Purpose of Certification
Benefits of Certification
Certification Requirements
Certification Routes
Certification Renewal
Simulations Guide
The Office of the Fire Marshal certifies Ontario firefighters to the Ontario Firefighter Standards. The Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 (FPPA), clauses 9 (2) (d) and 9 (2) (e), provides authority to the Office of the Fire Marshal for training and evaluation of firefighters.
In 1988, ‘Paradigm for Progress’, a Task Force Report to the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs recommended that the Professional Standards Setting Body (PSSB) be created with the mandate to develop a training, educational and certification system for the Ontario Fire Service.
The PSSB, under the auspices of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC) and the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) has developed and published nine Ontario Fire Services Standards.
The PSSB is a partnership between the OAFC and OFM, and includes membership from all major fire service stakeholders.
The mandate of the Professional Standards Setting Body is to:
Standardized Pre-entry Firefighter Curricula has been developed by the OAFC and endorsed Pre-entry programs are currently being offered in several community colleges.
The endorsed Standardized Firefighter Curriculum has been developed by the OFM and the Ontario Fire College. The Certificate of Achievement is the academic requirement for the Ontario Firefighter Certification Program.
In 1996, the Certification Council held its first meeting. The Council includes membership from fire service stakeholders, OFM personnel and independent persons appointed by the Fire Marshal.
The mandate of the Certification Council is to develop and recommend policies and procedures required for an ongoing, voluntary certification program.
Certification formally acknowledges that an experienced firefighter in Ontario meets the recognized performance standards and educational/training requirements as approved by the Office of the Fire Marshal and accepted by the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs.
Certification is not a means of determining who shall participate in the practice or profession of firefighting and its related activities. A lack of certification is only an indication that the individual has not applied for or fulfiled the requirements of certification.
Candidates may seek certification as a firefighter or career firefighter.
The firefighter must complete all of the existing requirements for certification. In addition, all of the requirements listed below must be met in order to achieve a career firefighter certificate.
Following completion of the Ontario Firefighter Curriculum, volunteer firefighters may choose to continue the certification process or stop after meeting the academic requirement.
All firefighters, employed as of April 30, 1998 are being given an opportunity to be certified. A three-year ‘Window of Opportunity’ exists from May 1, 1998 to May 1, 2001. Fire departments have identified from a prescribed list, an option to complete the academic requirement. Existing firefighters are not required to complete Endorsed Certification Specialty Modules for initial certification. When the academic and job experience requirements have been met, a Job Performance Checklist is completed for each firefighter. The application and accompanying documentation are submitted to the OFM Certification Office for review and assessment. The successful candidate is granted certification and receives an OFM certificate.
November 26, 1999 was the deadline for fire chiefs to state their commitment to participate through the ‘window’.
There are a number of benefits to firefighter certification:
Certification is a voluntary process and is based on a candidate's ability to:
The candidate is required to submit his/her educational/training and job experience portfolio with required documentation to the OFM Certification Office at the time of application for certification.
The initial firefighter certificate is valid for five (5) years from the date of issuance.
Firefighters are responsible to maintain their certification and initiate renewal. The procedures for certification renewal are being developed, utilizing the following guiding principles:
The purpose of this document, which was released in November 1999, is to provide Ontario Fire Service personnel who are responsible for the training and/or evaluation of firefighters, with guidelines for the creation of safe, effective, standardized, simulated exercises.
This document complements and relates specifically to:
The Guide is posted on and available for downloading from our web site:
http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/
For further information or if you are unable to access our web site, please contact the OFM Certification Office at 416-325-3142.
A nominal fee has not been determined. The fee has been waived for those certifying through the ‘Window of Opportunity.’
Members are representative of the Ontario Fire Service. For a list of current members, consult the OFM or OAFC web sites.
Note: There are three brochures on The Professionalization Process for the Ontario Fire Service—Ontario Professional Standards Setting Body, Endorsement, Firefighter Certification Program.
Regarding firefighter certification, please contact the OFM Certification Office at
(416) 325-3142
Regarding PSSB, please contact the PSSB Secretary at the Office of the Fire Marshal, 2284 Nursery Road, Midhurst ON L0L 1X0
1-800-565-0613 ext. 9693
Regarding endorsement, please contact the Endorsement Review Board Office at
1-800-744-6651
For current information regarding the PSSB, Firefighter Certification Program and Endorsement visit the following web sites:
OFM http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/
OAFC http://www.OAFC.on.ca
MFSIA http://www.mfsia.org
Ontario Firefighter Certification
Program Brochure (pdf 43kb)
Ministry of the Community Safety and Correctional Services
Certification Council
Place Nouveau Building
7th Floor 5775 Yonge Street
North York, Ontario
M2M 4J1
Ph: (416) 325-3142
Revised February 2004
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