Wood-frame construction changes everything about how a fire safety plan is written. Concrete towers and tilt-up warehouses have passive fire resistance built into their structure — wood-frame residential buildings rely more heavily on active suppression, early detection, and fast evacuation. That makes the fire safety plan more consequential, not less.
Covenant Court at 9260 No. 2 Road in Richmond is a 4-storey wood-frame residential building — 26 suites, built in 1994, with a parkade level and a layout that spans four different floor configurations. This is the fire safety plan we completed in February 2026.
The Building
Covenant Court is a low-rise residential building with stucco and vinyl siding exterior, drywall and wood stud interior construction, and a flat roof with membrane and shingled peaks. The parkade is accessed from the south side of the building via No. 2 Road to the rear of the property.
The building is laid out across four distinct levels:
- Ground Level / Parkade: Main lobby, mail room, parking, storage, garbage room, workshop, electrical room, mechanical room, and elevator machine room
- Level 1: 9 residential suites, meeting room, office, and amenity room
- Level 2: 12 residential suites
- Level 3: 5 residential suites
Property management is handled by MNT Realty Inc. All fire protection services — alarm, extinguishers, emergency lighting, and the sprinkler system — are maintained by West Coast Fire Protection. Fire alarm monitoring is provided by Tyco Integrated Fire & Security. Elevator service is handled by KONE Elevator.
The Fire Alarm System
The fire alarm system is a Mircom panel, single-stage, located in the main lobby on the ground level. Any activation — pull station, smoke detector, heat detector, or sprinkler flow — triggers full building evacuation with alarms sounding throughout.
The system is monitored 24/7 by Tyco Integrated Fire & Security. The fire safety plan documents the panel location, monitoring contact details, and step-by-step instructions for building staff before the fire department arrives — including how to silence alarms, check zones, and reset the panel only after authorities confirm there is no fire.
The Electrical Room
The main electrical shutoff is in the electrical room in the parkade, north of the elevators. For a 26-suite residential building, this room carries significant infrastructure: individual BC Hydro meters for each suite, the elevator disconnect panel, and the building’s main distribution panels.
The fire safety plan documents the exact location of the main electrical shutoff and the access path from the parkade entrance — information the fire department needs before they arrive on scene, not after.
Five Exits Across Four Levels
For a 26-suite building, Covenant Court has a more distributed exit layout than most: five exits in total — one from the ground level lobby, two from the parkade level, and two from Level 1. Each exit path must be documented and shown on the CAD floor plan drawings submitted to Richmond Fire Department.
BC Fire Code requires that every exit be checked regularly to confirm it is operational and clear of obstruction. The fire safety plan includes this as a standing requirement for building staff, with the exit locations shown on each floor’s drawing.
The Elevator — and What It Doesn’t Do
Covenant Court has one elevator serviced by KONE Elevator, with a 1,580 kg weight capacity serving all floors. This elevator is not a firefighters’ elevator and does not recall automatically on fire alarm activation.
This is an important distinction documented in the fire safety plan. In buildings where the elevator does not recall, evacuation procedures must account for the fact that the elevator may still be in use when the alarm sounds — and occupants and staff need clear instructions not to use it.
Why Wood-Frame Construction Matters for Fire Safety Planning
Wood-frame residential buildings built in the 1990s were constructed under older BC Building Code standards. Covenant Court has a sprinkler system — a critical active suppression layer that provides time for evacuation when fire does occur. The sprinkler system is tied into the Mircom fire alarm panel: any sprinkler flow activates the alarm and notifies Tyco monitoring simultaneously.
The fire safety plan documents the sprinkler shutoff location and the relationship between sprinkler activation and the alarm system — information that prevents well-intentioned staff from shutting the water off during an active event.
Accepted by Richmond Fire Department — February 2026
We submitted the full package to the Richmond Fire Department: letter of appointment for the Fire Safety Director and Deputy, complete plan covering all systems and procedures, CAD floor plans for all four levels, and the emergency contact directory. The plan was accepted in February 2026.
One Flat Fee. Approved.
GetFirePlan.com serves wood-frame residential buildings, concrete towers, warehouse/office buildings, and everything in between across Richmond and Metro Vancouver. One flat fee. No per-revision charges. Approval guaranteed.
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