August 11, 2009
2009-10
In the summer of 2007, concerns regarding lockdown protocols in schools were
brought to the attention of the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM). The concerns
related to the content of a presentation prepared by the Ontario Provincial
Police (OPP) and the Joint Safe Schools Task Force to provide guidance to school
officials having the task of developing lockdown protocols. In the presentation,
instructions were given to the effect that, during a lockdown, should the fire
alarm system activate, the staff and students were to ignore the fire alarm
signal. The OFM and fire departments believed that following such instructions
would be unwise and could lead to serious injuries and loss of life.
The OFM met with the OPP to discuss these concerns, which resulted in the
instructions being modified. Revised instructions advise that, if a school is in
lockdown, one can disregard the fire alarm if it is safe to do so.
In March 2008, in a letter to fire chiefs, the Fire Marshal provided further
information about the fire alarm matter and about fire department and police
responses during a lockdown situation. He also recommended that fire departments
take a proactive role in the development of protocols by offering to work with
the police, school boards and schools in their respective communities.
The Ontario Association of Police Lockdown Procedure Working Group recently
released a document entitled Guidelines for Developing and
Maintaining Lockdown Procedures for Elementary and Secondary Schools in Ontario.
This document was developed to provide schools and school boards with
information that is authoritative, helpful and consistent throughout Ontario. An
OFM staff member participated in the working group so that fire safety was taken
into account.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional
Services have endorsed the guidelines and wish to see them implemented across
the province. A copy of the guidelines was sent to all school boards and school
authorities on June 25, 2009.
In July 2009, the working group released a document entitled
Guidelines for Developing and Maintaining Lockdown
Procedures for Colleges and Universities in Ontario. This document was
sent to all colleges of applied arts and technology and universities in Ontario.
A copy of each guideline, in English and in French, is enclosed. The OFM
encourages fire departments to work with schools, colleges, universities, police
and other emergency responders to ensure fire safety is considered in the
development of lockdown procedures.
Guidelines: Elementary and Secondary Schools, English (
HTML,
PDF 41 KB
)
Guidelines: Elementary and Secondary Schools, French (
HTML,
PDF 47 KB
)
Guidelines: Colleges and Universities, English (
HTML,
PDF 30 KB
)
Guidelines: Colleges and Universities, French (
HTML,
PDF 34 KB )
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