ASSISTANTS TO THE FIRE MARSHAL

This communiqué provides updated information about Assistants to the Fire Marshal and explains procedures for obtaining Assistant to the Fire Marshal identification cards from the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM). The communiqué supersedes Fire Marshal’s Communiqué 2006-20, which was issued on July 5, 2006.

Assistants to the Fire Marshal derive their authority from Subsection 11.(1) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 (FPPA).

        11. (1) The following persons are assistants to the Fire Marshal and shall follow the Fire Marshal’s directives in carrying out this Act,

        (a) the fire chief of every fire department;

        (b) the clerk of every municipality that does not have a fire department;

        (c) any member of a fire prevention bureau established by a municipality; and

        (d) every person designated by the Fire Marshal as an assistant to the Fire Marshal.

Persons designated under Subsections 11.(1)(a), 11.(1)(b), and 11.(1)(c) are Assistants to the Fire Marshal by virtue of their position. Any other person who requires the powers and authority of an Assistant to the Fire Marshal must be designated by the Fire Marshal.

The FPPA outlines the powers and duties of Assistants to the Fire Marshal. These include:

authorizing a firefighter or other person to enter on land or premises that are adjacent to the lands or premises on which a fire or emergency has occurred or is occurring, for the purposes of fighting the fire or providing rescue or emergency services;
authorizing a firefighter or other person to enter on land or premises that are adjacent to the lands or premises on which there is a serious threat to the health and safety of any person or the environment for the purpose of removing or reducing the threat;
with reasonable grounds to believe that a risk of fire poses an immediate threat to life, entering without a warrant on any land or premises for the purpose of removing or reducing the threat;
without a warrant, entering and inspecting land and premises for the purposes of assessing fire safety; and
following the inspection of lands or premises, issuing inspection orders.

Fire department senior management should exercise good judgement when selecting members of the fire department to be designated as Assistants to the Fire Marshal. Persons who do not need the authority and powers outlined above to perform their duties should not be designated as Assistants to the Fire Marshal.

Members of fire departments who are not designated Assistants to the Fire Marshal can

enter buildings and premises with the consent of the occupant;
identify violations and fire hazards;
issue notices; and
prosecute for violations of the Fire Code as necessary.

As a reminder, all firefighters and Assistants to the Fire Marshal are protected from personal liability and provided with indemnification for legal costs under Sections 74 and 75 of the FPPA for any act carried out in good faith in the execution of their duties.

Identification cards

Identification cards are issued every three years to all identified Assistants to the Fire Marshal (whether designated by the Fire Marshal or by virtue of their position). Cards issued for the 2007-2009 cycle will expire on December 31, 2009.

For the 2010-2012 cycle, the OFM is introducing some changes to simplify the Assistant to the Fire Marshal card administration and renewal processes. These changes include:

Jurisdiction
The text on the Assistant to the Fire Marshal card will be changed to “…to enter and inspect any building or premise in the municipality / unorganized territory of” and the name of the municipality / unorganized territory will be printed on the card.
Assistants to the Fire Marshal serving more than one municipality / unorganized territory (by agreement between municipalities for example) require a separate Assistant to the Fire Marshal card for each jurisdiction. This will result in some Assistants to the Fire Marshal carrying multiple cards.

Form: Request for Assistant to the Fire Marshal Identification Cards
The form Request for Assistant to the Fire Marshal Identification Cards will be sent to fire departments electronically as a PDF file. Adobe Reader software (version 8 or higher) is required to view the form. Fire departments that do not have Adobe Reader can easily download it, free of charge, from get.adobe.com/reader/.

Card Number
Assistant to the Fire Marshal cards will no longer bear a four-digit number.

As part of the card renewal process, the PDF form is being sent to all fire departments by e‑mail. Fire departments must proceed as follows:

open the PDF form using Acrobat Reader;
complete Part 1 of the form by providing the name of the municipality or unorganized territory, the name of the fire department (if applicable), and the name of the fire chief or municipal clerk;
complete Part 2 of the form by entering the surname, first name and middle initial (if applicable), of all persons requiring an Assistant to the Fire Marshal card;
verify information entered and save completed form by pressing the “Save form” button;
return form to the OFM by pressing the “Submit form” button, which will e‑mail the form to ofmstatistics@ontario.ca;
print the form; once signed by the fire chief or the municipal clerk, fax form to the OFM at (416) 325‑3126.

The signed copy of the form must be faxed to the OFM by October 15, 2009. Cards for the 2010-2012 cycle will not be issued until the signed form has been received by the OFM. Fire departments that send their completed forms after October 15, 2009, may not get their cards before the new cycle begins on January 1, 2010.

The form must be signed by the fire chief or, in the case of a municipality without a fire department, by the municipal clerk. By signing the form, the fire chief or municipal clerk attests that all persons designated as Assistants to the Fire Marshal, whose names appear on the form, have the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out the duties of an Assistant to the Fire Marshal.

After the cards have been issued, any future requests for cards or changes relating to Assistants to the Fire Marshal should be communicated to the OFM using the PDF form and the process described above. When a member of the fire department who is an Assistant to the Fire Marshal retires, resigns, or dies, the OFM asks that the fire department retrieves and destroys the Assistant to the Fire Marshal identification card of the person, and notifies the OFM of the retirement, resignation or death by fax at (416) 325‑3126.

The OFM appreciates your cooperation. This ensures that accurate records can be maintained and the necessary identification cards provided.

Skills and knowledge

Assistants to the Fire Marshal must be familiar with all provisions of the FPPA pertaining to them and also with the Fire Code.

As with any other occupation, training and education are an on-going process. Assistants to the Fire Marshal are encouraged to continue to develop their skills and knowledge in all areas of fire prevention and public fire protection. If staff members who may become Assistants to the Fire Marshal require training or if staff members currently designated as Assistant to the Fire Marshal require additional training, the fire chief may contact their OFM regional office to discuss the fire department’s training needs.

All Assistants to the Fire Marshal should be aware that the OFM offers advice and assistance to fire departments upon request. This assistance, available through OFM regional offices, should be requested when the scope and nature of a fire safety problem is beyond the training and experience of the Assistant to the Fire Marshal.

Over the years, the OFM has produced a number of guidelines about various aspects of fire prevention: for example, Fire Safety Enforcement; Fire Safety Planning for Institutional Facilities; Fire Safety Planning for Industrial Occupancies; and Orders, Orders to Close and Immediate Threat to Life. These and other OFM guidelines provide direction and useful information about fire safety inspections, fire safety for the different types of building occupancies, and enforcement. Assistants to the Fire Marshal can obtain the latest version of these guidelines on the OFM Web site at www.ofm.gov.on.ca/english/Publications/Guidelines/default.asp.

For enquiries about Assistant to the Fire Marshal identification cards, please call (416) 325‑3108. For enquiries about the duties and responsibilities of Assistants to the Fire Marshal, please contact your OFM regional office.

Attachment

The attachment to this communiqué, the PDF form, was sent by e-mail to all Ontario fire departments on September 16, 2009. Fire departments that did not receive the PDF form or wish to request that it be sent again should contact their OFM regional office.