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You are here · Zone L · Emergency shelters

Buildings used as emergency shelters: the numbers the coordinator checks

When an armory, auditorium, community center, gym, house of worship or school takes in a group of people for a long stretch, the Study Material treats it as an emergency shelter. The building was never designed for sleeping, so it gets its own rules for space, aisles and the means of egress (Source: Study Material §17.1).

Plan ref LUpdated October 25, 2026

A community hall laid out as a shelter

Exit AExit BCots, row ACots, row BDining areaStaff officeFire commandcenterLocker roomMeeting point outside
Figure 1 Two exits, remote from each other, both reached along clear aisles. The Study Material asks for exits that are sufficient in number and remote from one another (Source: Study Material §17.1).

Why a gym gets its own rules

A gym, an armory or a school hall has wide open floors, few walls and exits placed for daytime crowds. Fill it with cots and the problems change: people sleep, aisles narrow, and staff may not know the building. Section 17.1 of the Study Material answers that with rules on notice, systems, space, exits and patrols (Source: Study Material §17.1).

These buildings have the same fire starters as a permanent shelter. The heaters, candles and cords page and the shelter fire hazards page cover them.

Checkpoints for Zone L: Emergency shelters

Checkpoint round

0 of 12 checked · 0 cleared

Practice questions written for study, not taken from the test. The real F-80 is a multiple-choice test on a touch-screen computer at FDNY Headquarters.

Read the options first. Wrong options here tend to be the right rule with the wrong number or the wrong office; strike those, then read the question.

How the checkpoint round works

Read the options first and rule out the ones that break a rule, then pick from what is left. After you answer, the debrief explains every option and scores your strikes. Keys: 1–5 or A–E answer, Shift with a number rules that option out, the arrow keys move.

Checkpoint 1 of 12

  1. Checkpoint 01

    A school gym that was not designed as a shelter is used as an emergency shelter. When do the emergency shelter requirements apply?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AOne night is not the test; the time part of the rule is more than 30 days in any year.
    2. BCorrect: the rules cover a building not designed as a shelter once it houses more than 15 persons for more than 30 days in a year.
    3. CThis swaps the two numbers; the rule is more than 15 persons and more than 30 days.
    4. DThe thresholds are much lower than 50 persons and 90 days; 15 persons and 30 days start the rules.

  2. Checkpoint 02

    A community center will open as an emergency shelter for 40 people on Monday. Staff have already told the Department of Buildings. Who else must be notified before Monday?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AThe central station handles alarm signals; the notice of intent goes to Buildings and the FDNY.
    2. BThe Health Department is not named; the notice goes to the Department of Buildings and the FDNY.
    3. CThe police are not on the list; the second notice goes to the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Prevention.
    4. DCorrect: Notice of the intent to operate goes to the Department of Buildings and to the Public Buildings Unit of the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Prevention, before the use starts.

  3. Checkpoint 03

    A gym used as an emergency shelter has 4,000 square feet of livable area. Unless the Department of Buildings approves otherwise, what is the most people it may shelter?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AForty people would get 100 square feet each; the rule asks for 80, so more people fit.
    2. BEighty is the square feet per person, not the head count; 80 people would get only 50 square feet each.
    3. CCorrect: The rule is at least 80 square feet of livable area per occupant, and 4,000 divided by 80 is 50.
    4. DA hundred people would get only 40 square feet each, half of what the rule requires.

  4. Checkpoint 04

    Staff set up rows of cots in a gym used as an emergency shelter. Which layout meets the aisle rules?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ACorrect: Aisles must be at least 36 inches wide, and cross aisles in the main hallways at least 48 inches; this layout meets both.
    2. BThirty inches is too narrow; every aisle must be at least 36 inches wide.
    3. CThe main hallway is a cross aisle, which needs at least 48 inches, not 36.
    4. DA wide hallway does not make up for 24-inch aisles; each aisle needs at least 36 inches.

  5. Checkpoint 05

    Bags of trash at an emergency shelter must wait overnight for pickup. Where may they be stored indoors?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AIndoor storage must be a separate locked room on the ground floor with sprinklers; a basement by the boiler is neither.
    2. BCorrect: Waste waiting for collection goes outdoors as the Fire Code allows, or indoors in a separate locked ground-floor room protected by sprinklers.
    3. CThe lidded containers are for daily use and must not overflow; trash waiting for pickup needs a separate locked room.
    4. DAn unlocked closet is not a separate locked room, and trash near an exit adds fuel along the way out.

  6. Checkpoint 06

    A shelter’s basement has sprinklers throughout. Staff suggest four uses for it. Which use is still not allowed?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AWith sprinklers throughout, a below-grade recreation room is allowed; without them it would not be.
    2. BA sprinklered basement may be used as a lounge; only an unsprinklered one may not.
    3. CCorrect: Below-grade areas such as basements may never be used for sleeping, with or without sprinklers.
    4. DGathering places below grade are allowed when the area has sprinklers throughout, as this one does.

  7. Checkpoint 07

    During an emergency, residents of a shelter must be able to tell at a glance who works there. Which requirement covers this?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ACorrect: approved identification such as a uniform, cap, nameplate or armband lets people spot staff at once.
    2. BThe voice system is for emergency announcements to all parts of the premises, not for naming staff.
    3. CNo rule ties staff to fixed posts at exits; staff are identified by what they wear, wherever they are.
    4. DThe plan is kept on the premises; carrying a copy does not help residents recognize who is staff.

