An NYC Fire and Life Safety Director can know the building's emergency plan, fire command station, communication systems, and response procedures while still lacking one crucial resource: current information from the people occupying the tenant spaces.
Emergency coordination becomes harder when tenant contacts have changed, reception desks are empty, after-hours employees are unaccounted for, or building staff do not know who may need assistance.
The solution is not to collect unnecessary personal information. It is to maintain a practical tenant emergency profile that gives the FLSD and building team the information needed to implement the building's approved procedures.
Why Tenant Information Belongs in Preparedness Planning
FDNY identifies the F-89 Fire and Life Safety Director Certificate of Fitness as person- and location-specific. The role applies to commercial buildings requiring a Comprehensive Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plan and certain other buildings described by FDNY. (nyc.gov)
Building preparedness is therefore site-specific. The FLSD must work with the actual occupancy, layout, communication arrangements, and tenant operations at that location.
FDNY materials also make clear that building occupants and their employers are expected to cooperate with emergency-plan implementation and follow the directions of FLS staff when the plan is activated.
Create a Tenant Emergency Profile
Each tenant or distinct occupancy should provide a short profile that can be reviewed regularly.
Primary and alternate contacts
Collect at least one primary and one alternate person who can make decisions for the tenant during business hours. For significant after-hours occupancy, establish an appropriate contact for evenings, nights, or weekends.
Verify the contact's:
- Name and role
- Direct telephone number
- Backup communication method
- Typical working location
- Authority to communicate with employees or visitors
A general reception number is not enough if no one answers during an emergency.
Normal and unusual occupancy patterns
The FLSD does not need a daily roster of every employee for every purpose. The building does need to understand patterns that could affect emergency decisions.
Examples include:
- Floors that are normally vacant on certain weekdays
- Trading, media, legal, medical, or technical teams working overnight
- Weekend events or training sessions
- Hybrid schedules producing sudden high-occupancy days
- Conference facilities used by outside guests
- Seasonal interns or temporary project teams
These patterns help the building distinguish normal activity from an unexpected condition.
Visitors and contractors
Tenant profiles should explain how the tenant accounts for visitors, vendors, and contractors once they leave the lobby.
Ask:
- Does the tenant keep an internal visitor record?
- Who can access that record if reception staff evacuate?
- Are contractors working in secured or difficult-to-reach areas?
- Who informs building staff when a large meeting or event is scheduled?
- Does the tenant host people unfamiliar with the building's emergency instructions?
The lobby visitor system is useful, but it may not show whether a guest changed floors, left early, or joined a different group.
Plan Respectfully for People Who May Need Assistance
Emergency preparedness should account for occupants who may have difficulty receiving instructions, using stairs, relocating, or independently navigating the building.
Management should establish a respectful, confidential process consistent with the building's approved plan and applicable policies. Focus on the assistance or communication arrangement rather than making assumptions based on appearance.
Planning questions may include:
- Who has volunteered to provide assistance?
- Is a backup person available?
- What communication method is most effective?
- Does the tenant's internal plan align with the building plan?
- How will temporary injuries or visiting occupants be addressed?
Review these arrangements when tenant staffing, floor assignments, or office layouts change.
Include Tenant Spaces in Communication Tests
A public-address test does not prove that every tenant can hear and understand emergency instructions.
During drills or authorized testing, evaluate whether announcements are intelligible in:
- Large conference rooms
- Private offices with closed doors
- Kitchens and wellness rooms
- Mechanical or production spaces
- Restrooms
- High-noise work areas
- Tenant-controlled audio environments
Tenants should also know where internal communications stop and building instructions begin. Conflicting messages from a corporate alert system and the building's FLS staff can create hesitation.
Address Mixed-Occupancy Coordination
Buildings containing offices, retail, assembly spaces, hotels, medical uses, or other distinct occupancies may require coordination between different emergency-preparedness teams.
NYC Fire Code provisions address communication and response coordination among qualifying occupancies in mixed-occupancy buildings. (nyc.gov)
Property management should make sure the relevant staff know:
- Who communicates with whom
- Which plan applies to each area
- Where procedures interact
- How shared stairs, lobbies, or assembly areas are managed
- How one occupancy will be notified of an emergency affecting another
Review Information After Operational Changes
Do not wait for the next required drill to discover that the tenant coordinator left six months earlier.
Trigger a tenant-profile review when:
- A new tenant moves in
- A tenant expands, contracts, or relocates
- Reception coverage changes
- A major renovation alters the layout
- A company introduces regular overnight operations
- Key emergency contacts leave
- A tenant begins hosting frequent public events
A quarterly confirmation can be as simple as asking each tenant to verify that its profile remains accurate.
Give the FLSD Information That Can Be Used
The strongest Fire and Life Safety Director program connects the approved building plan with current tenant operations. Accurate contacts, occupancy patterns, visitor practices, and assistance arrangements help the FLSD make timely decisions without relying on guesswork.
Guardian ISI can help NYC properties strengthen FLSD staffing and tenant emergency coordination. Call or text (212) 602-1695 or request coverage.
Related Guardian services
Review Fire & Life Safety Director services for qualified personnel working with the building’s current emergency plan and tenant information.
Frequently asked questions
What tenant contact information should an FLSD receive?
Maintain primary and alternate decision-makers, direct contact methods, typical locations, and appropriate after-hours contacts where the tenant has significant off-hours occupancy.
Should the building maintain a list of occupants who may need assistance?
Use a respectful and appropriately confidential process consistent with the approved plan and property policies. Focus on assistance and communication arrangements rather than assumptions.
How often should tenant emergency profiles be updated?
Review them periodically and whenever a tenant moves, renovates, changes contacts, alters working hours, or begins hosting materially different activities.
Why is lobby visitor data not enough?
A lobby record may not show a visitor's current floor, host, departure status, or movement after entry. Tenants need an internal method for accounting for their guests.