BUSINESS PLAN: Fire Prevention & Education

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1 BUSINESS PLAN: Fire Prevention & Education How does this service contribute to the results identified in the City of London Strategic Plan? A strong economy A vibrant and diverse community A green and growing City A sustainable infrastructure A caring community The purpose of this service is to conduct fire inspections, prosecute non-compliant property owners, investigate the cause and source of fires and deliver public education programs toward the goal of improving behaviours with respect to fire safety so as to reduce loss of life, injury to citizens and visitors to the city, and the loss of property due to fire. Name the main activities done to provide this service: Name The Activities Done To Provide This Service How Much Did We Do? (optional) Is The City Mandated To Provide This Service? Can The Level Of Service Be Changed? 1. Enforcement of the Ontario Fire Code Yes No 2. Smoke Alarm Program Yes No 3. Public Education Yes Yes 4. Inspections Upon Complaint or Request Yes No 5. Risk Assessment Yes No 6. Vulnerable Occupancy Inspections and Fire Drills Yes No 7. Fire Investigations Yes Yes What is the current state of this service? The Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, (FPPA) sets out the minimum requirements that municipalities are required to provide with regards to fire prevention and public education, more specifically Section 2(1) of the Act states that, Every municipality shall, (a) establish a program in the municipality which must include public education with respect to fire safety and certain components of fire prevention; and (b) provide such other fire protection services as it determines may be necessary in accordance with its needs and circumstances. [Emphasis Added]. In carrying out its duties and responsibilities, the London Fire Department ensures compliance with the Provincial legislation by following the Public Fire Safety Guidelines, Technical Guidelines and Directives issued by the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal. Toward the provision of the 1

2 same, the London Fire Department Fire Prevention Division provides the first two lines of defence, as noted earlier, and is divided into three subgroups: Education, Inspection and Plans Review. The largest of the three subgroups includes Fire Prevention Inspectors who through their activities primarily ensure the safety of the City s permanent residents, as well as, visitors in those occupancies that are legally required to comply with the Fire Code such as, but not limited to multi-residential occupancies, educational institutions, hospitals, long-term care occupancies, student residences and hotels. Equally important, the Fire Prevention Inspectors also inspect the City s commercial, retail and professional services occupancies, factories, etc. Where a Fire Prevention Inspector determines an occupancy non-complaint with the Ontario Fire Code, the owner is served a Provincial Order to remedy the situation. In carrying out their duties, Fire Prevention Inspectors use the legislative options provided in the FPPA to mitigate all fire code violations and fire safety hazards discovered that are not specifically addressed by the Fire Code. Within this framework, the Division works with building owners; however, where an owner refuses to implement the necessary changes to achieve Code compliance, or where a significant fire safety issue exists, the owner is charged and prosecuted as set out in the Provincial Offences Act. Further to the above, Fire Prevention Inspectors investigate the cause, origin and circumstances of all fires, using the information obtained during these investigations to focus public education activities. In addition, the Inspectors often provide expert advice to the police in criminal code matters resulting from fires. The second subgroup within the Service Group is Public Fire and Life Safety Education. The primary role of the Public Fire and Life Safety Educators is to deliver public education programs and distribute fire safety information aimed at changing human behaviour with the goal to prevent fires and, if they should occur, to ensure citizens react appropriately. These critical services serve the citizens of London and the student population. The third and final subgroup also includes up includes Fire Prevention Inspectors that assist the Building Division in the review of building and site plans from a fire safety perspective. In this capacity, the inspectors work under the Chief Building Official; ensuring new buildings comply with the fire safety requirements of the Ontario Building Code. The current resources allocated to the Fire Prevention Division have been impacted by a number of external factors that have contributed to the gradual erosion in the frequency of inspections of conducted by Fire Prevention Inspectors on a routine basis throughout the municipality. Amendments to the FPPA and Ontario Fire Code, along with other delegated responsibilities from the Provincial government; such as the additional responsibilities with regards to propane safety, Marijuana grow ops, have reduced the ability of the division to implement routine inspections for specific building classifications, which adversely impacts the second line of defense. In addition the number of inspections required under the Residential Rental Unit By-Law and the time required to comply with the legal requirements of judicial and quasi-judicial hearings have further compounded the additional requirements on the fire department by the Province. Through this transition, the Fire Marshal and the Ministry are taking a stronger stance with regards to municipal responsibilities in areas such as, but not limited to, inspection, enforcement, fire safety plans, etc. To re-establish an acceptable inspection frequency, additional human resources will be required in the future. 2

