Fire safety- combustible or non-combustible
After reading my NOLO New York Landlord’s book, I see that as a landlord I am required to give my tenant a fire safety plan. (Even though I rented for 8 years and no one ever gave me one). Does anyone know how to figure out if their building is combustible or non-combustible. I have…
After reading my NOLO New York Landlord’s book, I see that as a landlord I am required to give my tenant a fire safety plan. (Even though I rented for 8 years and no one ever gave me one). Does anyone know how to figure out if their building is combustible or non-combustible. I have to choose on my fire-safety form. I have a pre-1899 limestone building. Thanks.
Your place is combustible. The non combustible, or “fireproof” buildings have concrete slab for floors and cinderblock walls underneath the sheetrock, which keeps the fire confined within the space of origin (most of the time). The building you are speaking of undoubtedly has wood timber floors and wood lath/plaster interior walls. The house also more than likely has no “firestops” between the studs in the walls, allowing for the unimpeded vertical spread of fire inside the walls. This allows for the more rapid spread of fire as all the floor timbers and interior wall timbers are “combustible.”
This coming from a firefighter of 18 years.
Hope this helps,
Dan