November 9, 2005
2005-29
In January 2004, the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) issued Fire Marshal’s Communiqué 2004-03, Access to Provincial Resources for CBRN Response and HUSAR. The purpose of the communiqué was to explain to the fire service how and when to request the services of the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) response teams and the heavy urban search and rescue (HUSAR) team operating under memorandums of understanding with the Government of Ontario and available to respond to significant emergencies across the province.
Fire departments may have to respond to incidents that are beyond the capabilities of the local county/district/region mutual aid system but that are not defined as “significant emergencies”, as outlined in Fire Marshal’s Communiqué 2004-03. The purpose of the present communiqué is to provide information about OFM resources and services available to assist in responding to such incidents, cases where a “provincial” response is not required but assistance beyond the mutual aid system is needed. The communiqué also explains how fire departments can avail themselves of these resources and services.
The OFM has established a one-year pilot program to make additional resources available in these instances from the OFM Emergency Management and Response (EMR) Unit. Local fire departments may request this assistance through the Fire Coordinator appointed for the local mutual aid system.
The OFM EMR Unit is based at the Ontario Fire College (OFC), in the Town of Gravenhurst. As part of this pilot program, the EMR Unit has emergency response vehicles and equipment that can be deployed from Gravenhurst and Thunder Bay. In addition, the OFM may also request specialized technical advice and expertise from the MOU partners or other sources of assistance to help local fire departments.
Pilot program resources and services will be provided at no cost to the municipality. Municipalities should be aware that the location of the incident, and therefore its distance from Gravenhurst or Thunder Bay, as well as the duration and/or nature of the incident may render their request for assistance impractical. Furthermore, the OFM’s involvement in other emergencies and inter-agency training may influence the immediate availability of OFM resources and services. It is therefore important that local communities not rely or depend solely on the OFM for additional assistance and support.
The local municipality requiring assistance maintains command and control and is responsible for consequence management of the incident, displaced individuals, transportation and community health issues. The role of the OFM is to support municipalities, unorganized communities and fire departments. The OFM maintains responsibility for its personnel.
The Chief of the EMR Unit will liaise with the Fire Coordinator and may contact the local fire chief directly to obtain further information.
Pilot program resources and services are listed below. They are primarily intended to support responses to hazardous material incidents. They can also be deployed to other significant emergencies such as prolonged fires or natural emergencies like tornados or floods.
Advice and assistance
Decontamination equipment
Air monitoring equipment
Level A, Level B, and Level C chemical protective clothing and personal protective equipment
Chemical agent monitors
Radiation dosimeters and survey meters
Access to technical computer databases
Access to written reference materials
The resources and services listed above may be provided to support the fire department’s and mutual aid system’s existing response capabilities for hazardous materials incidents. Hazardous materials response capabilities would be recognized either as awareness, operations, or technician levels, as described in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472, Standard for Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents. Support and equipment would be provided to the fire department at the appropriate level, which is not to exceed the existing recognized level of hazardous materials responder training in the community making the request.
The fire department should provide the Fire Coordinator with the following information:
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