to safely remove these occupants from the building. The Emergency Plan shall include the appropriate number of personnel designated to assist each of these occupants during an emergency evacuation or fire drill.

All high-rise building occupants shall be instructed annually on the procedures to be followed in the event of fire, earthquake, or other emergency and participate in the mandatory fire drill. Documentation of the occupant instructions shall be maintained by the Fire Safety Director and be made available for inspection by Fire Department personnel. These instructions shall also be made available to all new occupants within 14 days of their assuming occupancy in the building.

The proposed emergency exit plans, procedures, and evacuation signs shall be posted after approval by the Fire Department. Evacuation signs shall be located in every elevator lobby above and below the ground floor, adjacent to the doorway leading to the exit stairs, and in other conspicuous floor locations as required by the Department. Each dwelling unit, guest room, and office area shall be provided with the fire safety and evacuation information, as required in Section 57.4704.4. All plans, procedures, and signs shall be properly maintained.

Each Emergency Plan, after approval by the Fire Department, shall be filed:

1. In the office of the high-rise building;

2. At the security desk; and

3. In the vicinity of the Fire Department annunciator/control panel or, as to residential buildings, in an identifiable location approved by the Fire Code Official. The Emergency Plan shall be made readily
available to the building staff and to the designated personnel required by Section 57.408.5 at all times.

Fire drills shall comply with Sections 57.408.9.1 through 57.408.9.6.

Commercial high-rise buildings, less than 35 stories in height, are required to conduct mandatory fire drills at least annually under the direction of the Fire Safety Director.

A mandatory minimum of one fire drill shall be conducted annually on individual floors and when practical, shall include at least five floors at a time.

During the annual fire drill the occupants shall proceed to the safest stairwell and relocate to a predetermined floor or outside safe refuge area.

Commercial high-rise buildings, 35 or more stories in height, are required to conduct a mandatory fire drill at least annually under the direction of the Fire Safety Director.

A mandatory minimum of one fire drill shall be conducted annually on individual floors and, when practical, shall include at least five floors at a time.

During the annual fire drill the occupants shall proceed to the safest stairwell and relocate to a predetermined floor or outside safe refuge area.

Every three years there shall be a total building evacuation fire drill, wherein every occupant of the building proceeds to the safest stairwell and evacuates directly to a predetermined outside safe refuge area.

Residential high-rise buildings are required to conduct mandatory fire drills at least annually under the direction of the Fire Safety Director.

A mandatory minimum of one fire drill shall be conducted annually on individual floors and, when practical, shall include at least five floors at a time.

During the annual fire drill the occupants shall proceed to the safest stairwell and relocate to a predetermined floor or outside safe refuge area.

Buildings that have stair shaft doors locked for security reasons shall include a method in the Emergency Plan that allows for safe horizontal egress from the stair shaft during a fire drill or emergency evacuation.

The Fire Safety Director of the building or their designee shall coordinate the date of the total building evacuation drill for buildings 35 or more stories in height with the Fire Department, to be conducted during normal working hours. A Fire Safety Officer shall be present to witness the total building evacuation drill.

The Fire Safety Director shall maintain documentation of all fire drills on Fire Department-approved forms and make it available for inspection by the Department. Fire drills may be scheduled in advance, with a notice posted to all tenants. All building occupants shall participate in the fire drills and emergency evacuations.

Fees shall be charged and collected in compliance with Sections 57.408.10.1 through 57.408.10.4.

The building owner shall be responsible for the following fees:

1. Fire Safety Director Certificate Fee. The owner of the building shall be responsible for paying the fee based on one Fire Safety Director Certificate Fee per building.

2. Floor Warden Certificate Fee. The owner of the building shall be responsible for paying the fee based on one Floor Warden Certificate Fee per floor.

3. Total Building Evacuation Oversight Fee. The owner of the building shall be responsible for paying the Total Building Evacuation Oversight Fee.

Due dates shall be established by Sections 57.408.10.2.1 through 57.408.10.2.4.

The permit fee shall initially be due, and shall accompany the filing of an initial permit application, on the 1st of January following the date of construction, as that term is defined in Section 57.105.9.4. For buildings constructed prior to the effective date of these provisions, the initial payment shall be due on the 1st of January following that effective date.

Annual renewal of certificates and payment of fees for renewal of those existing certificates shall be due and payable each year on the first day of January of the calendar year and shall be submitted with the renewal application.

The Total Building Evacuation Oversight Fee shall be due and payable each year on the first day of January of the calendar year and shall be submitted with the renewal application.

Fees, whether initial or renewal, which are not paid within 60 days after the due date shall be deemed delinquent and subject to a 50% penalty.

The Board, with the concurrence of the Office of the City Administrative Officer, shall determine on a regular basis, not less frequently than once every two years, the verifiable cost to the City for the certificate fees and the fees for the evacuation oversight for high-rise buildings. These costs shall be the actual costs incurred as determined by the Board. The costs shall include both direct and indirect costs to the City. The Board shall use these costs to develop a cost recovery schedule of applicable charges. The Board shall adopt such costs as fees at any time during each fiscal year. The cost recovery schedule shall recover the verifiable annual costs of administering the certificates for Fire Safety Directors and Floor Wardens, as well as the administration of the total evacuation oversight for high-rise buildings, which shall include the cost of collection of any fees due and owing in connection with these fees. It shall take into consideration the number of certificates issued that are subject to the fees. Upon adoption of a schedule of verifiable costs by the Board, as provided herein, the Board shall transmit the Board order to the Mayor and to the City Council for approval.

The cost recovery schedule amended herein shall impose a charge per certificate and set forth the applicable charges for total evacuation oversight.

Violations shall be punishable as provided in this Fire Code as listed below:

1. Each person, owner, manager, tenant, or other responsible party shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this section is

committed, continued or permitted by that person, and shall be punishable as provided in the Fire Code and as set forth below.

2. In addition, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be summarily abated as such by the City. Each day that such a condition continues shall be deemed to be a new and separate offense.

Violation of Section 57.408, including refusal to participate in a mandatory fire drill required by this section, shall be subject to penalties and minimum fines as prescribed in Section 57.110.4 and Table 57.110.4.