Optimizing Rural Emergency Response

Public Fire Safety Guidelines	Subject Coding PFSG 04-08A-03
Section Emergency Response	Date March 4, 2005
Subject Optimizing Rural Emergency Response	Page

Purpose:

To optimize fire protection services by working through a process that involves A Step-by-Step Approach to Risk and Resource Rationalization.

Application and Scope:

This guideline is intended for use in a municipality, or area of a municipality, that is served by firefighters who respond to a structure fire in a single-family dwelling with a rescue component. The public fire safety guideline may apply in whole or in part to a municipality. It is acknowledged that the municipality is responsible, if applicable, for identifying urban and rural response areas within their municipality and applying the guideline appropriately.

It is possible, for instance, that under certain circumstances, the guideline may have specific and limited application to a rural area that is part of a municipality characterized as predominately urban. Other considerations when determining the application of the guideline may include such factors as:

use of pressurized and non-pressurized water systems or a combination of both
geography
travel time
nature of the municipality: urban vs. rural make-up, e.g., predominately urbanized core with rural service areas that are remote from the urban core.

Municipal/Provincial Responsibilities – Subsection 2(1) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997

The Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 (FPPA) sets out the following municipal responsibilities for fire protection services:

2. (1) 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.

Section 6(3) – A fire chief is the person who is ultimately responsible to the council of a municipality that appointed him or her for the delivery of fire protection services.

Accordingly it is recommended that the fire chief play the lead role in implementing the risk and resource rationalization process and include key members of the fire department on a team as well as a member of the municipal council. It is important that all members of the fire department are aware of the implementation plan and are completely aware of their role in the process.

Powers of Fire Marshal

Section 9.(1) – The Fire Marshal has the power,

(a) to monitor, review and advise municipalities respecting the provision of fire protection services and to make recommendations to municipal councils for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of those services;
(d) to issue guidelines to municipalities respecting fire protection services and related matters

Background

Structure fires present a significant challenge to the fire service, community and building occupants. In 2002, 85% of fatal fires occurred in residential properties: almost half of these fatal fires occurred in detached single-family dwellings. In a fire situation, conditions in a building can deteriorate very quickly, making self-rescue or occupant rescue by firefighters extremely difficult and hazardous. The spread of fire is impacted by a wide range of factors and fire can develop at varying rates of speed, e.g., smouldering vs. open flame. In extreme cases, a situation known as “flashover” can occur within several minutes of fire ignition resulting in the simultaneous combustion of all furnishings in the room of fire origin. In cases of smouldering fires, flashover can take longer to occur. Unless occupants can escape the room of origin, or in later stages, the building, survival is highly unlikely.

Effective intervention is dependent on early notification and the ability of the fire service to respond to the emergency in a timely fashion and with sufficient resources to conduct the many tasks and activities associated with interior fire suppression and rescue requirements. The delivery of fire ground suppression activities is a sub-model of the Comprehensive Fire Safety Effectiveness Model. This component, in itself, is influenced by a variety of factors. The number of fire fighters required at the scene of an emergency, and how and when they arrive at the scene, are three key components of the Fire Ground Effectiveness Sub-Model critical to determining the level of fire suppression services required by the community.

The Ontario Fire Safety and Protection Model identifies three lines of defence in providing public fire protection:

public education and prevention
fire safety standards and enforcement
emergency response

Each component is an integral part of an effective fire protection service delivery system. This model contemplates that in those situations, where after examining all available emergency response options, the desired response levels cannot be met, a compensating level of fire safety can be provided through considerations of enhancements to public education and prevention and/or safety standards enforcement, beyond the minimum acceptable model.

The risk and resource rationalization process assists decision-makers in determining how to provide the optimum level of emergency response by identifying current service levels and comparing them against the community risk. Key to this process is the examination of all potential barriers and feasible options for improvement.

Once response capabilities have been determined it is incumbent upon the municipality to ensure that fire department operations are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Ministry of Labour, Health and Safety Guidelines for the Ontario Fire Service. Policies, procedures and training should be in place to ensure that firefighters are operating safely and within their capacity at the fire scene. The level of protection services provided by the department, as deemed appropriate by Council, should be clearly defined and included in the fire department establishing and regulating by-law.

As an integral step in setting appropriate level of service, municipalities are encouraged to solicit public input and feedback as a means to ensuring established levels of service are consistent with public expectations.

Service Delivery Considerations

The provisions of the FPPA recognize that fire protection needs and circumstances vary from municipality to municipality. For example, the fire protection delivery system would be significantly different in a small rural community as opposed to a larger urban centre. Needs and circumstances can be determined through the application of the Optimizing Public Fire Safety Model or a similar risk management process. In general terms, needs and circumstances relate to a municipality’s economic situation, geography, population, community fire risk, building stock, community infrastructure of roads and water system, presence or lack of pressurized water distribution system, and service delivery system, e.g., type of fire department (full-time, composite or volunteer).

The risk and resource rationalization process, similarly, contemplates that all pertinent factors be considered when determining the type of fire protection service provisions best suited for local municipalities, including:

Availability of volunteer personnel, e.g., daytime
Financial resources of the community
Frequency of incidents
Type of department expected by the community
Services expected from the fire department
Expected intervention time
Risk protected
Expectations from assembled fire attack team
Suitability of appropriate apparatus and equipment in maintained condition
Suitability of SOG’s and incident management (command) systems in place, including fireground accountability system.

