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Maintain open communications with your local fire services department Up to Date

By Captain Ken MacMillan

A recent Fire Safety Plan (FSP) article published in Canadian Apartment Magazine prompted a request for a fire service response and update article. My comments and response will reflect the requirements contained in the Ontario Fire Code (OFC). Building owners who utilize the National Fire Code or other Provincial Fire Code Regulations should check with their local fire service to confirm the requirements as they pertain to their specific location.

The OFC came into existence on November 21, 1981. There have been a number of revisions over the years and Ontario Regulation 213/07 is the current version.

Article 1.2.1.1. of the OFC states:
“Unless otherwise specified, the owner is responsible for carrying out the provisions of the Code.”

With respect to the above OFC reference, fire safety plans have been required in many apartment/condominium buildings since the mid-1980s. Therefore, it would not be prudent for a building owner to claim ignorance of the OFC requirements regarding the implementation of an approved fire safety plan in their building(s). Especially given the intent of the above noted OFC requirement and considering the length of time the OFC has been in existence.

There has been some reluctance on the part of building owners to approach their local fire service to discuss fire code issues, including fire safety plan implementation in their buildings. In many municipalities the local fire service is responsible for enforcing the fire code regulations. However, the majority, if not all fire departments are not seeking to address fire code issues through the court system.

This is only used as a last resort by the fire service, when a building owner chooses not to comply or fails to comply within the prescribed time frames to make the necessary OFC corrections. This would also apply to the completion of an approved FSP, when required. Therefore, it is extremely important that the building owner maintains an open line of communication with the fire service when addressing known fire code issues. At the end of the day, the fire service is looking to work with building owners to make your building safe from the ravages of fire and to gain compliance with the fire code.

A fire safety plan is considered a passive form of fire protection. This means that the plan in itself does not activate alarms or sprinkler systems. Passive fire protection works behind the scenes to prepare the supervisory staff, building occupants and the life safety systems for the possibility of a fire emergency. In essence, the FSP is the key component (outside the OFC) when a building owner is seeking to provide a fire-safe environment for their building occupants.

Once approved, a FSP must be properly implemented within the building. This includes ensuring the distribution of the approved emergency procedures to all building occupants and supervisory staff (those staff designated under the fire safety plan). In order to ensure all parties understand what to do in the event of a fire, proper training must be initiated by the building owner and carried out as required to keep all parties apprised of their responsibilities in the event of a fire condition occurring in the building. Once a FSP is approved, the OFC requires that: “The FSP shall be reviewed as often as necessary, but at intervals not greater then 12 months, to ensure that it takes into account of changes in the use and other characteristics of the building.”

Therefore, it is not the responsibility of the fire service to knock on building owners’ doors to ensure that their FSPs are current and up-to-date. It is the owner’s responsibility.

Yearly reviews required
At least once per year the building owner is required to review the approved FSP to ensure its continued accuracy. Minor changes to the approved FSP such as supervisory staff names, phone numbers, locations of persons requiring evacuation assistance or other phone numbers do not generally need to be forwarded to the fire service. This information is to be made available to arriving fire crews.

Minor to moderate changes to building life safety systems require that these be submitted to the fire service for review and insertion into their copy of the approved FSP.

Finally, major changes to the approved FSP such as a new addition to the existing building, complete new fire safety system installations or building change of use will require that a completely new and/or revised FSP be submitted to the fire service for review and approval. Once again, building owners are advised to check with their local fire service to obtain the specific requirements pertaining to their situation.

As a building owner, some might be inclined to ask: ‘Other than being a fire code requirement, what is the benefit to me in implementing an approved FSP in my building?’

Legal issues aside, there is a strong moral responsibility for a building owner to provide a fire safe environment for building occupants. Consider a major fire in the GTA in the late 1990s. A small fire initially contained to one unit was allowed to escape the unit into the hallway through the suite door, left open by the occupant when he evacuated. Eventually it breached the stairwell fire separation door contaminating the entire stairwell.

This resulted in the death of six building occupants who themselves, were apparently unaware of the basic emergency procedures to follow. Some people chose to turn back and head up towards the top of the stairwell (when the smoke became unbearable) as they attempted to initially exit the building at grade level.

Unfortunately, roof top access is not generally considered as part of the required “means of egress” and six people perished in the fire. For the record; an approved roof top means of egress is allowed through the building permit application under the building code. Once approved, it is maintained under the fire code. It would have to be included in the approved FSP.

A review of the inquest pertaining to this tragedy indicated that the building occupants that attempted to leave a smoke filled stairwell lacked sufficient basic fire emergency training to make the correct choices to save their own lives when it mattered most. These were preventable deaths had basic fire emergency procedures been reinforced on a regular basis.

New computer-based technologies, like online self-serve programs, continue to push the envelope in terms of providing new avenues for building owners to increase their basic overall fire safety knowledge. This includes the advent of computer-based FSPs. These provide a knowledge base and tools to create a FSP. Plans are easily editable and allow for collaboration with fire safety consultants, should the need arise. Once the plans are completed, they can be printed and submitted for approval. The online portal can be set up to alert the building owner when fire drills should be performed or to update lists of physically challenged tenants.

The fire service will seek to work with these new technologies as long as it can be shown that lives will be saved, the regulations are met and hopefully the necessary budgets are put in place to allow fire services across Canada to utilize these computer-based advances in our own efforts to promote the continued fire safety of life and property.

Conclusion
In conclusion, fire safety plans are first and foremost designed to save the lives of building occupants in the event of a fire emergency. New technologies are making the process much easier leaving no reason to avoid producing or updating FSPs. As a building owner; take the time to produce a quality FSP and have it approved by your local fire service. Once returned to you, review the FSP and train designated supervisory staff on their duties. Distribute the required building occupant sections of the FSP and arrange to conduct a fire drill based on the approved FSP.

Evaluate the outcome of the fire drill, including a post-fire drill review with all FSP designated staff. It is advisable to consult with your local fire service before commencing the fire drill to ensure that you, as the owner, are clear on what needs to be accomplished. This is especially true if you intend to allow for building occupant participation. Following these basic FSP procedures will help to assist in saving people’s lives should a fire break out in your building.

Captain Ken MacMillan is a 20-year veteran of the Toronto Fire Services Fire Prevention Division. If you have questions or comments, he can be reached at 416-338-9452. The content of this article are the writer’s opinions and should not be construed as representing the views of any or all fire services across Canada.

This article appeared in the August 2009 issue of Canadian Apartment Magazine.