Fire-protection services involving Crown property are delivered by Labour
Canada through the Fire Commissioner of Canada on behalf of the Treasury Board
as employer, except to the Department of National Defence, where fire protection
services are provided by the Canadian Forces Fire Marshall.
The Canada Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, made pursuant to
Sections 125 and 126 of Part II of the Canada Labour Code, prescribe
the basic minimum standards for health and safety, including certain fire safety
standards. These regulations include the standards contained in Parts 3 to
9 of the National Building Code that are considered essential for the
health and safety of employees, and the standards set out in Parts 6 and 7 of
the National Fire Code. Should there be any inconsistency between
these codes and standards, and the Canada Labour Code and its safety
and health regulations, the provisions of the Canada Labour Code
prevail.
The policy on fire protection, investigations and reporting includes the
mandatory provisions for fire investigations and reporting of fires. The
provisions describe the roles and responsibilities of departments for
investigating and reporting fires involving government property and include
reference to fire safety standards in force under the purview of the Treasury
Board's personnel policies on occupational safety and health. The
provisions are not intended to conflict with provincial or other legislation.
The objective of this policy is to protect the government's employees and
property from fire risks.
It is government policy to ensure: the provision of fire-protection services;
investigation of the cause and circumstances of any fire; implementation of
fire-prevention measures; and maintenance of appropriate records to measure the
effectiveness of fire risk management.
This policy applies to:
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departments and departmental corporations
named in Schedules I and II of the Financial Administration Act,
except for the Department of National Defence; that department with respect
only to the maintenance of records, and any other division or branch of the
Public Service of Canada, including a Commission appointed under the Inquiries
Act, designated by the Governor in Council as a department; and to
other parts of the Public Service, as defined in Part I of Schedule I of the
Public Service Staff Relations Act (referred to in this policy as
"departments"); and
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real or personal property under the
administration and control of a department, including leased property
(referred to in this policy as "Crown property").
1 Departments must conform to:
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the fire safety standards issued under the
authority of the Treasury Board's personnel policies on occupational safety
and health, and to the provisions for fire investigations and reporting of
fires in Appendix A;
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the National Fire Code of
Canada, 1985, as amended periodically; and
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the National Building Code of
Canada, 1985, as amended periodically.
2. Departments proposing to acquire or lease a building, or to design, build
or alter a building, must have the plans, drawings or specifications reviewed by
Labour Canada to ensure conformance with fire standards and codes.
Labour Canada and the Office of the Fire Commissioner of Canada are
responsible for the provision of fire-protection services. The Fire
Commissioner of Canada (Fire Commissioner) is considered the technical authority
on fire protection. The Fire Commissioner is responsible for the
administration and enforcement of Treasury Board policy, standards and those
codes and regulations that cover fire protection under the Canada Labour
Code. The Fire Commissioner also maintains records on, and prepares
an annual summary report of, fire losses in Crown properties.
The fire-protection services delivered by Labour Canada through the Fire
Commissioner include: inspections and fire investigations and reports; advice to
Treasury Board on fire-protection policies; assistance and advice to departments
on fire risk-management matters; liaison with fire, police, and judicial
authorities to promote the cause of fire protection and fire investigation; and
reviewing plans for the design and construction of buildings to ensure their
conformity with fire-protection standards. The Fire Commissioner also
provides guidance on materials, systems, design methods and construction
procedures not described in the codes and standards, advises on cases where no
recognized test procedure has been established, and records and reports the
demand for fire-protection services from departments.
Deputy heads of departments and heads of agencies with delegated legislative
authority to control or administer real or personal property, including leased
property, are accountable for the protection of property. Employers, as
defined in Part II of the Canada Labour Code, are accountable for the
health and safety of employees in the workplace. This includes complying
with Treasury Board fire-protection policies and co-operating with Labour Canada
on matters pertaining to fire protection.
Treasury Board approves and communicates fire-protection policies or
standards that may be required to complement the Canada Labour Code.
The Treasury Board Secretariat will review the effectiveness of this policy
in assisting departments to manage the fire risks to which they are
exposed. Feedback on the effectiveness and implementation of the policy
will be obtained primarily from annual reports on fire losses in addition to the
normal departmental monitoring information, internal audits, program evaluations
and information available from other reports and government organizations.
Section 7 of the Financial Administration Act.
This policy cancels those sections concerning fire risks in chapters 530, 531
and 532 of the Administrative Policy Manual and TB Circular letter
1987-33.
Enquiries about fire-protection services should be directed to the Office of
the Fire Commissioner, Operations Program, Labour Canada.
1. Definitions
Fire (Incendie) - any instance of
destructive and uncontrolled burning, including explosion of combustible solids,
liquids or gases. This definition restricts fire incidents to be reported
to those that may cause injury or death to people and those that may destroy or
damage property with a value that can be expressed in terms of dollars.
Fire excludes the following, except where it causes property to catch fire or
occurs as a consequence of fire:
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lightning or electrical discharge;
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explosions of steam boilers, hot-water tanks
or other pressure vessels resulting from internal pressure (not internal
combustion);
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explosions of ammunition or other detonating
materials;
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incidents involving ships, aircraft, or other
vehicles;
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forest fires;
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grass, brush or rubbish fires, except for
harvestable products; and
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overheat conditions (heat without
self-sustained combustion).
