High-Rise Smoke Odor in a Stairwell
At 10:22, the floor warden on the 12th floor of an 18-story office tower calls. The building fire alarm is sounding, and occupants report a strong odor of smoke in the east stairwell. She sees no flames or visible smoke on her floor. About 40 employees are on the floor, and some want to use the elevators. The building has two stairwells; the east stairwell is the one with the odor, while the west stairwell is clear as far as she knows. No one is reported missing. The alarm company has not called, and the caller has not heard an announcement. She asks whether to evacuate or stay put and whether to silence the alarm. The address is 900 Northgate Plaza. The caller is calling from a desk phone.
1. What key questions do you ask, and what response level do you recommend?
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Confirm the address, the caller's floor, the total building height, and exactly where the odor is. Ask whether the east stairwell door is hot, whether smoke is visible or only smelled, what color and density the smoke is, whether sprinkler waterflow or alarms have activated beyond the general alarm, and whether the HVAC system is running. Ask how many occupants are on the floor and whether anyone needs assistance. A strong smoke odor in a stairwell is not a routine alarm malfunction; stairwells are vertical shafts and can spread products of combustion. Recommend a structural fire response for a high-rise, not a single-engine alarm check. Dispatch while you continue questioning, and update units with: 18-story office tower, smoke odor in east stairwell, 40 occupants on 12, no visible fire on 12, elevators still operating. Do not wait for the alarm company to confirm before sending.
2. What evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions would you give the floor warden?
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Tell her not to use the elevators. If the west stairwell is clear and she can verify it without entering smoke, occupants should use the west stairwell to evacuate, staying low and closing stairwell doors behind them. Keep people out of the east stairwell entirely. If smoke is present in both stairwells or the corridor, shelter in place on the floor: close office and stairwell doors, seal gaps if smoke is entering, and wait for fire department direction. Have her account for the 40 employees and report anyone missing. Do not let occupants re-enter to retrieve belongings. If someone cannot use stairs, report that to responding units rather than attempting an unsafe carry-down. The principle is to move people away from the smoke source while preserving a protected stairwell for firefighters and evacuation.
3. The caller asks if she can silence the alarm because it is disrupting phone communication. How do you respond?
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Tell her not to silence the building alarm. The alarm is providing life-safety notification to other floors, and silencing it could cause occupants to underestimate the incident. If the noise makes it hard for her to hear you, she can move to a quieter location on the same floor or use the phone's speaker, but she should not touch the fire alarm panel unless directed by the fire department. Explain that the alarm company may call, and she should give them the same information: smoke odor in the east stairwell, no visible fire on 12, occupants using the west stairwell. Keep her on the line if possible, or confirm a callback number. In a high-rise, unauthorized silencing can also complicate the fire department's investigation of which device activated.