Business Plan: Fire Prevention and Education

Transcription

1 Business Plan: Fire Prevention and Education How does this service contribute to the results identified in the City of London Strategic Plan? A Caring Community The purpose of this service is to conduct Fire Code Inspections, prosecute non-compliant property owners, investigate the cause and origin of fires and deliver public education programs toward the goal of improving behaviours with respect to fire safety so as to reduce loss of life, injury to citizens and visitors to the city, and the loss of property due to fire. Name the main activities done to provide this service: Name The Activities Done To Provide This Service How Much Did We Do? (optional) Is The City Mandated To Provide This Service? 1. Enforcement of the Ontario Fire Code Yes No 2. Smoke Alarm Program Yes No 3. Public Education Programs Yes Yes 4. Distribution of Fire Safety Information Yes No 5. Response to Complaint or Request Fire Code Inspections Yes No 6. Conduct Cyclical Routine Fire Code Inspections Yes Yes 7. Perform Comprehensive Risk Assessments Yes No 8. Conducted Vulnerable Occupancy Inspections and Fire Drills, as Yes No well as Review and Approve Fire Safety Plans 9. Conduct Fire Investigations No Yes 10. Undertake High Rise Inspections, Pre Fire Plans, Quick Action Yes Yes Plans 11. After the Fire Program No Yes Can The Level Of Service Be Changed? 1

2 What is the current state of this service? The Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, (FPPA) sets out the minimum requirements that municipalities are required to provide with regards to fire prevention and public education, more specifically Section 2(1) of the Act states that, Every municipality shall, (a) establish a program in the municipality which must include public education with respect to fire safety and certain components of fire prevention; and (b) provide such other fire protection services as it determines may be necessary in accordance with its needs and circumstances. In carrying out its duties and responsibilities, the London Fire Department ensures compliance with the Provincial legislation by following the Public Fire Safety Guidelines, Technical Guidelines and Directives issued by the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM). Toward the provision of the same, the London Fire Department Fire Prevention Division provides the first two lines of defence, which is divided into four (4) subgroups: Public Fire and Life Safety Education, Fire Code Inspections, Fire Investigations, and Plans Review. 1) Public Fire and Life Safety Education: Public Fire and Life Safety Educators and the Public Information Coordinator deliver public education programs and distribute fire safety information aimed at changing human behaviour with the goal to prevent fires and, if they should occur, to ensure citizens react appropriately. This is accomplished through a variety of public education and safety programs delivered in schools, day camps, senior centres, as well as at community based events. Combined with the efforts of the dedicated staff, the Department makes extensive use of fire safety marketing as it is a cost effective medium to maximize resident exposure to such messaging. Further to the above, the Department is also seeking to leverage its resources by partnering with agencies within the community that can assist in the delivery of fire safety information. 2) Fire Code Inspections: Fire Prevention Inspectors, through Fire Code Inspections, ensure the safety of residents in those occupancies that are legally required to comply with the Ontario Fire Code such as multi-residential occupancies, educational institutions, hospitals, long-term care occupancies, student residences and hotels. Where a Fire Prevention Inspector determines that occupancy is non-complaint with the Ontario Fire Code, the owner may be served a Provincial Inspection Order to remedy the situation or, where necessary, seek prosecution of the owner through the Provincial Courts. In carrying out their duties, Fire Prevention Inspectors use the legislative options provided in the FPPA to mitigate all fire code violations and fire safety hazards discovered that are not specifically addressed by the Ontario Fire Code. 3) Fire Investigations: Fire Prevention Inspectors (in consultation with the OFMEM where required) investigate the cause and origin of fires. In addition, the Fire Prevention Inspectors often provide expert advice to the police in criminal code matters resulting from fires. 2

