CONTRIBUTORS | FIRE SAFETY EVALUATIONS
A Common Story at Unsprinklered Buildings
WENDELL ELENTO
Best practices for conducting a fire- and life-safety evaluation.
M
y last meeting with the resident and property managers of an unsprinklered high-rise residential building did not start well. I was early to the meeting, so I found parking and connected with the property manager who apologized and told me she totally forgot about our meeting. I had 20 minutes, so I returned phone calls and was checking emails when the resident manager called out to me to follow him. Disheveled and sweating, he walked me quickly to their electrical room and proceeded to tell me he did not have time to understand his fire alarm system and the requirements to upgrade his system. “I already gave the property managers all of those proposals and then the previous property manager leaves and the new replacement manager tells me to get revised quotes, and I tell them I did that. I am so frustrated. I don’t understand what I need to do. I thought it was their job!” When I started to explain what is required, he became angry and shouted, “I don’t have time to decipher all that legal stuff. I got other things to do!” The property manager arrives, jumps into the conversation and tells the resident manager:“Please be open to Wendell, he is trying to help us sort out the fire alarm upgrade process and help us understand it and get to first base. Can you hang in there?” The resident manager quieted down and a cool breeze seemed to blow itself into our conversation. Fifteen minutes later both the resident and property manager felt relieved and encouraged in having both a high-level view but also a first-base view for their fire alarm system upgrade journey. The property manager asked me to call her boss and
do this training for him and her fellow property managers. “We all need your training. It is different and you helped us figure out what is our first base and what it will take to get to home plate.” The journey is complex, and the route riddled with legal potholes, twists and turns. But if I can at least provide some tips, guidance, a couple of best practice ideas and a little fruit from hundreds of hours of sweat equity to save you angst and frustration to simplify the fire alarm system upgrade journey for you, then I think we did our part to make a part of Honolulu a safer place to live. Honolulu County is where I live and work, too, and if we can make one building fire- and life-safety-fit, it helps everyone in Honolulu. Fire- and life-safety needs to be everyone’s high priority, all the time and not only as a reaction to the recent grave tragedy back in 2017. There are several key aspects of the Honolulu City and County’s Ordinance
42 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020
19-4 that should be in the discussion by AOAO boards, property managers, licensed design professionals, electrical contractors and fire alarm system vendors. The story about the site and property manager is real, and all too typical. The following are a few best practices that I’ve picked up: 1. Pick the right professional. They should be a licensed design professional with an authorized seal or stamp and be authenticated under Hawaii Administrative Rules. Look for professional engineers or architects who have fire safety knowledge and experience. 2. Schedule the fire- and life-safety evaluation as soon as possible. If your building is 75 feet or taller and is unsprinklered, the first thing you should recommend to your board of directors is to get a quote from a professional engineer with stamp to conduct the fire- and life-safety evaluation
