Fire safety plans for New Westminster buildings, prepared to the BC Fire Code and the City’s Fire Protection Bylaw, and submitted to the Fire Prevention Office for approval.
Who needs a fire safety plan in New Westminster
New Westminster Fire & Rescue Services enforces Section 2.8 of the BC Fire Code through the City’s Fire Protection Bylaw No. 6940. The bylaw puts the duty on the occupier: a fire safety plan must be submitted to the department for approval, in a form the Director of Fire and Rescue Services accepts, and reviewed every year. Each year the owner either submits an updated plan or notifies the department that nothing has changed, and the bylaw allows a municipal ticket for buildings that never submit one.
That covers every building with a fire alarm system, every assembly, care or detention occupancy, every high building and every sprinklered building: the towers of Downtown and Quayside, the older concrete rental buildings and walk-ups Uptown, the hospital precinct in Sapperton, the townhouse stratas and business parks of Queensborough, and every school, daycare and care home in the city.
How New Westminster Fire & Rescue Services reviews a plan
The Fire Prevention Office reviews plans against the BC Fire Code and its own expectations. A New Westminster plan needs the emergency procedures for occupants and supervisory staff, the appointment of the Fire Safety Director and alternates, staff training and drill schedules, site and floor drawings showing exits, the alarm panel and annunciator, sprinkler and standpipe connections, hydrants and shut-offs, the fire hazards in the building and how they are controlled, and the maintenance schedules for every fire protection system.
The City charges a review fee that is tiered by building type, with low-rise buildings, buildings of seven storeys or more, and care or detention occupancies each reviewed on their own schedule, and separate fees for operational amendments. We confirm the current amount at submission and include it in your quote. Where a fire alarm or sprinkler system is installed, the bylaw also requires an approved flush-mounted lock box keyed to the department’s keys, and we note its location in the plan.
Construction and demolition sites are reviewed under a separate fee, and our construction division at constructionfiresafetyplans.ca prepares those plans.
The buildings we plan for in New Westminster
High-rise residential and mixed-use towers along the Quayside waterfront and Columbia Street. Concrete rental towers and wood-frame walk-ups around Sixth Street and Sixth Avenue Uptown. The Royal Columbian Hospital campus and the mid-rise condos of Sapperton. Townhouse stratas and the industrial and business parks of Queensborough along the Fraser. Older low-rise rental apartments on the Brow of the Hill. Schools, daycares, care homes and places of worship across the city.
Keeping a New Westminster plan current
The bylaw makes the annual review a formal step in New Westminster: each year the plan is either updated and resubmitted, or the department is told in writing that nothing has changed. Update it whenever the Fire Safety Director, property manager, monitoring company or building systems change, run the annual drill, and keep the records in the plan box.
How it works with FireSafetyPlan.com
- Firm quote in one business day. One upfront price based on building type and size, with any fire department review fee included.
- Site visit. We confirm exits, fire alarm panel and annunciator, sprinkler and standpipe connections, shut-offs and the plan box location, and photograph the fire protection systems.
- Draft in five to seven business days. CAD drawings and the full written plan, sent to you for review before anything is submitted.
- Submission and approval. We submit to the fire department, handle any revisions they ask for, and deliver the accepted plan in print and PDF, with wall plaques and a plan box if you need them.
Approval is guaranteed. If the fire department sends back a plan we prepared, we revise it at no charge until it is accepted.
Recent New Westminster projects
A few of the New Westminster buildings we have prepared fire safety plans for, and what made each one different.
- A 1947 auto body shop on East Columbia Street: no alarm, no sprinklers, and the paint booth is in the basement.
- A second-floor daycare on Sixth Street: evacuation cribs, a staff relay on the stairs and a plan that sits inside another building’s plan.
- A 13-storey residential tower on Carnarvon Street: nine parking levels, a twin next door and two alarm panels that watch each other.
- A 1960s industrial warehouse on Edworthy Way: a plan about racks and aisles, with every rack dimensioned on the drawing.
- A 1980 office building on Agnes Street: sprinklers on two floors only, and four stairs that all end somewhere different.
Frequently asked questions — New Westminster
Is there a review fee?
New Westminster charges a fee to review a fire safety plan, set in the municipal fee bylaw and changed from time to time. We confirm the current amount at submission and include it in your quote so there are no surprises.
What does the annual review involve?
A qualified person checks that the plan still matches the building: the people named in it, the systems, the tenants and the drawings. If anything has changed the plan is updated and resubmitted; if not, the department is notified that no update is needed. We handle the review and the notice for our clients.
Our building is new and the developer supplied a plan. Is it enough?
Rarely for long. Developer plans are written before anyone moves in, seldom name a real Fire Safety Director, and often were never formally accepted. We check what is on file and update or replace it as needed.
New Westminster fire safety plan quote: (778) 574-2895. We reply within one business day.
Read more: strata fire safety plan requirements in BC, what a fire safety plan costs in BC, or request a quote.
Need a fire safety plan approved?
Firm quote within one business day. Approval guaranteed.