In January we completed a new Fire Safety Plan Vancouver project for the Regent Medical Building at 2184 West Broadway — a 5-storey commercial and medical office building on the corner of West Broadway and Yew Street. This was a fresh plan built from scratch to the BC Fire Code 2024 standard, which introduced new requirements that most existing Vancouver buildings haven’t been updated to meet yet.
If you own or manage a commercial building in Vancouver, this is worth reading. BC Fire Code 2024 has added documentation requirements that the Vancouver Fire Department is now looking for during inspections.
In this article
- About the Regent Medical Building
- What BC Fire Code 2024 Changed for Vancouver Fire Safety Plans
- Fire Protection Systems at 2184 West Broadway
- Why a Fresh Vancouver Fire Safety Plan Is Often Better Than an Update
- Does Your Vancouver Building Need an Updated Plan?
- How We Handle Fire Safety Plans in Vancouver
About the Regent Medical Building
The Regent Medical Building is a 5-storey commercial office building with an underground parkade, originally constructed in 1959. It’s a concrete structure with the distinctive glazing-and-aluminum curtain wall that defines a lot of the mid-century commercial buildings on West Broadway.
Occupancy mix:
- Parkade level — parking, storage rooms, boiler room, electrical room
- Level 1 — commercial units, including medical offices, pharmacies, a dental office, income tax services, a sushi restaurant, and other retail
- Levels 2–5 — offices and mechanical rooms
- Roof level — fan room and mechanical room
That mix — ground-floor retail plus multi-floor professional offices — is one of the most common building types in Vancouver, especially along the Broadway corridor. It’s also one of the most commonly out of compliance because plans for these buildings are often decades old.
What BC Fire Code 2024 Changed for Vancouver Fire Safety Plans
The BC Fire Code was updated in 2024, and the new edition introduced documentation requirements that weren’t in the previous code. A Fire Safety Plan Vancouver Fire Department will approve under the new code now has to include:
- Statement of Currency — a signed document at the front of the plan confirming when it was prepared, reviewed, and submitted, with the Fire Safety Director’s signature acknowledging receipt
- Noteworthy Changes section — a running log of revisions, what was reviewed (training records, maintenance activities, policies), and any changes to the plan
- Master Inspection, Testing & Maintenance Schedule — a single consolidated schedule showing every piece of fire protection equipment, its inspection frequency (daily, monthly, annual, bi-monthly, semi-annual, 3-year, 5-year, 15-year, 50-year for sprinklers), who performs it, and when
- Master Training Schedule — dates for all required training: Fire Safety Plan orientation, supervisory responsibilities, fire drills, emergency procedures, extinguisher use, fire wardens, fire watch, hot work policy
- Hot Work Policy and Procedures as a standalone appendix — hot work permits, fire incident reports, fire watch logs
None of this was required under the older BC Fire Code. If your Vancouver fire safety plan was prepared before 2024, there’s a very good chance it’s missing most of this — and the Vancouver Fire Department is now asking for it.
Fire Protection Systems at 2184 West Broadway
For a commercial office building this size, we documented:
- Siemens single-stage fire alarm system — supervised and monitored 24/7 by a commercial monitoring company. The main panel is in the basement electrical room; the annunciator panel is in the main lobby so firefighters can locate the zone immediately on arrival.
- Sprinkler and standpipe systems — full building coverage with a Siamese fire department connection on the west side of the building for fire department use
- Fire hose cabinets — 1½” x 75′ lined hose in the center corridor of each floor
- Two Turnbull elevators serving all levels, with recall switches in the Level 1 elevator lobby. Elevator recall procedures and in-car emergency operation are documented step-by-step in the plan.
- Emergency lighting and exit signs — battery-powered units covering stairwells, corridors, and lobby
- Fire department access — off West Broadway, with roof access via the center stairwell, and a city fire hydrant at the NE corner of West Broadway and Yew Street
- ABC multi-purpose dry chemical fire extinguishers throughout the building
- Gas shutoff on the southeast corner of the building in the back lane
Why a Fresh Vancouver Fire Safety Plan Is Often Better Than an Update
When a building doesn’t have a plan yet — or has one that predates BC Fire Code 2024 — we usually recommend building a fresh plan from scratch instead of patching an old one. Three reasons:
- The structure of a BCFC 2024 plan is different. The Statement of Currency, Master Schedules, and Noteworthy Changes format need to be integrated from the start. Retrofitting an older plan leaves gaps.
- Building systems change. Alarm panels get replaced, tenants move, elevators get upgraded. A fresh site visit catches what an outdated plan misses.
- Vancouver Fire Department has tightened expectations. We’ve seen more plans sent back for revision in the past year than in the previous five combined. Starting fresh is faster than a back-and-forth revision cycle.
Does Your Vancouver Building Need an Updated Plan?
Under BC Fire Code Section 2.8, most commercial, multi-family, and mixed-use buildings in Vancouver are required to have a current fire safety plan approved by the Vancouver Fire Department. If any of the following applies, your plan likely needs to be updated or rebuilt:
- Your plan was prepared before 2024
- You’ve never been issued a Statement of Currency or Master Inspection Schedule
- Tenants have changed, or building systems have been upgraded, since the plan was last approved
- The Vancouver Fire Department has flagged your plan or sent a notice
- You’re unsure whether you even have a plan on file
How We Handle Fire Safety Plans in Vancouver
We handle the entire Fire Safety Plan Vancouver process end-to-end:
- On-site walkthrough and full inventory of fire protection systems
- BCFC 2024–compliant plan structure from the first page
- CAD-drawn site plans and floor plans showing exits, fire equipment, fire department connections, and hydrant locations
- Statement of Currency, Master Inspection Schedule, Master Training Schedule
- Fire Safety Director and Deputy appointment documentation
- Hot Work Policy appendix
- Submission to Vancouver Fire Department and follow-through until approval
- Free updates when your Fire Safety Director, Deputy FSD, property manager, or service contractors change
One flat fee. Approval guaranteed or your money back. That’s how we’ve done it for 20+ years.
Related case study: For a residential example, see our Fire Safety Plan Vancouver project for a residential building on Cypress Street — same city, different occupancy type, same BC Fire Code Section 2.8 requirements.
Also see: Fire Safety Plan Vancouver — 18-storey concrete highrise on Jervis Street — a 136-suite residential tower built in 1974, with six underground levels, pool chemical storage, and a diesel emergency generator.
If your Vancouver building needs a new fire safety plan — or your existing plan needs to be brought up to BC Fire Code 2024 — send us a message and we’ll book a site visit this week. Or see how our fire safety plan service works.