Fire Safety · Bylaw 103-2015

Ormstown's fire service: who it is, and what firefighters may do in an emergency

Bylaw 103-2015, in force since January 19, 2016, creates the municipal fire safety service. In an emergency, firefighters may enter any place affected or threatened, by force where there is serious danger, and the director or a representative may demolish a structure to stop a fire from spreading.

The Ormstown Observer · Bylaws & Regulations Explainer

Key takeaway

The service protects people and property from fire across the municipality's territory and handles fire prevention (art. 3).
It is made up of a director, two division chiefs, officers and firefighters, appointed by council resolution (art. 5.1, 6.3).
Firefighters may enter any place affected or threatened by a fire or emergency, and any adjacent place. After a forced entry with the owner or occupant absent, the property must be left as secure as before (art. 13, 13.2).
The director or a representative may set a safety perimeter no one may cross, and demolish any structure when needed to stop a fire from spreading (art. 11.1.5, 11.4).
Calls from its own territory come first. Mutual aid under the MRC fire plan depends on staff and equipment being available and on no other emergency being under way in Ormstown. Work in another municipality is charged under an intermunicipal agreement or, failing one, at actual cost (art. 4.6, 11.8, 15).

Why this bylaw exists

The preamble cites the Code municipal, the Loi sur la sécurité incendie (chapter S-3.4) and the need to put in place an implementation plan (plan de mise en œuvre) arising from the MRC's fire risk coverage plan (schéma de couverture de risques), adopted by council on January 11, 2012 (resolution 6298-01-12). Notice of motion was given December 7, 2015. The bylaw was adopted January 11, 2016 and took effect January 19, 2016. It passed unanimously.

Who the fire service is

The director and the two division chiefs form the senior staff (état-major). All members are firefighters, paid under policies set by council resolution (art. 5.2–5.3). Recruits must be at least 18, take the Pompier I program at the municipality's expense, and serve a 12-month probation (art. 6.1.1, 8.1, 8.3).

What the service does, and where

The service must answer every emergency call reporting a fire in the municipality or in a territory placed under its responsibility by an intermunicipal agreement (art. 4.2). Its obligations apply on condition that the place of the fire can be reached by public road, and its response to a fire depends on its capacity to obtain and bring the water needed, given municipal infrastructure, its equipment and the topography (art. 4.7).

What the director and firefighters may do in an emergency

The director or a representative commands operations for as long as the emergency lasts (art. 11.1.1). Under the bylaw:

firefighters, under the authority of the director, a representative or a designated officer or firefighter, may enter, using the means needed, a place where there is serious danger to people or property, or an adjacent place (art. 13.1);
the director or a representative may order the immediate evacuation of a building that creates an immediate danger to public safety and bar access to it while the danger lasts (art. 11.1.4); firefighters may also order an evacuation in a perilous situation when there is no other means of protection (art. 13.4);
the director or a representative may limit, interrupt or ban vehicle traffic (art. 11.1.6); firefighters may order the energy supply to a building or area cut off, or cut it off themselves if they can do so by a simple and safe procedure (art. 13.5);
when firefighters are not enough, they may accept or request help from anyone able to assist, and accept or requisition private rescue equipment when the service's own is insufficient or hard to reach (art. 13.7, 13.8);
anyone present must help if the director or a representative asks (art. 11.3), and any firefighter may remove anyone who obstructs operations (art. 14.1).

Members of the service, and anyone whose help was expressly accepted or required under the Loi sur la sécurité incendie, are not liable for harm caused by their intervention during a fire, or an emergency or disaster for which the risk coverage plan sets mandatory rescue measures, except for intentional or gross fault (art. 17).

After a fire

Within 24 hours after the fire ends, the director or a designated person may bar access to the site, inspect it, seize documents or objects, and take statements from people present (art. 11.9). The director or a designated person must report to the police, without delay and before starting the investigation, any fire that caused a death, whose probable cause is not clearly accidental or that there is reason to believe involved a criminal act (art. 12.4).

How it fits with the fire-prevention bylaw

This bylaw has the director help apply municipal bylaws directly related to fire safety (art. 12.6.2). Bylaw 155-2023 on fire prevention entrusts its administration to the director of the fire safety service and to the director general and clerk-treasurer (155-2023, art. 2.1.1).

What this means for residents

Firefighters may enter any place affected or threatened by a fire or emergency, and any adjacent place (art. 13). No one may cross a safety perimeter set by the director or a representative (art. 11.1.5), and anyone present must help if the director or a representative asks (art. 11.3). Within 24 hours after a fire ends, the director or a designated person may bar access to the site (art. 11.9).

Sources

This explainer summarizes the bylaw in plain language. The French text is the official version; check it, or ask the municipality, before relying on any detail.

This bylaw explainer is presented as a courtesy of The Ormstown Observer in the interest of promoting a better understanding of the rules and regulations that govern the community. The content presented in Bylaw Explainers is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, legal opinion, or a substitute for professional legal counsel.