BISP CH 4 ADD 4 VACATES Flashcards
Whenever an inspection of a building or occupancy reveals dangerous fire breeding conditions, grave hazards affecting structural stability, inadequate or illegal means of egress, deficient fire suppression protection, or multiple fire or life hazards that in the opinion of a STAFF CHIEF would constitute imminent peril to the occupants or firefighters in case of fire therein, and such conditions cannot be abated immediately, the building and/or occupancy
May be vacated by issuance of a Vacate Order to the OWNER(S) AND OCCUPANTS thereof. The Vacate Order shall be limited to those portions of the building where imminently perilous conditions exist
Whenever an inspection of a building or occupancy reveals conditions that are not in compliance with the Fire Code or other laws, rules or regulations enforced by the Department, but are NOT
Imminently perilous to life, a Vacate Order should NOT be issued.
Violation Orders and/or NOV’s shall be issued, High Priority Referral Reports and/or A-8 referrals shall be made or other appropriate action shall be taken. However, nothing stated herein shall require any delay in issuing a Vacate Order when in the opinion of the Staff Chief, such order is warranted
A Vacate Order should only be issued for illegal occupancies when the illegal occupancy constitutes an imminent peril to the occupants in case of fire. When there is NO such imminent peril,
Forward an A-8 referral citing illegal conversion (check 4-B or 5-B on referral form). In the remarks section of the A-8 indicate that a Vacate Order was not warranted and that the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) or the Department of Buildings (DOB) is requested to issue violations for illegal occupancy
When existing conditions at a premise are determined to warrant a vacate the
- Officer of the Admin unit notifies the BC
- BC shall respond and notify the DC
- DC shall respond notify the Borough Commander during business hours or the Command Chief at other times of the conditions found
- An evaluation is made at each level of authority as to the necessity of a Vacate Order
Only a STAFF CHIEF may approve issuance of the vacate.
The name of the Staff Chief approving the vacate is REQUIRED on the RBIS Initial Vacate Report. The Company Officer issuing the Vacate Order shall obtain the approving Staff Chief’s name from the DC at the scene
The DC on the scene will give the AdministrativeUnit a
Vacate packet. Included in the Vacate packet is a checklist and sample forms to aide in the preparation of the required paperwork. The DC shall ensure the correct Vacate Order form is completed and also approve the wording on the form, describing the conditions which necessitated the Vacate
There are 2 types of Vacate Orders and a separate form is used for each type
Vacates without Seals (FP-35)
Vacates with Seals (FP-34)
What does the BC do at a vacate
The BC shall take pictures at the scene, using the Battalion-issued digital camera, showing the conditions that led to the issuance of the Vacate Order. The BC shall email the photos to FPOSU
Battalions and Divisions have been issued padlocks and chains for the purpose of sealing public and commercial occupancies
Each time a padlock is used, an ID tag shall be attached to BOTH keys listing the address of the vacated premise, date sealed, location of padlock, and the Admin Unit and name of the Officer. The tagged keys shall remain in a secure area at the ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT until further instructions are received from FPOSU
Access to the sealed premises by all persons, except as authorized in writing by the Fire Commissioner, is
Automatically denied following issuance of a Vacate or Vacate and Seal Order
The time a vacate order is served (time of service) and the time that occupants have been told they must leave the premises or face enforcement actions (enforcement time)
As determined by the DC must be noted on the vacate order. In general, the ISSUANCE time and ENFORCEMENT time will be the same for COMMERCIAL VACATES
For residential occupancies the DC can allow up to 6 hours do residents to relocate, not for sleeping purposes
If the owner/approved person in charge is NOT present at the time of a commercial, public or residential vacate, issue an
NOV instead of a summons
Affix NOV at appropriate location
Write “VACATE” on top of NOV
VO’s shall not be used to correct the condition which caused the Vacate Order. A Summons or NOV will be issued to correct the condition which caused the vacate. VO’s will only be issued to
Correct violations found at the premise that are NOT related to the Vacate Order
Vacate Warning Posters
- Securely attached to the entrance of the building or occupancy
- Admin Unit shall write the date the Vacate Order was issued, the premise address and the part(s) of the premise that were vacated on each poster.
- Posters come in multiple languages
- Admin unit will replace poster if needed during surveillance
The Admin unit shall complete the
RBIS initial Vacate Report
