FMC – Notification of Fires and Explosions involving Lithium Batteries – What are the key elements about these fires to submit?
- Municipality of origin
- Suspected cause of the fire
- Time of day and date
- Type of device (charging/storage/mobility)
- Manufacturer
- Year of manufacture and country of origin
- Previous issues with device
- Municipal response to fire
FMC – Notification of Fires and Explosions involving Lithium – How are the key elements reported?
- Fire departments can submit this form via ofmfdm@ontario.ca.
FMC – Notification of Fires and Explosions involving Lithium - If the lithium battery occurrence did not meet the Fire Marshal’s Directive criteria, what should be done?
- The device or battery should be seized for examination whenever possible.
- The OFM would be looking to further analyze the device.
FMD - Directive to Notify - All assistants to the Fire Marshal shall notify forthwith the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) Duty Officer, Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) of all incidents that meet or that appear to meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Fires or explosions resulting in a fatality.
- Fires or explosions requiring person(s) to be admitted with life threatening injury as in-patient(s) to a hospital.
- Incident if it involves a person who was taken to the hospital due to an exposure and/or injury sustained as a result of the fire.
- Explosions (where the explosion is suspected or known to be the primary event).
- Fires or explosions suspected of being incendiary (criminal).
- Fires or explosions where the loss is significant to the community.
- Fires or explosions involving circumstances that may result in widespread public concern (for example, environmental hazard).
- Fires or explosions in multi-unit residential occupancies where the fire spread or the explosion impacted multiple units or where suspected Fire Code violations have directly impacted the circumstances of the event.
- Fires or explosions involving clandestine and illegal drug operations, cannabis/marijuana grow operations.
FMD - Directive to Notify - What are the responsibilities of the fire department regarding injured persons transported to the hospital, and what actions should they take to confirm the status of such individuals before releasing the fire scene?
- It is the responsibility of the fire department to make every reasonable effort to confirm the status of injured persons transported to hospital prior to the release of the fire scene.
- The local fire department shall record the efforts taken to obtain information regarding the status of a patient admitted to the hospital which may include inquiries to local hospital, paramedic services, and/or police agency.
FMD - Directive to Notify - Under what circumstances does the fire department have discretion to notify the Office of the Fire Marshal, and what types of fires must be reported to the police authority having jurisdiction, according to the provided information?
- when the cause, origin, and circumstances has been determined; when there is no impact to a building(s); or, in circumstances where there is no clear threat to life.
- These types of fires include dumpster fires, car fires [2], and wildland fires. All incendiary fires and explosions must be reported to the police authority having jurisdiction.
FMD – What are a fire departments roles and responsibilities?
- Fire departments should call once all suppression activities are at the stage that someone is available on-scene to provide detailed information/date.
- Fire departments shall advise the PEOC if they are requiring OFM assistance or if the information is being provided for notification only because it meets the aforementioned criteria.
- Fire and explosion investigation protocols require that the security of the scene be maintained prior to the arrival of an OFM or police investigator.
- In order to ensure investigative integrity for various investigative agencies that may be involved, assistants to the Fire Marshal are advised that media requests should be coordinated by all respective responsible agencies. Matters that are beyond the authority of the responding fire department should be deferred to the lead investigating agency.
- Fire departments may hire a third-party licenced security company to secure the scene when the fire is believed “non-suspicious” or “non-criminal”.
- Note: There is no requirement for a local fire service to report a fire incident that they were not dispatched to.
FMD – When a fire investigation is assigned to an investigator, what is the responsibility of the fire department?
- To provide all necessary documents, including but not limited to, firefighter statements, dispatch chronology, incident commander report detailing suppression and overhaul activities, and fire prevention files as required by the investigator.
FMD – What are the hours with regards to Fire investigation Services Response?
- All notifications involving a fatality, life threatening injury, or explosion will be evaluated 24/7 for determination of OFM investigation requirements, and deployment of OFM fire investigation staff.
- All other incidents evaluated from 7:30 am – 9:00 pm for a determination of investigation requirements.
- Calls received between 9:00 pm and 7:30 am (which do not meet the immediate notification criteria) shall be deferred by PEOC until after 7:30 am the next morning.
FMD – When an OFM response is deferred to the next day, the PEOC Duty Officer will inform the caller that:
- The OFM will be notified at 0730hrs
- The OFM Duty Manager or Duty Supervisor will determine investigation requirements and
- All steps shall be taken by the fire service/police to secure the scene if the fire department or police are requesting the assistance of a fire investigator.
FMD – Who do you contact after regular business hours to deal with circumstances that call for direct consultation with the OFM.
- OFM manager
FMD – Who is the lead agency in the event that a scene is potentially criminal in nature?
- The police, and they may liaise directly with the OFM
FMD – When are car fires investigated by the OFM?
- If suspected of being involved in a serious incident (homicide, robbery, etc.), fatal, or life-threatening injury.
- The OFM does not investigate if the fire is the result of a motor vehicle collision that does not include any of the other above criteria.
FMD – What is considered “Significant Loss” by the OFM?
- Significant loss is classified as being at least either $1,000,000 or twice the residential average sale price for that community. The local authority having jurisdiction has the discretion of which method they choose to classify a significant loss.
- Significant to the community may include, but are not limited to, fires at religious institutions or fires that appear to have been intentionally set and targeted towards a certain type of establishment.