Review PFSG 04-03-12 Service Providers – Impact of Policy Decisions on Operations, to obtain additional information/detail on these factors.

Special Delivery Considerations – fire suppression

The provision of fire suppression services is an important component of the overall fire protection delivery system. However, due to a variety of influences, not all communities are capable of delivering the same level of service. This guideline recognizes that by their very nature, composite/volunteer fire departments may experience a fluctuating number of firefighters responding, depending upon the time of the day, week or other circumstances such as remote or difficult to reach locations. Therefore, the fire suppression capability will vary from defensive to offensive, e.g., exterior attack only to aggressive interior structural firefighting and rescue with effective firefighting apparatus and adequate fireground staffing. The company or response group assigned to an alarm will be comprised of the numbers necessary for safe and effective firefighting performance related to the expected firefighting conditions. To provide effective, efficient and safe fire protection services, the delivery system chosen should strive to ensure a virtually simultaneous arrival of 4 firefighters on the initial response.

Optional methods of assembling fire attack teams for different types of situations are possible (see staffing options diagram). Any one, or combination of the options may be satisfactory, provided that the fire attack team is operational within a timeframe, which allows for efficient, effective and safe conduct of emergency operations. All fireground operations are time critical.
Fireground Staffing Options

The chart below illustrates the primary functions and related tasks normally associated with a response to structure fire in a single-family two-storey dwelling prior to flashover. ¹

Function	Staff
Command	1
Pump operator	1
Search & rescue or limited firefighting one of these firefighters also makes hydrant connection where applicable depending on the circumstances, additional resources will be required to secure and maintain a transported or static water supply	2
Back up protection – inside confine and/or contain fire that impacts on safety of rescue/trapped persons	2
Outside – RIT team ² exposure protection/laddering for 2nd point of egress ³	2
1 ventilation team raise ladder & use equipment	2
Total:	10

^[1]Flashover is a condition that occurs as materials first ignited progress to a state where all combustibles in a room or area are simultaneously engulfed in fire.
^[2]RIT is a “rapid intervention team” i.e. firefighters available to provide back-up protection to other firefighters in places of danger
^[3] Appropriate operations carried out, based on situation. Consistent with Ministry of Labour, Health and Safety Guidelines for the Ontario Fire Service, these firefighters (RIT) cannot be breathing air from their self-contained breathing apparatus.

Review PFSG 04-13-12 Basic Structural Fire Fighting (No Expected Rescue Component) and PFSG 04-14-12 Structural Fire Fighting Including Rescue to obtain additional detail on fire suppression considerations.

It is recognized that certain types of occupancies may require differing responses. For example, higher risk occupancies such a high-rise residential, hospitals, nursing homes and large assembly occupancies will necessitate increased staffing levels to accomplish all necessary emergency scene tasks in an effective, efficient and safe manner. Response protocols for these and other types of risk need to be developed.

Application of the Risk & Resource Rationalization Workbook

The workbook that accompanies this guideline provides a roadmap to enable municipal and fire officials to engage in a meaningful step-by-step process that culminates in optimizing the fire protection delivery system and a report by the fire chief to the municipal council.

By working through the process, the municipal fire protection delivery system can be objectively assessed to identify current (staffing) capabilities and existing barriers to achieving acceptable response times and staffing levels. Opportunities available, if any, to improve the emergency response capability are also an integral part of the process. The workbook also identifies the many benefits derived for the municipality by completing the process.

References

For more information, refer to the following Public Fire Safety Guidelines.

01-02-01 Comprehensive Fire Safety Effectiveness Model
04-01-12 Selecting Fire Suppression Capability
04-02-01 Service Delivery Considerations
04-03-12 Service Providers – Impact of Policy Decisions on Operations
04-03A-12 Service Providers – Volunteer Firefighter Staffing
04-04-12 Automatic Aid
04-05-12 Mutual Aid
04-09-12 Fire Protection Agreements
04-10-12 Steps in Establishing a Jointly Managed and Operated Fire Department
04-13-12 Basic Structural Fire Fighting (No Expected Rescue Component)
04-14-12 Structural Fire Fighting Including Rescue
04-40A-03 Simplified Risk Assessment
04-40B-12 Smoke Alarm Program
04-40C-12 Distribution of Public Fire Safety Education Materials
04-40D-12 Inspections Upon Request or Complaint (Fire Code)
04-64A-12 Communications Best Practices & NFPA 1221 Communications
04-84-13 Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention

WORKBOOK Risk & Resource Rationalization Process Emergency Response in Rural Areas	HTML, PDF
Emergency Response Record (Form 1)	PDF, MSWord
Emergency Response Record - Supplemental Fire Department Response Information (Optional) (Form 1A)	HTML, PDF, MSWord
Summary of Critical Times & Staffing Levels (Form 2)	PDF, MSWord
Summary of Response Issues, Barriers & Solutions (Form 3)	PDF, MSWord
Entry & S.C.B.A. Control Form	PDF, MSWord