Fire Safety Commission Decision Summary

DECISION NO. 99A002-127
Date:October 26, 1999

SUBJECT MATTER

An Order was issued by the Fire Department requiring the owner to have a minimum of three supervisory staff on duty in the building at all times. The Order was appealed to the Fire Marshal who upheld the Order. The owner appealed the decision of the Fire Marshal to the Fire Safety Commission.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF PREMISES

The property has two buildings, one is a residential lodge and the other is a cottage. The residential lodge is of mixed combustible and non-combustible construction, has two storeys above grade and one below grade. The building area is approximately 508 m². The cottage is constructed of combustible materials, is one storey high and does not have a basement.

The residential lodge has 25 bedrooms providing sleeping accommodation for 50 residents. There are private bedrooms, semi-private bedrooms and bedrooms that provide sleeping accommodation for 3 or 4 residents. Bedrooms are located on each of the three levels. The cottage has two bedrooms. The main building has a comprehensive fire alarm and detection system. Battery powered single-station smoke alarms are installed in all but one bedroom.

All but three of the residents are patients discharged from a psychiatric hospital that are considered by doctors as capable of living independently. A team of doctors evaluates these residents on a weekly basis. The other three residents are seniors. All residents are free to come and go from the facility without supervision. All residents, except one, are ambulatory. Most residents are dispensed psychiatric (mood moderating) medication. It is understood that none are medicated for restraint purposes.

The level of care provided at the lodge consists of the provision of meals to all residents and the dispensing of medication to most residents. A few residents receive assistance with daily living activities.

APPELLANT’S POSITION

The owner contends that the legislation does not support specifying the number of supervisory staff that must be on duty at all times and consideration should be given to delegating residents as supervisory staff.

The owner stated that there are at least three persons on duty during the day and at least one on duty at night. A staff person lives in an apartment at the residential lodge and several live within walking distance of the facility.

Finding none of the residents to be fit to assume supervisory staff responsibilities is, in the opinion of the owner, in conflict with the Ministry of Health findings that the residents are able to live independently.

RESPONDENT’S POSITION

The fire department stated that supervisory staff were required to be on duty at all times since, in their opinion, the building should be classified as containing an institutional occupancy.

Under Article 2.1.2.1. of the Ontario Fire Code the fire department is required to classify buildings in accordance with their major occupancies using the Ontario Building Code classification system. The fire department classified the building as a Group B, Division 3 major occupancy, which is an institutional occupancy. Using Article 2.8.2.2. of the Ontario Fire Code, the fire department required that the building have at least three (3) supervisory staff on duty at all times to carry out the provisions of the fire safety plan.

COMMISSION RULING

The Commission rescinded the Order.

REASON

It is agreed that the Fire Department may classify a building in conformance with the Building Code. In accordance with the OFC definition of the Building Code and the Building Code requirements, the building must be classified in accordance with the Building Code of record. In this case, the building should be classified as a Group C Occupancy and not as an Institutional Occupancy.
Under Emergency Planning, Article 2.8.1.2., supervisory staff must be available, but not necessarily be in the building on a continual basis.

The Commission strongly recommended that a staff member on duty be provided with a means to readily summon additional support staff (such as a single action initiating device on the person).