3 4) Plans Review: Fire Prevention Inspectors assist the Building Division in the review of building and site plans from a fire safety perspective. In this capacity, the Fire Prevention Inspectors work under the Chief Building Official, ensuring new buildings comply with the fire safety requirements of the Ontario Building Code. The current resources allocated to the Fire Prevention Division have been impacted by a number of external factors that have contributed to the gradual erosion in the frequency of routine Fire Code Inspections conducted by Fire Prevention Inspectors. Amendments to the FPPA and Ontario Fire Code, along with other delegated and downloaded responsibilities from the Provincial government have reduced the ability of the Division to implement an effective routine Fire Code Inspection cycle for specific building classifications. Through the transition herein noted, the OFMEM and the Ministry are taking a stronger stance with regards to municipal responsibilities in areas such as inspection, enforcement, fire safety plans, etc. In an effort to maximize the use of resources, the London Fire Department is moving towards a Risk Based approach to Public Education and Inspections utilizing analytics to direct initiatives at neighbourhoods and communities based on their level and type of risk. Toward transitioning the inspection frequency to align with the recommendations within NFPA 1730, three (3) FTEs were reallocated from Fire Fighting to Fire Prevention; however, due to the resignation of Deputy Fire Chief Jessop, the London Fire Department delayed filling these positions. With the hiring of a new Deputy Fire Chief, the Department commenced the recruitment process in August What has been done to manage the budget? The service area has been actively managing its budget by implementing management led initiatives aimed at creating efficiencies, avoiding costs and generating revenue. These include the following: Efficiencies / Costs Avoided Previous 3 Years Utilization of Fire Fighting Division personnel to deliver a number of public education initiatives such as After the Fire program and the Smoke Alarm program Maximizing fire safety marketing exposure through the increased use of strategic marketing to deliver public education to citizens for London Development of partnerships with various organizations (i.e., London Hydro) to leverage efforts to deliver public education to areas such as low income housing 3

4 Use of analytics (e.g., Environics) to strategically focus Fire Prevention initiatives Revenue Generation / User Fee Increases Previous 3 Years Inflationary increases in user fees What is the future direction of this service? Recognizing the importance of the first two lines of defence, the London Fire Department through its Fire Prevention Division will look to efficiently and cost effectively expand the delivery of Public Fire and Life Education and Fire Code Inspections programs as the primary mechanism to protect the residents and visitors of the City. The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) recently introduced amendments to the FPPA, Ontario Fire Code and other pertinent legislation requiring all municipal fire departments to conduct annual inspections of their Vulnerable Occupancies (such as retirement homes, nursing homes), review and approve risk plans for propane facilities and enforce the installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide alarms; thus increasing the fire prevention requirements of all municipal Fire Departments. While the majority of the work related to propane facilities has been completed with the Division transitioning to maintenance type inspections, and the requisite inspections and drills in Vulnerable Occupancies well underway, the Department remains unclear as to the full impact of the pending carbon monoxide legislation. Therefore, the London Fire Department is unable to predict the resource requirements that it will need to allocate to this initiative. In addition, the OFMEM has released a new Integrated Risk Management (IRM) tool for municipal Fire Departments to assess the probability and consequence of fire in their communities. Locally, the municipality, through the Residential Rental Unit By-Law, has similarly increased the number of inspections required to be conducted by Fire Prevention personnel. In summary, the workload of the Fire Prevention Division is being driven, and will continue to be driven, by an increased emphasis on Public Fire and Life Education and Fire Code Inspections, both from a Provincial and North American perspective. As a dichotomy to the challenges cited in the previous paragraph, the OFMEM s current prerequisite for attending the Ontario Fire College to attain the necessary Fire Prevention related training and certification requires applicants to be a member of a fire department. That restriction has created a situation where the demand for fully trained and qualified candidates exceeds supply. This situation is expected to hamper the London Fire Department s efforts to hire new Fire Prevention Inspectors given its experience to date has been that applicants rarely possess all of the requisite qualifications. While not a short term resolve, Fire Administration 4

