Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia
DISCUSSION PAPER STANDARDS OF SERVICE NOVA SCOTIA FIRE SERVICE
Submitted by: Bernie MacKinnon, CD Director Cape Breton Regional Municipality Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 3 THE LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND...................................................................................................... 5 FIRE MARSHAL’S OFFICE (FMO) – FIRE SERVICE RELATIONSHIP .............................................. 8 FINANCING – VOLUNTEER FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES FUNDING AND FUNDRAISING ................................................................................................................................................... 11 ENSURING EQUITY IN THE PROVISION OF FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES .................... 13 FIRE SERVICE STANDARDS – ORGANIZATION, DEPLOYMENT AND SAFETY ....................... 15 EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND EQUITY – EVALUATING THE FIRE SERVICE IN NOVA SCOTIA..................................................................................................................................................... 18 RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................................................................... 20
Bernie MacKinnon, DFS
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Amended 19 May 2004
Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service Introduction Legislated standards providing for the organization, deployment and safety for fire departments should be the core of the Nova Scotia Fire Service. Currently, this is not the case! During the ten-year period 1989 - 1999, monetary losses due to fire in Nova Scotia were $247 million. During the same period, there were 184 deaths and 592 injuries resulting from fire in the province. Each year, taxpayers in Nova Scotia spend an estimated $70 million for fire protection services. In addition to these known costs, there are significant costs associated with insuring property against fire damage and these costs are directly linked to the efficiency and effectiveness of fire prevention and protection services available to residents and commercial businesses in communities across the province. Notwithstanding the significant resources allocated and in spite of the dedicated effort by firefighters across Nova Scotia to prevent and combat fire, this essential service is without uniform legislated standards and/or regulations. The Province of Nova Scotia currently has no overall legislated fire service structure or standards to ensure that fire services are provided efficiently, effectively and equitably to all of the citizens of Nova Scotia.
Bernie MacKinnon, DFS
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
The fire services in Nova Scotia are expected to respond to countless types of fire and other emergency situations without the benefit of provincially mandated human resource standards, safety criteria, operational and administrative procedures. As a result, fire and emergency service providers throughout Nova Scotia act independently and without the benefit of legislated minimum standards. Policy composition, equipment purchases, training and response to fires vary in their effectiveness. For example, other essential public services, such as, police and health, have a much more structure/framework to operate within. This discussion paper attempts to identify and explain the significant issues facing the fire and emergency services in Nova Scotia and provides alternatives and potential remedies for the issues explored.
Bernie MacKinnon, DFS
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Amended 19 May 2004
Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service The Legislative Background 2.0
In the Province of Nova Scotia, there are 314 fire departments with the responsibility
for providing fire and emergency services in very diverse communities. The legislative framework related to the provision of fire and emergency services by these departments can be found in numerous statutes including the following:
2.1
Municipal Government Act, Part X;
Workers Compensation Act;
Occupational Health and Safety Act;
Fire Safety Act; Volunteer Fire Service Act;
Volunteer Service Act;
Volunteer Benefits Act; and
Firefighters Compensation Act.
Despite this comprehensive legal framework, none of this legislation addresses the
creation or adoption of a set of standards for the organization, deployment and safety of fire and emergency services in the Province of Nova Scotia.
Bernie MacKinnon, DFS
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
2.2
For greater clarity the Order in Council 2003-83 dated 28 February 2003 Schedule
“A” Sections 8 through 10 provide for the creation of the Fire Services Advisory Committee. The role (Section 10) of the Committee is to (a) advise the Minister on Provincial Legislation and policies with respect to the delivery of fire services; (b) receive and hear petition, briefs and comments from individuals with respect to Provincial fire services; and (c) recommend legislation, policies and practices to promote efficiency in administration and operation of emergency fire services. 2.3
Part X of the Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act governs the creation of fire
departments and emergency services in the Province. 2.4
Section 293 deals with the creation of a Fire and Emergency Service. It states: “A
municipality may maintain and provide fire and emergency services by providing the service, assisting others to provide the service, working with others to provide the service or a combination of means.” 2.5
In other words, in Nova Scotia, even with the importance of fire service and the extent
of property damage and personal injury associated with fire and emergency services, there is absolutely no legislated standard in terms of how a fire and emergency service is established and maintained in each of the fifty-five municipal units in the province. In fact, a strict interpretation of Section 293 would suggest that municipalities are under absolutely no obligation to provide fire and emergency services. 2.6
Section 296 (1) states: “The council may make policies respecting full-time, volunteer
and composite fire departments and emergency service providers in the municipality.”
