The Seattle Fire Code defines a high rise as a building with occupied floors 75 feet or higher above Fire Department access. All high rise buildings must meet specific emergency planning and staff training requirements as defined in Section 404 of the Seattle Fire Code. The Seattle Fire Department offers the following resources for meeting these requirements and preparing for a high rise fire emergency

• High Rise Fire Safety (high rise tenants.pdf)
• Business Fire Safety (Business Fire Safety.pdf)
• Alternate Evacuation Strategies (alternate_evac.pdf)
• Fire Extinguishers (extinguishers.pdf)

The Seattle Fire Code requires that all high rises in the City of Seattle have a designated Fire Safety Director and Alternate.  The primary responsibility of the Fire Safety Director is to prevent, prepare for and manage fire emergencies until the Fire Department arrives to assume control of the situation.  These responsibilities include maintaining the building fire and life safety systems, annually reviewing the emergency operations plan, coordinating fire drills, scheduling other fire safety training opportunities for management staff and building occupants.

The Seattle Fire Department has many resources available to assist with Fire Safety Directors with their responsibilities.

• Information Bulletins are available to provide further explanation of the Seattle Fire Code.
   
• Teaching Guides for workplace safety and floor warden training are available to help meet your training needs.
   
• A wide variety of Fire Fact Sheets have been developed to support the teaching guides and videos.
   
• Building fire and life safety systems must be Confidence Tested on regular intervals as required by the Seattle Fire Code.
   
• View/Download the High Rise Emergency Handbook prepared by Seattle Fire Department.

Should you need further assistance or have questions regarding the information presented here, contact the Public Education Office.