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High-rise buildings—such as high-rise office buildings, apartments, and condominiums—present unique fire safety challenges not found in traditional low-rise buildings like single-family homes. These challenges include longer evacuation times and routes, fire department accessibility, and smoke movement. If you live in a high-rise building, it’s important to plan ahead and be prepared in the event of a fire.

BE PREPARED

Fire safety starts with preparation. Take time to understand your building’s fire protection systems, know your exit routes, and work with neighbors and management to help keep the building as safe as possible.

  • Know the plan. Familiarize yourself with your building’s evacuation plan. It should be posted in common areas for all residents to review. Building management should conduct a full fire drill with occupants at least once per year to ensure everyone understands evacuation procedures.
  • Create and practice a home fire escape plan. Develop a home fire escape plan tailored to your unit. Identify all available exits and stairways on your floor, and mark them on an escape grid. Having multiple route options is critical in case one path is blocked by smoke or fire.
  • Learn about your building's fire safety features. Meet with your landlord or building manager to learn about the fire safety features in your building (fire alarms, sprinklers, voice communication procedures, evacuation plans and how to respond to an alarm).
  • Manual fire alarm boxes allow people to sound the alarm. Everyone in the building should know where to find the manual fire alarm boxes (alarm boxes on the wall with a pull bar). Most are found within five feet of an exit door. If there is a fire, pull the manual fire alarm box handle on your way out of the building.
  • Treat every fire alarm as an emergency. When the alarms sounds, get outside. Leave the building right away if you hear the sound of a fire alarm. Stay outside at your meeting place until you are told the building is safe.

In Case of Fire

Fires in high-rise and condominium buildings are especially dangerous. Make sure you know where all the exit stairs are in your building. If you do have a fire in your building, here are steps you can take to stay safe.

  • Check if it is safe to leave. Don't open your door until you've checked that there isn't fire on the other side. Feel the door knob. If it feels warm, don't open it. Stay in your apartment or office.
  • Leave your apartment if you can safely do so. If the hallway isn't filled with fire or smoke, use one of your pre-designated escape routes. Move quickly and don't waste time gathering personal belongings. Close the door behind you. 
  • Use the stairs to get out. If you're using an inside stairwell, check for smoke or fire before entering. If the stairwell is safe to use, walk downward, but do not run.
  • Avoid elevators if possible.* Elevators may stall due to heat or loss of power. In case of fire, use the stairs to get out.
  • If trapped, seal yourself in for safety. If you can't exit an apartment building due to smoke or fire in the hallway, call 9-1-1 to report your exact location and gather in a room with a window to await rescue. Close all doors between you and the fire. Close all vents and air ducts. Use wet towels, sheets, or duct tape to seal door gaps to prevent smoke from entering.
  • Stay by the window. Open the window slightly at the top and bottom if safe to do so for fresh air. Do not break the window; you may need to close it if smoke enters from outside. Wave a bright cloth or flashlight to signal your location to emergency responders.
  • Stay low. Smoke is toxic and deadly in any type of building.
    When you hold your fire drill, everyone in the family should practice getting low and going under the smoke to the exit. In the event of a fire, if both stairwells are filled with smoke, stay in your apartment and wait for the firefighters.
  • Go to your outside meeting place and stay there. If someone is trapped in the building, notify the fire department.

*Typically, you should not use an elevator in an emergency. However, some modern high-rises are now being equipped with elevators that are intended for use during an emergency situation. These types of elevators are clearly marked that they are safe to use in the event of an emergency.