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service 2.7
There is no direction provided regarding what would constitute a reasonable standard
for fire and emergency services. As a result, depending on where a citizen lives in Nova Scotia, the level of fire and emergency service can vary quite dramatically. 2.8
The danger in this informal approach to the provision of fire and emergency services is
that, without objective standards being established for the entire province, short-term financially based decisions can potentially lead to serious personal injury to citizens and firefighters, as well as unnecessary property loss. 2.9
Although, while the Municipal Government Act does provide a degree of legal
protection for firefighters in Nova Scotia, it does not ensure proper standards are in place that would, to the extent possible, ensure the physical safety of these men and women.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service Fire Marshal’s Office (FMO) – Fire Service Relationship
3.0
There is a misconception in the Nova Scotia Fire Service that the Fire Marshal’s Office
is responsible for the fire and emergency service in its entirety. 3.1
The FMO is seen as an extremely strong ally of the Nova Scotia Fire Service dedicated
to legislative and administrative efforts that advance the fire service. With respect to legislative initiatives impacting the fire service, the FMO was integral to the development of:
3.2
Fire Safety Act;
Volunteer License Plates;
Volunteer Fire Service Act;
Firefighters Compensation Act.
None of these initiatives, however, addresses the creation or adoption of a set of
standards for the organization, deployment and safety of fire and emergency services in the Province of Nova Scotia. The fire service training accreditation program, an administrative program, for example, uses a set of standards that are generally accepted by the fire service but these standards are not legislated or regulated.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
3.3
The authority for the Fire Marshal’s Office comes from the Fire Safety Act. The
principal duties and responsibilities of the FMO are related to the engineering, education and enforcement activities for fire safety. In other words, the FMO is responsible for the inspection of buildings, the approval of building plans, the investigation of fires, and the provision of fire safety education to the general public and the fire service. 3.4
Section 12 of the Fire Safety Act clearly stipulates that through the establishment of a
Fire Safety Advisory Council, the Council may advise the Minister regarding the “promotion and support of fire safety, the fire suppression service and fire prevention.” 3.5
Section 13 (1) of the Fire Safety Act states that the Fire Marshal may “… (h) make
recommendations, including guidelines, respecting (i) fire suppression, fire prevention, fire protection and the training of persons involved in the provision of these services as well as rescue and emergency services and the delivery of these services and matters related to any of them…” 3.6
Section 13 (4) states that “The Fire Marshal has the power and authority to enforce
compliance with (b) all other Acts of the Province relating to the prevention and suppression of fires and all regulations and by-laws made thereunder…”
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3.7
Regrettably, at this time, there is no structure and no authority dedicated to the creation
of the required regulations and standards for the fire and emergency services in Nova Scotia. Therefore, the power to enforce non-existent regulations is redundant. 3.8
Section 13 (6) of the Fire Safety Act states that “With the approval of the Minister, the
Fire Marshal may assist, including providing administrative support for, the work of a nonprofit organization with … training or certification of members of fire suppression services, fire investigators, municipal fire inspectors or local assistants …” In Section 51, however, there is no provision for the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting fire suppression activities, training or safety. 3.9
Clearly, the mandate for the establishment of standards and regulations for fire
operations/suppression and emergency services does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Fire Marshal’s Office. 3.10 The FMO does have the ability to be a technical advisor for the fire services in Nova Scotia and the FMO is the policy conduit to government for the fire service; however, the lack of an integrated fire services structure in Nova Scotia combined with the lack of clear standards and regulations for fire and emergency services makes it impossible to achieve the public policy objectives of ensuring efficiency, effectiveness and equity in the provision of fire and emergency services.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service Financing – Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services Funding and Fund-Raising
4.0
The recognition and establishment by the Government of Nova Scotia and/or the
municipal units in Nova Scotia of a basic level of fire and emergency services defined by risk would go a long way to meeting the organizational and safety needs of community fire departments. Fund-raising could then be used to enhance selected areas of service based upon local needs. 4.1
At the present time a significant percentage of fire and emergency services in the
Province of Nova Scotia are provided by volunteer fire departments and these departments often rely on fund-raising as their primary source of revenue. 4.2
Based upon experience with volunteer departments1 it appears that the once strong
fund-raising capability of fire departments in their respective communities has diminished significantly. This is based upon a variety of factors, including a declining population in many communities, as well as increased competition for funds from a variety of not-forprofit, community organizations.
