Building Department	Overview     Contractor Information     Department Functions     Home Safety Inspection   Inspection Information     Permit Information     Scam Alert    SPARE +     Tent Regulations

	Structural Plans to Assist in Residential Emergencies
	Overview     FAQs     Plan Submittal     Sample Emergency Plans

Overview

What is SPARE?  SPARE is Structural Plans to Assist in Residential Emergencies.  This is a program that will enhance the ability of the Public Safety Department to respond to an emergency situation in improved fashion. Essentially, it places a brief and concise blueprint of a subject home in the view of the responding officers so that they immediately know the location of critical information regarding the physical characteristics of the home, i.e. exit doors, elevators, stairways, hazardous material storage, utility shut-offs and "sensitive" areas.

Supplemental Information

Additional information may also be provided by the owner in the form of notes on the plan including, but not limited to, specifying special occupancy (i.e. children, elderly, invalid), hazardous materials storage and special room use (i.e. wood and automobile "workshops"). Public Safety could identify those categories that would be most useful in "nutshell" form. This information could easily be forwarded by dispatch to vehicles en route or viewed on the vehicle screen.

Current Use

Dispatch will have immediate access to the SPARE plans, which will be stored in the Dunn Blue "Planwell" system. This system is currently being used as the highly secure vault for all Building Department plans in the City.

Future Use

Access to the plan vault from emergency vehicles is in the near future. Responders will then log onto Planwell via on-board computers and view the SPARE plan on the vehicle’s monitor while at the emergency scene.

Plan Availability

Adding the plans to the database would entail simple scanning of the plan and transfer to a CD in a view-only format. Plans would have to be provided by the owners at their own expense. The SPARE plan will be made a part of the Planwell database in a special folder. Once on the website, responders need only to insert the numerical part of the address in the search field, then select the property in question. By selecting the SPARE sub-folder, the plan is immediately placed on the screen and ready for viewing. If there were no SPARE plan shown, the responders would know that the plans are not available and proceed as before this program was made available.

Plans

Since most architectural drawing are in electronic format, architects can "layer out" unnecessary details in easy and relatively inexpensive fashion. For homes under construction, the drawings are readily available now through the architect. If the home is older, the owners may be able to contact the author of the plans or have sketches prepared by others. Local reprographic houses can inexpensively assist with CD preparation.

Information Updates

It would be the responsibility of the property owner to keep the data files updated as to use and special conditions. A sample form is available in City offices or on the City website.