On-site · Stage II · Sections 10 and 11

Fire Command Center and elevator demonstration

Ch. 20, §20.4-20.5, pp. 428-430

What the inspector asks of you

You show, hands on, how you run the Fire Command Center and the elevators of YOUR building. Get the manual or training from the manufacturer or installer beforehand, and ask the staff near the FCC to stay silent: if anyone answers or tells you what to press, you get no credit for that item.

Most MANDATORY items are here: miss one and you fail, even with a high score. (FDNY booklet 2022, Ch. 20, §20.4-20.5, pp. 429-430)
Phase II in-car operation is mandatory in the 2022 booklet. Older material (2017) says it is not demonstrated: follow the current booklet. (FDNY booklet 2022, Ch. 20, §20.5, p. 430)
Get the building management's approvals before the inspector arrives. If management does not let you demonstrate a required skill, the exam ends as a building failure (it does not count against you, but the fee is charged). (FDNY on-site guide 2017, About the On-Site Exam, p. 5)

Your coach on this stage

Coach FLSDAI

Here live most of the MANDATORY items: miss one and you fail, even with a high score. And it is hands-on: you need practice on YOUR panel and YOUR elevators, not just reading.

Weight: no points per section are published, but a single mandatory item missed means failing (Notice of Exam, p. 27). In practice, this stage weighs the most.

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

What to memorize

Vest, armband or hat first, without being told (§20.4, p. 428).
FCC mandatory: off-line and on-line, P.A. announcements (building, stairs, elevators, single floors), acknowledge, warden phones, manual tone if applicable, silence, reset (§20.4, p. 429).
Elevators mandatory: Phase I recall, Phase II in-car, independent/manual mode (§20.5, p. 430).
Ask the people near the FCC to stay silent: any help costs you the item (§20.4, p. 428).

Memory trick

Elevators count "1, 2, Solo": Phase I, Phase II and independent (the car goes solo). All three are mandatory.

Ch. 20, §20.5, p. 430

Checklist: what you must know or show

0 of 16 checked · Check an item when you can do it without notes.

Mandatory = what the FDNY booklet marks as MANDATORY (ch. 20, pp. 429-430). The FDNY does not publish which questions are "important": prepare every item.

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 18 fields filled in

Where the Fire Command Center is

Where your vest, armband or hat is kept

Components of the fire alarm panel (list them)

Steps: system off-line and on-line

Steps: acknowledge a signal

Steps: silence the fire tones

Steps: manual alert or alarm tone

Where the fail-safe door release control is

Fan controls at the FCC (if any)

Steps: reset the FCC

Steps: building-wide announcement (stairs and elevators) and localized one

Warden phones: how to call a floor

Primary and alternate communication: EAP staff, occupants, critical operations

Where the Fireman Service key is

Steps: Phase I recall (each bank)

Steps: Phase II in-car (close, cancel floor, reopen)

Designated car for independent mode; what to do first; steps

Two-way with the car: answer and initiate

Next: stage III, Emergency scenarios: fire, building and non-fire

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.