3 What is the future direction of this service? The London Fire Department through its Fire Prevention Division will continue to emphasize public education and fire safety inspections as the primary mechanism to protect the citizens and visitors to the municipality. The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) has introduced amendments to the FPPA and Ontario Fire Code requiring all municipal fire departments to conduct annual inspections of their vulnerable occupancies (such as retirement homes, nursing homes), review and approve risk plans for propane facilities and enforce the installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide alarms; thus increasing the fire prevention requirements of all municipal fire departments. Second, the OFM has introduced new professional standards for fire prevention personnel in the Province. In addition, the OFM has released a new integrated risk management tool for municipal fire departments to assess the probability and consequence of fire in their communities; again emphasizing the importance of public education and fire code enforcement. The municipality, through the Residential Rental Unit By-Law, has similarly increased the number of inspections required to be conducted by fire prevention personnel, albeit the identification of such properties is critical to ensure fire safety in such occupancies.. It is estimated that 2 FTEs will be required to maintain the newly discovered building stock. Finally, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released a draft standard: NFPA 1730 Standard on Organization and Deployment of Fire Prevention Inspection and Code Enforcement, Plan Review, Investigation and Public Operations to the Public. The activities of the Fire Prevention Division will be driven by the increased emphasis on public education and fire safety inspections, both from a Provincial and North American perspective. The emerging issues and challenges of this shift in the fire service delivery paradigm, along with the increase in legislated service delivery and training requirements, will require an investment in both human and capital resources into the division in order to conduct the number of inspections required both from both Provincial legislation and Municipal Bylaws, but also based on the standard of care referenced in the Fire Underwriters Survey and the draft NFPA 1730 standard. This investment will provide necessary human resources, training and professional development and information and technology tools to facilitate the most efficient delivery of service and ensure fire prevention staff meets their legislated requirements, both from the FPPA and the Ontario Courts. Finally, to the anticipated need to increase in fire prevention personnel, the London Fire Department will be transitioning toward the use of on duty fire suppression personnel for the inspection of specific lower risk building classifications within the municipality. The re-allocation of fire suppression personnel will assist the London Fire Department in increasing the inspection frequencies of these specific building occupancies; thus providing for a higher level of fire safety for both the occupants and the responding fire fighters. The use of on duty fire suppression personnel will require an investment in training from fire prevention staff to ensure they have the requisite knowledge to perform fire safety inspections. The combination of the proposed increased number of fire prevention personnel and the use of on duty fire suppression personnel will increase the capacity of the department to conduct inspections for all building classifications commensurate with their probability and consequence of fire. 3

4 What do you plan to do? 2014 Ensure compliance with the new amendments to the FPPA and Ontario Fire Code with regards to vulnerable occupancies Implement a Quality Assurance and Risk Management program for fire safety inspections and fire investigations Conduct training for all on duty fire suppression personnel to prepare for the in-service inspection program Complete the pre-fire planning process for all vulnerable occupancies Expand internal and external stakeholder partnerships to maximize public education capacity for high risk, vulnerable populations Introduce the in service fire safety inspection program Complete the pre-fire planning for all high rise residential, assembly and industrial buildings Ensure all fire prevention personnel complete the new OFM professional certification process Expand internal and external stakeholder partnerships to maximize public education capacity for high risk, vulnerable populations Maximize the deployment of public education and fire safety inspection programs based on the data provided by Environics Implement a new records management system that will: (1) provide mobile data capability, (2) ensure compliance with municipal, provincial and federal freedom of information and privacy laws, (3) improve work flow and (4) ensure compliance with OFM recommendations for inspection records Increase the frequency of inspections for all classification of building occupancies. The frequency of inspections will be based on the probability and consequence of fire at each occupancy classification. Complete all inspections under the Residential Rental Unit By-Law 4

5 Key Performance Indicators Description of measure How Much? 1. Inspections and Inspection Activities 9,500 4,018 5,650 8,884 10,680 10,680 10, Number of code complaints Addressed How Well? 3. Inspections and Inspection Activities per Inspector Fire Code Complaint Process (address 90% within 2 days) 98% 91.8% 98% 98% 98% 98% 98% Is Anyone Better Off? 5. Number of Structure Fires Fire Injuries Note: The numbers provided for 2013 are extrapolations as of October 1, 2013 data. Structure Fires herein defined include Assembly, Institutional, Residential, Business & Personal Services, Mercantile, and Industrial and not non- OBC classified or Vehicle Fires Impact of Increased Resources on Inspection Frequency 2014 Three (3) Fire Prevention Inspectors 1.5 Inspectors assigned to the inspections required under the RRLU By-Law 1 Inspectors assigned to inspections of High Rise Residential Buildings on an annual basis 0.5 Inspector assigned to assist with Vulnerable Occupancies to ensure compliance with the amendments to the Ontario Fire Code 2015 Two (2) Fire Prevention Inspectors and One (1) Public Educator On duty fire fighters assigned to inspect Business, Mercantile and Medium Hazard Industrial Occupancies on a tri-annual basis 1 Inspector assigned to inspections of High Hazard Industrial Occupancies on an annual basis 1 Inspector assigned to inspections of Assembly Occupancies on a semi-annual basis 1 Public Educator 2016 Three (3) Fire Prevention Inspectors 1 Inspector assigned to inspections of Assembly Occupancies on an annual basis 2 Inspectors assigned to inspections of Hotels/Motels and Low Rise Multi Unit Residential Buildings on an annual basis 5