On-site · Stage I · Sections 1, 2 and 3

Building knowledge

Ch. 20, §20.1-20.2, pp. 422-426; Ch. 22, §22.1, pp. 434-435

What the inspector asks of you

The inspector asks site-specific questions about YOUR building, out loud. Your answers are scored against the building's Building Information Card (BIC) and its FDNY plan; section 3 also uses the Comprehensive Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plan, if the building has one.

If you know the BIC or the plan changed, tell the inspector BEFORE the exam begins. (FDNY booklet 2022, Ch. 20, §20.1, p. 422)
Buildings without a Comprehensive Plan are not tested on section 3. (FDNY booklet 2022, Ch. 22, §22.1, p. 434)

Your coach on this stage

Coach FLSDAI

Building knowledge opens the On-site exam (sections 1-3), and every answer is scored against YOUR building's BIC and FDNY plan. There is no generic right answer here: if you don't know your building, no study guide saves you.

Weight: the FDNY does not publish points per section. What it does say: mandatory items are building specific with a practical demonstration, important items are generic, and you need 70%, every mandatory item and no more than one important item missed (Notice of Exam, p. 27).

Texts prepared by AI from the official FDNY booklet. Not a person and not the FDNY.

What to memorize

The 9 BIC areas: building information, statistics, stairways, elevators, ventilation, utilities, fire protection systems, hazardous materials, communications (§20.1, p. 422).
The brigade trio, by title AND name: property manager, director of security, chief engineer (§22.1, p. 434).
Which cars have two-way communication, who runs them in manual mode, and where the fail-safe door release equipment is (§20.1, p. 422).
Utilities: steam or gas entry and shut-offs, UPS or energy storage batteries, day tanks with capacity and location (§20.1, pp. 422-423).
The alternate command site if the Fire Command Center is compromised (§20.1, p. 423).
If the BIC or the plan changed, you tell the inspector before the exam starts (§20.1, p. 422).

Memory trick

The 9 BIC areas, in order: "I Saw Six Engines Visit Uptown; Firefighters Help Citizens" = Information, Statistics, Stairways, Elevators, Ventilation, Utilities, Fire protection, Hazardous materials, Communications.

Ch. 20, §20.1, p. 422

Checklist: what you must know or show

0 of 14 checked · Check an item when you can do it without notes.

Practice questions

Your building's sheet

Fill it in with YOUR building's data, from its BIC and its FDNY plan. Then cover it and say it out loud, as in the exam.

Saved only on this device; it is never sent anywhere. Do not share screenshots: it describes a real building's safety systems. And remember: no notes are allowed in the exam.

0 of 21 fields filled in

Business hours

Daytime and nighttime population

Number of stories

Stairways: name, location, floors served, re-entry floors, scissor stairs

Fail-safe / door release equipment, and floors

Elevator banks, floors served, which cars have two-way communication

Who operates elevators in manual/independent mode (title)

Steam / natural gas: entry and shut-offs

UPS / energy storage batteries: where

Day tanks: capacity and location

HVAC: supply fans, purge, who operates it (title and name)

Required drill frequency

People who need assistance: procedure and where the list is

Alternate command site

Standpipes, sprinklers, other systems, extinguishers, special features

Brigade: property manager, director of security, chief engineer (titles and names)

Who assesses exits/stairs, elevators, utilities/fuel oil, HVAC

In-building relocation areas; stair for floors without one

Primary and alternate evacuation routes

Primary and alternate assembly areas; how people are counted, who reports

Hazardous materials and special notes on the BIC

Next: stage II, Fire Command Center and elevator demonstration

Sources

FDNY - Fire and Life Safety Director Curriculum, Version .02 (Part V, chapters 20-22: On-Site Exam) (2022-10-26)
FDNY - Notice of Exam for the Certificate of Fitness Examination F-89/T-89 Fire and Life Safety Director (2022-10-26 (revised))
FDNY - FLS Director F-89 Non-Fire (EAP) Onsite Exam and Remedial R-59 CBT Study Guide (2017-07-27 (revised))

Main source: the FDNY booklet (2022), Part V, chapters 20-22. The 2017 on-site guide is used only where it does not contradict the booklet. The FDNY asks you to always check for the latest version on its website.