Council Vote Set on Bill To Inform Fire Department of Building Changes

The City Council's Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services will vote tomorrow on a bill that would require the Department of Buildings to notify the fire department when major structural changes are made to city buildings.

Under the new bill, building owners must provide a document detailing a plan of the floors in their buildings. "Flight" plans are critical for first responders because the 13th floor of a building may not be labeled as such, City Council Member Gale Brewer said.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association began pushing for the bill after the deaths of two firefighters in 2006 fire, its president, Captain Peter Gormen, said. Michael Reilly and Lieutenant Howard Carpluck were killed when a shoddily reconstructed floor in a Bronx building collapsed beneath them.

Ms. Brewer introduced the bill in the council last month; it originally required owners of large buildings to submit detailed floor plans to the fire department. But after a public hearing, the language of the bill changed, Ms. Brewer said, and it now requires only that the "flight" plan be provided.

Still, many believe that further steps need to be taken in order to expand the intelligence firefighters receive before entering a burning building. Several fire department experts said forcing building owners to submit detailed plans to the fire and buildings department is pointless. Although both departments are working to create a platform through which the plans can be shared digitally, it has yet to be realized, Ms. Brewer said.

The president of the Rent Stabilization Association, Frank Ricci, said forcing building owners to submit detailed floor plans is an unnecessary financial burden.