Fire death (Déces par incendie) - a death
of a person at the scene of a fire or who dies as a result of fire, while
involved in the activities of fire control, rescue attempts, or escaping from
the dangers of fire.
Fire injury (Blessures par incendie) - an
injury to a person at the scene of a fire that requires (or should require)
medical treatment. It includes injury from accidental causes sustained
while involved in fire control, rescue attempts, or escaping from the dangers of
the fire.
Fire protection (Protection contre les
incendies) - the protection of life and the safety of persons and property
from fire, including everything relating to preventing, detecting, containing
and extinguishing fire and alerting persons to its presence.
Qualified fire investigator (Enquêteur
compétent) - a person who possesses the skills, knowledge and experience
to effectively conduct fire investigations and who has successfully completed
Levels I, II and III of the Canadian Fire Investigation School, or equivalent
courses.
Government property (Biens de l'État) -
real or personal property under the administration and control of a department,
including leased property.
1. Departments
Departments must:
(a) within 12 hours of a fire's occurrence, advise the Fire Commissioner,
through the applicable Labour Canada regional or district office, of every fire:
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involving a fire death or fire injury;
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of suspicious origin;
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causing a loss of $250,000 or more;
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causing a significant interruption of
essential federal services;
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necessitating immediate action to prevent a
recurrence; or
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involving a prestige or heritage building.
(b) within 14 days of a fire's occurrence or an alarm, using the relevant
report form prescribed by Labour Canada:
conduct a preliminary examination of the fire and submit a report to the
applicable Labour Canada regional or district office;
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submit a fire casualty report for every fire
death or injury;
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submit reports of any formal fire
investigations undertaken subsequent to the preliminary examination stage;
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investigate and record fire alarms not
triggered by fire.
(c) co-operate with and assist authorized fire investigators in performing
the duties associated with this policy;
(d) implement recommendations resulting from fire investigations;
(e) estimate fire losses as follows:
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losses involving property that is not to be
replaced shall be reported on a depreciated book-value basis;
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losses involving property of any description
valued at $1,000 or less, and property that is to be replaced, shall be
reported on a straight replacement-cost basis;
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losses involving property of any description
valued at over $1,000, and property that is to be replaced, shall be
reported as the actual cash (i.e. market) value of the property at the time
the loss occurred. Such loss values shall not exceed what it would
cost to repair or replace the property with materiel of like kind and
quality;
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loss values shall include indirect loss
values, such as costs of cleaning up and salvage, replacement of records,
alternative accommodation and the like, but not use and occupancy or
business-interruption losses; and
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losses involving personal property on Crown
property shall be included only if the Crown makes compensation for such
losses.
(f) consult with the Fire Commissioner's office regarding the need for a
building inspection after a fire.
2. Department of National Defence
The Department of National Defence must provide an annual fiscal-year report
on the total number of fires, deaths, injuries and total property-loss values,
for inclusion in the report Fire Losses in Government of Canada Properties.
Losses shall be on the same basis as 1.1(e) above.
3. Office of the Fire Commissioner of Canada
The Fire Commissioner or an authorized representative is responsible for the
administration and enforcement of these provisions. The Fire Commissioner
may make suitable arrangements with other authorities regarding investigations
and reporting of fire losses. The Fire Commissioner is specifically
responsible for:
(a) investigating, or ensuring investigation by qualified fire investigators,
of the cause, origin and circumstances of any fire;
(b) reviewing and processing all fire reports;
(c) monitoring and reporting to departments on the implementation of
recommendations contained in reports such as those of fire investigations and
coroners; and reporting to Treasury Board, with the comments of the department
concerned, instances of non-compliance that are deemed in conflict with Treasury
Board fire-protection policy or standards;
(d) assessing and applying the qualification criteria for fire investigators
and determining the need to undertake formal fire investigations;
(e) correlating and disseminating national and federal fire-loss statistics;
(f) submitting to the Treasury Board, within 90 days of the fiscal year-end,
a consolidated fiscal-year summary report of Fire Losses in Government of
Canada Properties indicating:
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any perceivable major trends in fire losses;
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fire-prevention measures recommended to
minimize such losses in future years;
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the total number of fires, deaths and
injuries and total property-loss values; and
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a summary of major fire losses, including the
locations and descriptions of the properties, the dates and causes of the
fires, and the estimated losses.
The following is a list of standards in force under the authority of the
Treasury Board's personnel policies on occupational safety and health.
These standards are published as chapters in the "Occupational Safety
and Health" volume of the Treasury Board Manual:
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Standard for Fire Safety Planning and
Fire Emergency Organization
(chapter 3-1)
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Fire Protection Standard for Design and
Construction
(chapter 3-2)
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Fire Protection Standard for Electronic Data
Processing Equipment
(chapter 3-3)
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Standard for Fire Alarm Systems
(chapter 3-4)
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Standard for Fire Inspections
(chapter 3-5)
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Fire Protection Standard for Correctional
Institutions
(chapter 3-6)
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