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Experience within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality
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4.3
For the stations experiencing increased financial pressure, the volunteers are clearly
indicating that the demands of raising money make the service much less appealing to them. These considerations inevitably impact not only existing members but also have an impact on the ability to recruit new members. 4.4
Additional fund-raising activity also has the potential to take away from required
training and station duties. Obviously, it is far more important for members of a fire or emergency service to be engaged in preparing themselves, vehicles or equipment for the responsibilities at hand than it is to be spending increasing amounts of time raising money. 4.5
If fire and emergency services across Nova Scotia are to continue to rely upon
volunteer members, there is an absolute need for a basic level of tax revenue to be dedicated to ensure that each department responsible for providing service can provide an objective standard of service. 4.6
The unreliable nature of fund-raising is not an appropriate foundation for the provision
of a reasonable quality of fire and emergency service.
Bernie MacKinnon, DFS
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service Ensuring Equity In The Provision Of Fire And Emergency Services
5.0
Within the various municipal units in Nova Scotia, there are significant differences in
the level of fire service expenditures, not only in absolute terms but also when comparisons are made using fire service expenditures per dwelling unit. 5.1
For example, based upon “The Annual Report of Municipal Statistics” for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 2000, one can discern that the Halifax Regional Municipality spends approximately $232 per dwelling unit on fire protection services, while the next largest regional municipality in the province, the CBRM, spends approximately $187 per dwelling unit on these services. On a per-dwelling unit basis the HRM is able to allocate 24% more resources to fire protection than is the CBRM. For the CBRM to achieve the level of fire protection existing in the HRM there would be a requirement of an additional $2 million dollars annually. 5.2
With this level of funding disparity, can we truly say that all citizens of Nova Scotia are
receiving a comparable level of fire services for a comparable tax burden?
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
5.3
In the case of two towns in Nova Scotia, Yarmouth allocates $293 approximately on
fire protection services while New Glasgow allocates approximately $223 for fire services, a difference of $70 per dwelling unit or 31%. 5.4
In the absence of clear objective legislated standards regarding necessary fire services,
and in an environment of scarce financial resources, municipal governments are left to make their own determinations about an appropriate level.
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Amended 19 May 2004
Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service Fire Service Standards – Organization, Deployment and Safety
6.0
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has been a leader in the creation of
international fire service standards. These standards have worldwide recognition and in some way form part of the day-to-day business of many departments in Nova Scotia.
6.1
Based upon the work of the NFPA, there are at least four standards that could be
considered core for the delivery of fire and emergency services. These are:
NFPA 1710 regarding career departments;
NFPA 1720 regarding volunteer (composite) departments;
NFPA 1500 regarding occupational health and safety; and
NFPA 1670 regarding the standard on operations and training for technical rescue incidents.
Contained within these standards is a multitude of references to other NFPA standards, which would be instrumental in achieving a solid standard for the fire and emergency service.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
6.2
The Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia (FSANS) has recently requested support
from the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM) with respect to the adoption of a minimum standard for fire service suppression training. This request is a great first step and needs to be supported; however, it does not recognize the fact that there is a need for standards to ensure a comprehensive coverage of the requirements for the organization, deployment and safety principles for fire departments in all areas of Nova Scotia. 6.3
There has been some discussion that NFPA 1500 could be used as an occupational
health and safety standard for career departments in Nova Scotia, while it would not be a mandatory standard for volunteer departments. The effect of addressing career departments only creates a preferential treatment for career firefighters due mainly to their access to financial resources. 6.4
This type of dual approach to setting standards fails to recognize the fact that the same
occupational health and safety standards should apply to all fire personnel performing similar tasks and subjected to similar levels of risk. Either the standards are reasonable or they are not. 6.5
The Workers Compensation Act views volunteers as employees. Therefore, whether
career or volunteer, firefighters are all considered employees of their relevant municipality – employees performing similar duties. 6.6
It is also difficult to argue that any firefighters (career or volunteer) in Nova Scotia,
given their responsibilities and the danger to which they are exposed, should have a lower standard of occupational health and safety than other individuals employed, for example, as trades people in the private sector.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service 6.7
If there is a financial burden associated with appropriate health and safety standards for
all firefighters, this simply reinforces the notion that there should be dedicated resources allocated to the provision of fire services proportionate to the responsibilities and risks involved. 6.8
While the Fire Marshal’s Office has conducted work sessions with NFPA 1500 and
