Who We Are

The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) is a branch of the Community Safety division of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Mission The mission of the OFM is to contribute to an environment for the residents of Ontario that is safe from fire and other public safety hazards by providing leadership and expertise in the reduction and elimination of these hazards.

Role

The role of the OFM is to minimize the loss of life and property from fire in Ontario by providing

• support to municipalities and fire departments across Ontario to meeting the needs of their communities, including public education, fire prevention, firefighting, fire protection, training, and fire investigation,
• leadership within the Ontario Government by advising on standards and legislation relating to fire prevention and protection, and
• recommendations for the provision of adequate levels of fire safety for buildings and premises within Ontario.

OFM Responsibilities

To Promote Fire Prevention

• The OFM is responsible for administering the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, including the Ontario Fire Code. The Fire Code is a regulation under the act, as well as the fire service's primary fire prevention tool.
• The OFM contributes to the development of fire safety legislation, standards and fire prevention programs. OFM staff use new technology tools like computer simulations of fire situations and a fire-loss database, to research human behaviour in fire situations, technology applications in the fire service, and the impact of fire on the environment.
• The OFM has the authority to monitor and, if necessary, take appropriate action to correct fire-related threats to public safety in a community.
• The OFM develops programs and strategies to enhance and promote fire prevention through public education, and firefighter safety and training.
• The OFM assists in developing and delivering effective academic/training programs to the fire service by developing standards, guidelines, criteria, and mechanisms to ensure academic excellence.
• The OFM develops new ways of delivering standardized educational/training programs and make them more easily available.
• The OFM develops partnerships with other educational institutions and organizations.

To Provide Support to The Municipal Fire Service

• The OFM, at the request of fire departments, provides advice regarding fires involving environmental concerns or situations that are a serious threat to public safety.
• The OFM provides advice and assistance to municipalities and fire departments, including technical advice on applying fire-related legislation.
• The OFM produces Municipal Fire Protection Guidelines to assist municipalities in making informed decisions about the appropriate level of fire protection programs for their communities, based on local needs and circumstances.
• The OFM conducts fire inspections of hotels, nursing homes, homes for the aged and special care facilities, and lightning rods. The OFM will assist municipal fire departments with inspections at their request.
• The OFM supports the provision of fire protection services to unincorporated communities through the Northern Fire Protection Program.
• The OFM serves as an informal body for appeals of Fire Marshal's Orders issued by fire departments to property owners on fire safety matters. This appeal precludes the second level of appeals: the Fire Safety Commission, which is an independent tribunal.

To Investigate

• The OFM investigates fires that involve:
  • fatalities and/or critical injuries
  • explosions
  • deliberate, malicious setting, or arson
  • large loss fires of $500,000 or more
  • unusual origins or circumstances, or fires that may cause widespread public concern.
• The OFM investigators and technical staff carefully seek out the origin, cause, and circumstances of fires, providing valuable information about the origin and behaviour of fire under different conditions.
• The OFM investigations are instrumental in developing better fire safety standards, and fire prevention and public education programs.
• The OFM works closely with local police forces to help apprehend and prosecute offenders where evidence of arson has been uncovered by an investigation.
• The OFM provides expert testimony in criminal prosecutions and coroner's inquests, and plays a co-ordinating role in the Ontario Arson Crimestoppers program.

Municipal Fire Services

Under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, the Government of Ontario does not provide funding specifically for municipal fire services. The OFM does, however, provide assistance and support to the municipalities in their efforts to meet the requirements of the act.

Under the act, it is mandatory for municipalities to establish a program that includes public education, with respect to fire safety, and certain components of fire prevention.

The act also states that municipalities are responsible for arranging other fire protection services, as determined necessary by the municipality's needs and circumstances. To deliver fire protection services, the municipality can appoint a Community Fire Team/Officer, or establish a fire department. Fire departments can be made up of volunteer or paid full-time firefighters, or a combination of both. Some municipalities jointly manage their fire department.

There are approximately 3500 Assistants to the Fire Marshal empowered under the Act to enforce fire safety legislation in their municipalities/communities.

Services Provided

Municipal fire services provide their communities with many of the following services

• fire suppression
• emergency rescue
• auto extrication
• hazard materials response
• medical assistance (first aid)
• fire safety inspections
• public fire safety education

Northern Fire Protection Program

The OFM provides firefighting equipment to volunteer departments that serve more than 43,000 residents in northern Ontario, where there are no formal municipal structures to support a local fire department.

The OFM maintains the equipment, trains the firefighters, and provides other support services. The community is responsible for selecting a Fire Chief, recruiting firefighters, and providing facilities for the equipment.

Programs and Activities

The OFM supports a number of initiatives within the province of Ontario, in an effort to provide public education and safety programs. Many of these programs have been developed and/or maintained in partnership with other organizations and associations, and can be both private and/or government sponsored.

Resources

Information about fire related issues in Ontario is available from the following sources:

Communications

Fire Marshal's Communiqués are memos encapsulating high priority information. They are distributed to all fire departments, and are accessible on the OFM website.

The Ontario Fire Service Messenger is a bi-monthly magazine distributed to interested stakeholders, partners, and the fire services, with a focus on fire prevention, public education, and firefighter safety and training.

Data Bases

Fire Loss Reporting System (Fire Loss Statistics)
Fire Code Opinions Database
Certifications Database (Fire Service Personnel)
Fire Investigations Database

Government of Ontario Bookstore

Copies of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, the Ontario Fire Code, and any other related government legislation are available in hard copy at the book store.

OFM Libraries

Head Office: Fire Sciences Library, Audio Visual Library
Ontario Fire College: Ontario Fire College Resource Centre

Partnerships and Stakeholders

Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council

The Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council was established in 1993 to give the OFM a forum for the broad debate of a wide range of fire and public safety issues. The Council is a vehicle for the public of Ontario, the broader fire safety community, and the fire service, to communicate with the OFM.

The Council assists the OFM in encouraging partnerships with these same groups, resulting in the promotion of public education and fire safety in every corner of the province.

The OFM works closely with its stakeholders and the public, through the Council, to improve Ontario's fire loss record. The Council's goal is to make Ontario the most fire safe community in North America.

The Council discusses fire safety issues and proposals. It develops, supports, and promotes programs, and provides advice and/or recommendations related to these issues.

Stakeholders

The OFM's stakeholders are generally organizations or individuals within the province of Ontario that are affected by the policies of the OFM or have a strong interest in fire safety.

Stakeholders can be:

• residents of Ontario
• building and architectural associated organizations
• insurance companies
• fire services, and fire services related organizations
• municipalities and other government agencies
• any organization with an interest in fire safety