During these unusual and unique times many fire departments are being approached to provide drive-bys for birthdays, graduations, front-line workers, and other community events.

Here are some of the numerous good reasons to fully consider such requests:

1. One that comes up most often is answering the question “Does it make someone smile?”
2. It allows firefighters to connect with the residents/community.
3. The residents are keen to show their support for front-line workers and firefighters provide the perfect opportunity.
4. The volunteer fire service may wish to use the opportunity to encourage recruitment.

Before engaging in such activity there are some considerations that should be evaluated to ensure the best interests of the fire protection district are being addressed:

• Does your department already participate in community parades?
• Has your Authority Having Jurisdiction, your Municipal Council, Regional District Board of Directors, etc. been asked to support this initiative?
• Have you consulted your insurance broker to confirm you are compliant with the various policies that are in place?
• Obtaining a policy from your local government is seen as a best practice. The policy would outline the authority given to the Fire Chief to manage requests and/or opportunities. Such a policy would also be seen as formal support from a risk management perspective for the fire chief and firefighters.
• Has the courtesy of asking the local police force to agree to the use of lights and sirens in a non-emergency situation occurred?

The content of your Operational Guideline, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, should include, but not necessarily be limited to the following:

• Number of firefighters on each piece of apparatus.
• Number of events per week the fire department will commit to.
• Appropriate PPE based on the health regulations your community is obliged to follow.
• Department’s position with respect to having non-firefighters riding on the apparatus.
• Department’s position with respect to stopping.
• Department’s position with respect to distributing “gifts” along the route. (Fire prevention material, public safety promotional items, candy, etc.).
• Procedure to follow if an emergency call is received.

Some of the other considerations that have been shared by fire departments providing this community service are:

• Use the opportunity to provide driver training.
• Be prepared to answer the question, if we do it for one, do we feel obligated to do it for everyone who asks?
• Formalize the opportunity by asking for an application form to be submitted for a specific event.
• Ensure your members have the appropriate training, and possess the good judgement required to represent the fire department.
• Have a senior member coordinate the event that is accountable to ensure the objectives are met.
• Know who is organizing the event. If it is not a fire department event, have the organizers been briefed as to what they can expect from the fire department? Make sure they have agreed to the ground rules laid out by the Fire Chief.
• Has the Fire Chief completed an appropriate Risk Management Assessment of the event?
• Be conscientious of facilities along the determined route that may be sensitive to the sound of sirens, particularly where there are animals.

Best practice has seen some of the following parameters adopted for drive-bys:

• Plan to go once a week, at the same time on a pre-determined route. For example, leave the fire hall every Saturday at 7.00 p.m. Parade will last for a maximum of 20 minutes.
• Offer to drive-by birthday parties on a Saturday afternoon and manage the events and locations accordingly.
• Establish age limits and event types that will be attended.
• If the decision is made not to offer the drive-bys, give some thought to stating your position on the fire hall and/or a community website.
• Consider the demands on your volunteer firefighters’ time. Make sure the amount of time requested includes time to ensure COVID-19 requirements are completed.

Final thought:  If it makes someone smile, why wouldn’t you do it?

Dave Ferguson
Associate
May 2020

Is your fire department charged with performing fire inspections but having difficulty meeting your targets?

Do you send inspectors or firefighters into buildings that are fully compliant or have only minor deficiencies?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, it’s time for change.

You can adopt innovative approaches to the delivery of fire safety programs that could meet your operational priorities using a risk-based approach to this common challenge. Through this lens, you can develop a fire prevention strategy that effectively provides comprehensive protection to all stakeholders.

The objectives of fire prevention should be identical to suppression priorities, prevent loss of life and damage to property and the environment. Achieving these desired outcomes should be done collaboratively with all parties, including the education of building owners and managers to recognize and accept their responsibility to provide an acceptable level of fire and life safety in their buildings.

Most building and fire codes clearly place the responsibility for compliance directly on the building owner. Instead of trying to build internal capacity to inspect building systems, it’s time to consider a fire prevention self-assessment program that shifts responsibility from the local government to the owners/occupiers of low hazard – low occupant load buildings that make up about 70% of all buildings in the community.

There are numerous steps involved in developing a sustainable self-assessment program some of which include:
• Identify a champion for the program
• Obtaining support and endorsement from local government
• Developing policies and operational guidelines
• Creating an inventory of building stock requiring inspection
• Conducting inspections of all properties to establish a base line
• Establishing frequency of inspection guidelines
• Creating the incentive for low-risk occupancies to self-assess through fees for service
• Invest in a data collection and management system for self-assessment reporting
• Liaise with property owner/manager associations to promote self-assessment

“A fire safety Self-Assessment is a report completed by a business that is not a fire safety inspection but is rather a means for a municipality to screen a low risk occupancy to determine how soon an actual fire safety inspection by a professional inspector is warranted”. T.A.C. Schober, LLB

The self-assessment concept is being used successfully in other disciplines and when implemented will result in better use of municipal resources, increased fire safety awareness and cost savings.

If your community is interested in getting started on self-assessment, we can help. Building Safety Fire Prevention Training is an online course specifically designed to educate building owners and managers of low hazard – low occupant load buildings about how to conduct a fire safety self-assessment. Get in touch with us to see how FireWise can help your community adopt an innovative fire inspection delivery system.

Bob Turley
Co-founder
May 2020