Draft Fire Master Plan & Community Risk Assessment

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The draft Fire Master Plan and Community Risk Assessment are now available online.

At this time, the Oshawa community is invited to provide comment on the draft Fire Master Plan and Community Risk Assessment by completing a feedback form online on Connect Oshawa.

The Special Meeting of Council previously scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 has been cancelled in response to COVID-19. The meeting will be rescheduled and delegation details will be shared at that time. Paper versions of the feedback form will be available at Service Oshawa upon the reopening of City Hall to the public.

Feedback on this phase will be forwarded to Dillon Consulting Limited for consideration in revisions made to the draft Fire Master Plan and draft Community Risk Assessment. Due to the impacts of COVID-19, we currently do not have a date for the presentation of the final Fire Master Plan and Community Risk Assessment to Council.

The draft Fire Master Plan was informed by the draft Community Risk Assessment, legislation, industry best practices and community and stakeholder input. The Fire Master Plan assesses current and future levels of service and programs provided by Oshawa Fire Services and will guide the City’s fire services for the next ten years.

The draft Fire Master Plan and Community Risk Assessment are now available online.

At this time, the Oshawa community is invited to provide comment on the draft Fire Master Plan and Community Risk Assessment by completing a feedback form online on Connect Oshawa.

The Special Meeting of Council previously scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 has been cancelled in response to COVID-19. The meeting will be rescheduled and delegation details will be shared at that time. Paper versions of the feedback form will be available at Service Oshawa upon the reopening of City Hall to the public.

Feedback on this phase will be forwarded to Dillon Consulting Limited for consideration in revisions made to the draft Fire Master Plan and draft Community Risk Assessment. Due to the impacts of COVID-19, we currently do not have a date for the presentation of the final Fire Master Plan and Community Risk Assessment to Council.

The draft Fire Master Plan was informed by the draft Community Risk Assessment, legislation, industry best practices and community and stakeholder input. The Fire Master Plan assesses current and future levels of service and programs provided by Oshawa Fire Services and will guide the City’s fire services for the next ten years.

CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.
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    I would like you to address the risk of fire caused by disposing of smoke alarm batteries before they run out of charge (i.e. every time the clocks are changed, whether they need to be disposed of or not). In my opinion, people should have replacement batteries on hand, and replace the batteries only when needed. If batteries are disposed of before they are discharged, there is a high risk of fire if the batteries come into contact with water or other batteries.

    JustKen asked 6 months ago

    Hi JustKen, thank you for your comments.

    Oshawa Fire Services encourages people to change their batteries when they change their clocks as a safety measure. This way people can be sure that there is a reliable power supply for life safety devices such as smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

    We advise people when disposing of 9-volt batteries, that they should cover the battery contacts with electrical tape. Used/discharged batteries should not be placed into the regular garbage. Durham Region collects used/discharged batteries twice per year. Dates for curbside battery collection are noted in the Oshawa Waste Collection calendar.

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    What is a Community Risk Assessment?

    7 months ago

    A Community Risk Assessment (C.R.A.) provides insight into the local needs and circumstances of a community and is the process of identifying, analyzing, evaluating and prioritizing the probability and consequences of fire-related risks to public safety. C.R.A.s are a tool for use by Council and fire department staff to inform decisions about the provision of fire protection services. 

    As of July 1, 2019, all municipalities in Ontario must to develop a C.R.A. as required by Ontario Regulation 378/18: Community Risk Assessments. As provided by this new regulation, fire-related risks are to be assessed through the lens of nine mandatory profiles: 
    1. geographic profile; 
    2. building stock profile; 
    3. critical infrastructure profile; 
    4. demographic profile; 
    5. public safety and response profile; 
    6. community services profile; 
    7. hazard profile; 
    8. economic profile; and,
    9. past loss and event history profile. 
    Fire-related risks can be managed through a variety of strategies that include avoiding the risk, mitigating the risk, accepting the risk or transferring the risk. 

    The City of Oshawa Community Risk Assessment will be used to identify the existing and future fire-related risks within the City, and to inform the fire protection services provided by the Oshawa Fire Services (O.F.S.). 

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    What is a Fire Master Plan?

    7 months ago

    A Fire Master Plan (F.M.P.) is a strategic planning document that is intended to guide the City’s fire service for the next ten year community planning horizon in providing:
    • effective and efficient fire protection and emergency services; and,
    • the most value to the community. 

    The F.M.P. will assess the divisions, programs, efficiencies, and operations of the entire fire service including:
    • Administration; 
    • Training;
    • Fire Prevention and Public Education;
    • Fire Suppression, Station Location and Emergency Response;
    • Apparatus and Equipment;
    • Communications; and, 
    • Emergency Management.
    The F.M.P. will identify options for Council’s consideration in determining the level of programs and services to be provided by Oshawa Fire Services.

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    Why is the City undertaking a Fire Master Plan?

    7 months ago

    The City’s current F.M.P. was completed in 2013. The rate of growth within the City has exceeded what was predicted during the development of that study. As such, Council is looking to be proactive in responding to the new Community Risk Regulation 378/18 and as a result, update the current F.M.P.

    Through this fire master planning process, the City is also looking to evaluate the fire service’s current staffing and service delivery model in relation to current legislation, standards and industry best practices and further evaluate the impacts of continued community growth on the fire service as it relates high, moderate and low rates of growth and development scenarios.

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    How will the Fire Master Plan impact me?

    7 months ago

    The intent of a Fire Master Plan is to ensure that the City of Oshawa provides the most appropriate fire protection services to the community it serves based on the community’s specific needs and circumstances in the most efficient, effective and cost-beneficial way possible. Recommendations made within the Fire Master Plan will aim to reduce fire-related risk to both the public and the first responders, create a safer community, and reduce the costs associated with emergency response and property loss. Moving forward, the Plan will establish strategic priorities for Oshawa Fire Services, which will have a direct impact on the fire protection services delivered to the community.