believes it to be a good guideline for the safe operation of the fire service, this is not a compulsory or legislated standard. Subsequently, it is very likely that NFPA 1500 will not get the necessary provincial and/or municipal funding commitment to make the standard a reality. 6.9
Voluntary standards, therefore, are not helpful if the goal is to achieve an efficient,
effective and equitable fire service for all citizens in Nova Scotia, as well as a safe and healthy work environment for all employees of the fire service.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service Efficiency, Effectiveness and Equity – Evaluating the Fire Service in Nova Scotia
7.0
The foregoing discussion clearly suggests that the lack of an integrated structure, as
well as the lack of clear and objective legislated standards for fire service, as well as the lack of sufficient dedicated fire service resources, culminate to render the fire service in Nova Scotia is not efficient, effective or equitable. 7.1
The province has in recent years tended to priorize peripheral issues, such as license
plates for volunteers or volunteer compensation rather than the core issue of a uniform standard for the fire service. 7.2
The lack of an integrated fire service structure increases the likelihood of duplication of
effort and wasted resources. No one department of government is charged with the responsibility for fire and emergency services in Nova Scotia. As a result there are 314 different service providers working without the benefit of common legislated standards. 7.3
This fragmented and cumbersome service delivery model is unlike any that exists in
other areas of public or private service.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
7.4
The inefficiency of this service delivery model could be salvaged or the negative
impact could be mitigated to some extent if there were clear legislated regulations based upon objective standards of fire service and safety in Nova Scotia. 7.5
The current fragmented structure creates varying standards of service, which is made
worse by the fact that individual municipal units, without the benefit of having clear legislated standards, apply very different levels of resources to their respective fire services. 7.6
Ultimately, we have no idea what level of resources should be applied to the provision
of fire and emergency services in Nova Scotia; we don’t know how many lives are being lost unnecessarily because of fire and we don’t know how much of the current property damage being experienced annually in the province could be prevented with a better structure, common progressive standards and sufficient dedicated resources. 7.7
If we agree that this is an unacceptable situation for the people of Nova Scotia, then
there is a need to ensure that there is one government department charged with the responsibility for fire and emergency services in the province. There is also a need to adopt provincial standards for the organization, deployment and safety of fire and emergency services. Finally, there is a need to ensure that departments in all areas of the province receive an adequate level of core funding to provide an objectively determined level of fire and emergency service.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
Recommendations The following is offered to bring the aforementioned issues into a form for further debate it is therefore recommended that:
8.0
An integrated provincial fire service structure be created and consideration should be
given to: 8.0.1
The creation of the Office of the Nova Scotia Fire Commissioner based upon
an enhancement of the current role of the Office of the Fire Marshal. 8.0.2
This office would have the mandate for the care and control of fire and
emergency services in the province in a manner similar to the responsibility that the Department of Justice has for the provision of policing services. Specifically, the office would be responsible for all areas related to the organization, deployment and safety of the fire and emergency services in Nova Scotia. 8.0.3
The Office of the Fire Commissioner would have a direct reporting
relationship to a Minister who, in turn, would have a legislative requirement to report annually to the Legislative Assembly on the state of the fire and emergency service in Nova Scotia.
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8.1
The discussion with respect to the merits of a provincial fire service standard, should
begin at the community level and include: 8.1.1
The Fire Services Advisory Committee;
8.1.2
The Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia (FSANS); and
8.1.3
A reasonable timeframe for the completion of the consultation exercise and
the adoption of a provincial standard of service for the organization, deployment and safety of fire and emergency services. 8.2
NFPA 1710 and NFPA 1720 are considered as the template for standardization of the
organization, deployment and safety of fire departments. While these documents may not be the sole model for a Nova Scotia standard, they provide an invaluable foundation for the discussion regarding appropriate standards. 8.3
The Office of the Fire Commissioner would have responsibility for an annual/regular
evaluation of the fire service to ensure compliance with established standards. The adoption of and adherence to provincial standards will greatly improve and enhance municipal fire service interoperability. 8.4
The Occupational Health and Safety Act should have as part of its legislated regulations
a provincial version of NFPA 1500.
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Standards in the Nova Scotia Fire Service
8.5
There is a need for an objective provincial standard of fire service to be defined in
legislation, along with the implementation of a funding formula by the provincial government that will ensure that all departments have access to the resources required to satisfy this standard.
These efforts would go a long way in the creation of a modern fire and emergency service in the Province of Nova Scotia and provide an efficient and effective model for other jurisdictions in Canada.
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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