FLSD Active Shooter Medical Emergencies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During an active shooter event in a high-rise building, the Fire Life Safety Director should first:
- Evacuate all occupants immediately via stairwells
- Notify FDNY and implement shelter-in-place for floors not in danger (Correct answer)
- Disable all elevators and lock stairwell doors
- Sound the fire alarm to alert all occupants
Correct answer: Notify FDNY and implement shelter-in-place for floors not in danger
The FLSD should notify FDNY immediately and implement shelter-in-place for floors away from the threat, coordinating with law enforcement on safe evacuation routes.
Unlike fire emergencies where immediate evacuation is typical, active shooter events require the FLSD to contact FDNY/NYPD first, then implement selective shelter-in-place to keep occupants away from the threat. Mass evacuation could move people toward danger. The FLSD acts as the coordination hub between building staff and emergency responders.
Question 2: When FDNY arrives at a building during a medical emergency, the FLSD should:
- Stand aside and let FDNY handle everything independently
- Meet FDNY at the fire command station and provide floor and patient location (Correct answer)
- Call 911 again to update them on the patient's condition
- Activate the fire alarm system to clear a path for paramedics
Correct answer: Meet FDNY at the fire command station and provide floor and patient location
The FLSD must meet FDNY at the fire command station, provide the exact location of the medical emergency, and facilitate elevator access for emergency responders.
When FDNY arrives for a medical emergency, the FLSD serves as the building liaison. They must be at the fire command station to greet responders, provide floor number, apartment/suite number, and patient condition if known. The FLSD also facilitates Phase I elevator recall to send a car to lobby level for FDNY use, enabling rapid transport of equipment to the affected floor.
Question 3: A medical emergency occurs on the 18th floor of a high-rise. The FLSD should use Phase I elevator recall to:
- Send all elevators to the 18th floor
- Return all elevators to the ground floor lobby under FDNY control (Correct answer)
- Lock all elevators in place to prevent use by the public
- Send one elevator directly to the roof for helicopter access
Correct answer: Return all elevators to the ground floor lobby under FDNY control
Phase I recall returns all elevators to the ground floor lobby, where FDNY takes control to respond to the emergency floor.
Phase I elevator recall, initiated via the fire command station key switch, causes all elevators to return to the designated recall floor (typically lobby level) and remain there with doors open. This takes elevators out of normal service and places them under FDNY control. For medical emergencies, this ensures FDNY has immediate elevator access without waiting for cars in use by the public.
Question 4: An occupant reports a suspicious package in the lobby. The FLSD's first action should be to:
- Pick up and examine the package to assess the threat
- Evacuate only the lobby area and call NYPD (Correct answer)
- Activate the building fire alarm immediately
- Seal the lobby and prevent anyone from entering or leaving
Correct answer: Evacuate only the lobby area and call NYPD
The FLSD should evacuate the immediate area around the suspicious package and call NYPD, who has jurisdiction over suspicious package incidents.
Suspicious package protocols require the FLSD to: (1) keep people away from the package — do not touch, move, or open it; (2) evacuate the immediate area (not necessarily the entire building unless directed); (3) call NYPD (911) immediately; (4) prevent others from entering the area; (5) await and assist law enforcement. The FLSD should not activate the fire alarm, as this could cause a larger evacuation that complicates the police response.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes the FLSD's role during a building hostage situation?
- Take direct action to intervene and protect hostages
- Maintain communication with NYPD and control access to the building (Correct answer)
- Conduct a full building evacuation using fire alarm procedures
- Negotiate directly with the hostage-taker via the PA system
Correct answer: Maintain communication with NYPD and control access to the building
The FLSD's role during a hostage situation is to support law enforcement — controlling building access, providing floor plans, and maintaining communication with NYPD command.
Hostage situations are law enforcement incidents. The FLSD supports NYPD by controlling building access points, providing building plans and elevator controls, securing communications, and keeping unauthorized persons out of the building. The FLSD must avoid actions that could escalate the situation, such as activating alarms or making PA announcements without NYPD direction.
Question 6: During a medical emergency, a floor warden reports that an occupant with a mobility disability cannot use the stairs. The FLSD should:
- Instruct the occupant to wait in their office until help arrives
- Direct the occupant to the nearest area of refuge and notify FDNY of their location (Correct answer)
- Carry the occupant down the stairs personally
- Activate Phase II elevator service for the disabled occupant
Correct answer: Direct the occupant to the nearest area of refuge and notify FDNY of their location
Occupants with mobility disabilities should be directed to areas of refuge, and FDNY must be notified of their exact location for rescue assistance.
RARE (Rescue Assistance Evacuation) protocols require that mobility-impaired occupants be directed to designated areas of refuge — fire-rated spaces near stairwells with two-way communication to the fire command station. The FLSD must communicate the occupant's location to FDNY immediately upon their arrival. Under no circumstances should untrained staff attempt to carry a disabled person down stairs, as this risks injury to both parties.
FLSD Active Shooter Medical Emergencies 2
During an active shooter event in a high-rise building, the Fire Life Safety Director should first: