Fire Safety and Accessibility Deficiencies at the GSA Headquarters Building in Washington, D.C.

Why We Performed This Audit

We performed this audit because GSA’s Public Buildings Service (PBS) plays a significant role in providing a safe, healthy, and secure environment for building occupants at over 8,300 federally owned and leased facilities nationwide. PBS’s management of its facilities is critical because deficiencies could pose fire, safety, and health risks to building occupants and the public. Our objective was to assess whether PBS National Capital Region (NCR) complied with applicable laws, regulations, and PBS policies governing fire protection and accessibility for the GSA headquarters (HQ) building in Washington, D.C.

What We Found

PBS NCR did not fully comply with applicable laws, regulations, and PBS policies governing fire protection and accessibility for the GSA HQ building. We found that some fire doors used to access stairwells for emergency egress did not comply with fire protection requirements. Additionally, PBS NCR has not corrected a fire protection deficiency concerning coordination and communication with the local fire department. We also found that the GSA HQ building did not fully comply with accessibility requirements. Specifically, we identified deficiencies in wheelchair-accessible restrooms, one elevator, and the handrail for the building’s wheelchair ramp that may make building access difficult or potentially hazardous for people with disabilities.

What We Recommend

We recommend that the PBS NCR Regional Commissioner:

1. Take immediate actions to address the fire safety deficiencies at the GSA HQ building by:
   1. Promptly ensuring that all fire doors are inspected, repaired, or replaced for proper functionality and compliance with safety standards and fire codes.
   2. Strengthening oversight to ensure that the building’s operations and maintenance contractor is complying with contract requirements, including, but not limited to, fire safety requirements.
   3. Expediting the corrective action for the fire safety deficiency identified during the Management Analysis and Review System review, dated January 6, 2023, by coordinating pre-fire planning activities with the local fire department.
   4. Ensuring that pre-fire planning walk-throughs are regularly scheduled and performed with the local fire department.
2. Take immediate actions to improve management oversight of its facilities to reassess compliance with Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards and Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements at the GSA HQ building by:
   1. Reviewing designated wheelchair-accessible restrooms to ensure individuals with disabilities have easy access and adjusting any restroom doors to fall within the acceptable range for accessibility.
   2. Addressing the functionality and compliance of all elevators, ensuring that each elevator is equipped with an automatic verbal announcement feature.
   3. Stabilizing the handrail for the wheelchair ramp at the entrance of the building.

The PBS NCR Regional Commissioner acknowledged our findings and concurred with our recommendations. PBS’s response can be found in its entirety in Appendix B.