5 is proactively working with Fanshawe College and the OFMEM in hopes that a Fire Prevention Inspector programs can be delivered at a College campus. Moreover, the OFMEM recently introduced new professional standards for fire prevention personnel in the Province. Accordingly, previously qualified Inspectors must now upgrade their qualifications despite them being previously certified by the Province thereby reducing the effective Divisional complement. The emerging issues and challenges of this shift in the fire service delivery paradigm, along with the increase in legislated service delivery, downloading from the OFMEM with no offsetting funding, and the associated training requirements will require optimization of resources. In an effort to utilize resources optimally the London Fire Department will continue to expand its use of analytics in order to focus its programs based on the level and type of risk within specific neighbourhoods and communities. The London Fire Department will also further utilize on duty Fire Fighting personnel by having them conduct Fire Code Inspections of specific lower risk building classifications within the municipality. The re-allocation of Fire Fighting personnel will assist the London Fire Department in increasing the inspection frequencies of these specific building occupancies; thus providing for a higher level of fire safety for both the occupants and the responding fire fighters. What future initiatives are contained within the maintain existing service level budget? 2015 Budget Ensure compliance with the new amendments to the FPPA and Ontario Fire Code with regards to Vulnerable Occupancies. Continue implementation of Quality Assurance and Risk Management program for fire safety inspections and fire investigations. Increase inspections by utilizing Fire Fighting personnel for specific lower risk occupancies. Complete the pre-fire planning process for all Vulnerable Occupancies. Seek to expand internal and external stakeholder partnerships (e.g., Meals on Wheels, CCAC) to maximize public education capacity for high risk, vulnerable populations. Complete the pre-fire planning for all high rise residential, assembly and industrial buildings. Ensure all fire prevention personnel complete the new OFM professional certification process. 5

6 Forecast Expand internal and external stakeholder partnerships to maximize public education capacity for high risk, vulnerable populations. Maximize the deployment of public education and fire safety inspection programs based on the data provided by Environics. Implement a new records management system that will: (1) provide mobile data capability, (2) ensure compliance with municipal, provincial and federal freedom of information and privacy laws, (3) improve work flow and (4) ensure compliance with OFM recommendations for inspection records. Increase the frequency of inspections for all classification of building occupancies to align with the recommendations of NFPA The frequency of inspections will be based on the probability and consequence of fire at each occupancy classification. Complete all inspections under the Residential Rental Unit By-Law. What service adjustments do you plan to make? In order to address the emerging issues and challenges noted previously, the London Fire Department is planning to realign resources as follows: 2015 Budget Three (3) FTEs reallocated from the Fire Fighting Division to the Fire Prevention Division [Two (2) Fire Prevention Inspectors and One (1) position in Public Education] 2016 Budget Three (3) FTEs reallocated from the Fire Fighting Division to the Fire Prevention Division [Three (3) Fire Prevention Inspectors] 6

7 Key Performance Indicators How Much? Description of measure Inspections and Inspection Activities 4,722 4,707 5,457 7,152 7,302 8, Number of Code Complaints Addressed ,000 1,000 1,000 1, Building Permits Inspections Plans Examination Residential Rental Licenses Number of Public Education Events Number of Public Education Contacts 49,279 46,078 50,000 50,000 50,000 50, Number of Public Education Materials Provided 38,104 25,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 How Well? Description of measure Inspections and Inspection Activities per Inspector** Fire Code Complaint Process (address 90% within 2 days) 93% 98% 98% 98% 98% 98% Is Anyone Better Off? Description of measure Number of Structure Fires* Fire Injuries *Structure Fires herein defined include Assembly (A), Institutional (B), Residential (C), Business & Personal Services (D), Mercantile (E), and Industrial (F) and not non-obc classified or Vehicle Fires. **Reflective of new Fire Prevention Inspector completing only 150 Inspection and Inspection Activities s in their first year Note: the above information is based on the assumption that staffing levels noted on the previous page are approved 7