  8. Checkpoint 08

    Which fire watch setup at an emergency shelter follows the Study Material?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AAll parts of the shelter, sleeping areas included, must be patrolled continuously.
    2. BThe patrol must be done by a person holding a certificate of fitness; a clock does not replace the certificate.
    3. CCameras do not replace a continuous patrol of every area by a certificate holder.
    4. DCorrect: A certificate holder patrols every part of the shelter, and an approved method such as a watchman’s clock and key stations supervises the patrol.

  9. Checkpoint 09

    A sleeping area in an emergency shelter holds 150 people. At least how many noncombustible waste containers with tight-fitting lids must it have?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ATwo is the minimum for any sleeping area, but one per 50 persons means 150 people need 3.
    2. BCorrect: The rule is at least one container for each 50 persons, so 150 people need 3; the 2-container minimum is already met.
    3. CFour is more than the rule needs; one per 50 persons gives 3 for 150 people.
    4. DFifteen would be one per 10 persons; the rule is one per 50.

  10. Checkpoint 10

    Residents of an emergency shelter ask staff to set up a place to smoke. Which plan follows the Study Material?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AA sprinkler does not make indoor smoking allowed; smoking is prohibited inside shelters.
    2. BStaff supervision does not change the rule; smoking is prohibited anywhere inside.
    3. CCorrect: The Study Material says smoking is prohibited inside of shelters, so no indoor smoking area may be set up.
    4. DAn open window is still inside the shelter, where smoking is prohibited.

  11. Checkpoint 11

    Which set of fire protection systems must a building used as an emergency shelter have?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. ACorrect: full sprinklers plus a fire alarm system with smoke detectors, a fire command center and one-way voice.
    2. BSprinklers must protect the premises throughout, not only sleeping areas, and smoke detectors are required.
    3. CThe required system is one-way voice from the fire command center, and sprinklers are not optional.
    4. DStandpipes and single-station smoke alarms are not the systems the emergency shelter rules list.

  12. Checkpoint 12

    On patrol at a school gym used as an emergency shelter, which exit door must be corrected?

    Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.

    1. AOpening outward, in the direction of exit travel, with panic hardware is what the rule asks for.
    2. BExit signs are required in emergency shelters, so this door is fine.
    3. CA push bar is panic hardware, and an unobstructed path meets the rule.
    4. DCorrect: Exits must be unlocked in the direction of egress at all times; a deadbolt locked at night breaks that rule.

The numbers in one place

Emergency shelter requirements that carry a number

RequirementNumber
When the rules applyMore than 15 persons, more than 30 days in any year
Livable area per occupantAt least 80 sq ft, unless the NYC Department of Buildings approves otherwise
AislesAt least 36 in (3 ft) wide
Cross aisles in the main hallwaysAt least 48 in (4 ft) wide
Waste containersNoncombustible, tight lids: 1 for each 50 persons in each occupied area, and at least 2 in each sleeping area, dining area and other gathering place
Sleeping below gradeNot allowed, in basements or any other below-grade area

From Source: Study Material p. 69–71. The aisle space is there so that occupants can leave quickly.

What the building needs before people sleep there

Notice

Before the use begins, the operator notifies the Department of Buildings and the Public Buildings Unit of the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention. The premises must meet the Building Code, and the FDNY and the Department of Buildings resolve any questions about a particular building (Source: Study Material §17.1).

Systems

A sprinkler system throughout, which transmits an alarm to a central station and sounds an alarm in the premises. A fire alarm system with a fire command center, smoke detectors that do the same, and one-way voice that reaches every part of the premises. Emergency lighting that meets the Building Code.

Exits

The means of egress must be enough in number and remote from one another. They open in the direction of exit travel, have panic hardware and doors with hold-open devices, and stay unobstructed and unlocked in the direction of egress at all times.

Daily operation

Staff wear approved identification, such as a uniform, cap, nameplate or armband, so nobody is confused in an emergency. A Certificate of Fitness holder continuously patrols every part of the shelter, sleeping areas included, and an approved method, such as a watchman’s clock and key stations, supervises the patrol. Smoking is prohibited inside. Certain drapes, curtains and decorations in public areas must be flame resistant. Combustible waste waits outdoors, or in a locked, sprinklered room on the ground floor.

A below-grade area without sprinklers throughout may not be used as a lounge, recreation room or other gathering place. Exit signs, stairwell signs, elevator signs, sleeping room signs and fire emergency reporting signs are posted under the Building Code.

Walking the floor with Appendix A

  • Exits, doors, aisles, hallways and stairs are not blocked
  • Exits and stairs are marked and lit
  • Fire doors are closed
  • Doors to sleeping rooms have self-closing devices
  • Sleeping rooms are identified
  • No smoking signs are posted
  • Emergency lighting works and is maintained
  • The roof door is unlocked and the way to it is clear
  • Combustible waste is removed from the premises
  • General good housekeeping throughout

A checklist, not the whole rulebook

Appendix A applies to every shelter, permanent or temporary. The Study Material says it is not all-inclusive: the coordinator must know the NYC Fire Code, the Rules of the City of New York and the NFPA standards at all times (Source: Study Material p. 82).

Where the rule is written

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