Toronto Fire Services - "War On Fire"

The Community Services Committee reports having received the joint reports dated December 30, 1999 and January 4, 2000, from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Fire Chief, and having directed that they be forwarded to Council for information.

The Community Services Committee reports, for the information of Council, having:

(1) requested the Fire Chief to:

(a) distribute and arrange for the integration of multi-lingual material to the City of Toronto's in-house publications, and to all City Councillors for inclusion in their newsletters, in order to promote fire safety and the use of smoke alarms to the public;

(b) submit to the Community Services Committee a comprehensive report on an accelerated strategy to undertake a door-to-door City-wide fire safety campaign to get smoke alarms and carbon monoxide and gas detectors installed and checked, such report to include the time line to complete such a campaign;

(c) explore approaching the insurance companies to request funding for this fire safety initiative; and

(d) submit to the Community Services Committee a report on the results of the investigations being undertaken with respect to smoke alarms; and

(2) commended staff of Toronto Fire Services for their proactive work in the "War on Fire" and for their efforts in making Toronto a "fire safe" City.

The Community Services Committee submits the following joint report (December 30, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Fire Chief:

Purpose:

This report is to advise Council of the efforts being taken by staff of Fire Services to bring to the attention of the public the requirements of the Ontario Fire Code in respect of the provision and maintenance of smoke detectors in all dwellings.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial implications associated with the presentation of this report.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that this report be received for information.

Background:

To the date of this report, there have been 30 deaths in the City of Toronto caused by fire and fire-related hazards. This is an unprecedented and unacceptable number of deaths.

Comments:

Due to the increased number of largely preventable fire-related deaths in the City of Toronto, the Fire Chief has announced a "War on Fire" with a no-tolerance policy with respect to owners and occupants of buildings who have failed to provide and maintain working smoke alarms in accordance with the provisions of the Ontario Fire Code.

To date, charges have been pressed under the Act and shall be diligently prosecuted. As staff of Fire Services become aware of additional City dwellings failing to meet the requirements of the Ontario Fire Code, additional charges will also be laid.

The Fire Chief has initiated a public awareness campaign aimed at informing the public on the need and legal requirement for working smoke alarms in all dwellings. Additionally, on-going dialogue with neighbouring GTA Fire Chiefs and with the Ontario Fire Marshal is occurring with a view to developing new initiatives and public awareness programs to lessen the number of fire-related deaths.

Conclusion:

It is believed that only through a heightened awareness on the part of the public can we attempt to lower the number of deaths where non-existent or non-working smoke alarms combined with the lack of proper fire-escape planning played a significant factor.

Contact:

Terence Boyko

Deputy Fire Chief

Tel: 397-4302/Fax: 397-4325

tboyko@toronto.ca

Alan F. Speed

Fire Chief

Tel: 397-4301/Fax: 397-4325

aspeed@toronto.ca

The Community Services Committee also submits the following joint report (January 4, 2000) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Fire Chief:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to provide City Council with a response from Fire Services to the recent media coverage questioning the effectiveness of certain types of smoke alarms.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial implications associated with the approval of this report.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that City Council receive this report as information.

Background:

In a joint report to Council dated December 30, 1999, the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Fire Chief advised of the efforts of the staff of the Toronto Fire Services to bring to the attention of the public the requirements of the Ontario Fire Code with respect to the provision and maintenance of smoke alarms in all dwellings.

Furthermore, due to the increased number of largely-preventable deaths in the City, the Fire Chief has announced a "War on Fire" with a non-tolerance policy with respect to owners and occupants of buildings who have failed to provide and maintain working smoke alarms in accordance with the provisions of the Ontario Fire Code. The report noted that charges have been pressed under the Act, and they shall be diligently prosecuted.

Comments:

Subsequent to the joint report of the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Fire Chief noted above, a television program was aired on January 4, 2000, which questioned the reliability of certain types of smoke alarms; a program which may well have shaken the confidence of the public in the use of these products.

Staff of Toronto Fire Services have taken a pro-active and aggressive approach to the issues raised in the television program. Within 12 hours of the program airing, the Fire Chief has faxed letters to the appropriate regulatory and standards-creating authorities requesting that they thoroughly investigate these allegations and report their findings to the public in an expedient manner. The Fire Chief has personally requested involvement and participation in any process of investigation that may ensue. In the interim, the public has been advised that smoke alarms do save lives. Furthermore, they must not be removed from service but rather must be maintained in a working manner.

Conclusions:

Toronto Fire Services has requested that the appropriate regulatory and standards-creating authorities investigate the allegations contained in the television program which questioned the effectiveness of certain types of smoke alarms. The results of these investigations will be made available to the public at the earliest opportunity.

Contact(s):

Norm Gibbons

Senior Policy Advisor, Toronto Fire Services

Tel: 397-4315/Fax: 397-4325

E-mail: ngibbons@toronto.ca

Alan F. Speed

Fire Chief, Toronto Fire Services

Tel: 397-4300/Fax: 397-4325

E-mail: aspeed@toronto.ca

_________

The Community Services Committee reports, for the information of Council, having received a presentation from the Fire Chief on the "War of Fire" project; and having noted that funding for the initiative had been provided from within the Toronto Fire Services existing resources.