Resident Education: Fire Safety in High-Rise Communities
One of the most persistent challenges facing high-rise residential property managers is getting residents meaningfully engaged in fire safety.
But proactive property managers across Ontario are changing that.
By investing in resident education seminars, building safety workshops, and hands-on emergency training, these leaders are closing the gap between compliance and comprehension—empowering residents to understand their role in fire safety and emergency response.
At National Life Safety Group, we specialize in high-rise emergency preparedness strategies that make residents safer, better informed, and more responsive during a crisis.
Why Resident Education Matters
When a fire alarm sounds at 2:00 AM, how many of your residents know what they’re supposed to do? For many buildings, the answer is unclear. This is evident by the dozens and dozens of phone calls to the security desk asking what to do when the fire alarm rings.
High-Rise building emergency procedures can be complex—especially in vertical communities with hundreds of units, persons requiring special assistance, and varied life safety systems. Holding resident information sessions and fire safety education seminars is quickly becoming the gold standard in emergency preparedness.
Resident Seminars: The New Best Practice
Progressive condo boards and building managers are now bringing in fire safety & education experts to deliver tailored seminars that go far beyond the traditional educational campaigns:
Explain the life safety systems in the building
Clarify resident and staff responsibilities during a fire alarm
Discuss when to evacuate versus when to shelter in place
Review challenges and gaps in High-Rise Fire Safety
Educate residents on the PRA (Persons Requiring Assistance) program
Review challenges to the fire department response to high-rise buildings
Answer important questions like, “Do I really leave when the alarm goes off?”
These resident education sessions not only enhance safety—they also create documented due diligence, showing that property management has taken proactive steps to communicate emergency procedures clearly and consistently. In fact, many building Owners are holding these session annually, and take attendance at each session as part of their efforts to create a resilient community.
What Residents Learn in a Fire Safety Seminar
How Life Safety Systems Work in Their Building
From sprinklers and smoke detectors (to Smoke Alarms) to stairwell pressurization and fire alarm zones, residents gain a foundational understanding of how their building is designed to keep them safe—and the crucial role building operations and security staff play during an emergency - and even before the emergency.
When to Stay or Go: Informed Evacuation Decisions
Residents are taught that evacuation is a personal decision—but it must be an informed one. Fire behavior in high-rise buildings is different from low-rise or detached homes. Residents must understand:
Human behavior in fires
High-rise evacuation challenges for Occupants and fire departments
How their building’s fire safety plan informs safe decision-making
Evacuation options for Persons Requiring Assistance (PRAs)
What Security Staff will do, and won’t do.
Defend in Place: A Critical Life-Safety Decision
When residents are unable to leave their suite—due to smoke, fire, or mobility limitations—they need to fully understand the defend-in-place strategy.
Residents must be made aware that delaying evacuation increases risk. Stairwells may become impassable due to smoke and heat. Educating residents to act quickly—but wisely—can make the difference between a safe evacuation and a dangerous delay.
Building Community Resilience
These education efforts are more than code compliance—they’re about building a culture of shared responsibility between residents, property staff, and emergency responders.
When residents and staff understand each other's roles, responses become faster, smoother, and more effective. Emergency preparedness is no longer seen as the manager’s job alone—it becomes a shared mission.
How National Life Safety Group Can Help
At National Life Safety Group, we help residential buildings across Ontario deliver engaging, effective, and code-compliant resident education programs that support Fire Safety Plan Implementation will all persons that have roles and responsibilities in the Fire Safety Plan.
Our team and program development includes Fire Protection Engineers, Emergency Planners, Security Experts and former Fire Services personnel—giving your residents access to the best guidance in the industry.
Make Resident Safety a Priority
Don’t wait until after an incident to realize your residents were unprepared.
Invest in resident education as part of your building’s broader fire and life safety strategy. By proactively engaging your community, you reduce risk, improve emergency response, and foster a safer, more confident living environment.