If you take a quick peek at the “Kilo Lima Code School” here you will see a course I posted: “Precision: Life Safety Systems Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance”.  In this course I have a section titled “Responsibilities Under the Fire Code”. In this week’s post, I want to further elaborate on that section and get you thinking about how different responsibilities are prescribed in the Codes when we are talking about the inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection and life safety systems.   

The reason I have chosen to do a deeper dive into this topic is a recent ruling (end of July, 2021) against a fire protection service company in Alberta for violations relating to the local Fire Code.  I encourage you to learn more about this case, while not comprehensive the following articles provide a short summary: here and here

A big thing that stands out to me in the second article is the following statement ““We want to remind businesses retaining services that it’s their responsibility to verify the life safety system installers and that these inspectors and (maintenance workers) are qualified and certified to do the work,” said city prosecutor Paul Frank.” This statement highlights a common issue – that in many cases business or property owners can underestimate their responsibilities when selecting vendors and reviewing service provider documents for work completed on their fire protection and life safety systems.  

As an example, here in Ontario, responsibilities are described in the Fire Code and there is a clear distinction between the two stakeholders: Owners, and Vendors (service providers).

Owner Responsibilities: 

Owners are responsible for achieving and maintaining compliance with the Fire Code.

• Unless otherwise specified, the owner is responsible for carrying out the provisions of this Code [OFC Div. A., Article 1.2.1.1.].

Owners are responsible for maintaining records:

• If a test, corrective measure or operational procedure required by the OFC is conducted, then a record is required to be prepared noting what was done and the date and time it was done [OFC, Div. B., Sentence 1.1.2.1.(1)].
• The records are required to be retained at the building premises for examination by the Chief Fire Official [OFC, Div. B., Sentence 1.1.2.1.(3)].
• The original or a copy of any record required by the OFC is to be retained at the building to which the record relates for a period of at least two years after being prepared, and so that at least the most recent and immediately preceding record of a given test or inspection are retained [OFC Div. B., Sentence 1.1.2.2.(1)].”

Of specific importance – Owners are responsible for checking vendor qualifications:

• The owner is responsible for ensuring that the qualifications of persons (contractors, staff, and/or supervised staff) performing work on the fire alarm system are in compliance with the OFC [OFC, Div. C, Sentence 1.2.1.3.(2)]

Vendor Responsibilities:

The primary responsibility of the vendors, or service providers, is to be qualified for the works undertaken. 

The qualifications for persons conducting the annual tests or annual inspections of fire alarm systems are outlined in OFC, Div. C, Article 1.2.1.2. 

Qualifications for contractors that provide services for the repair, replacement and alterations of sprinkler system components are regulated somewhat differently as these practices fall within Section 41 of Ontario Regulation 275/11, “Scope of Practice — Trades in the Construction Sector”, under the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009. These vendors are required to comply with qualification requirements stemming from the compulsory trade designation and are responsible for performing the works in accordance with relevant requirements, including requirements in OFC, Div. B., Section 6.5, “Sprinkler Systems”.

There are rare examples where the OFC includes provisions that can result in charges laid against an individual, or company, other than the owner. The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office published guidance to this effect, as shown here, under the heading “3.7 Offence Committed By an Individual Other than the Owner”. The short list of six conditions includes my example above, regarding vendor qualifications (2 of 6 conditions). The short nature of the list reinforces the fact that, in most cases, when it comes to Fire Code violations it will be the Owner that is held responsible for infractions.

In a nutshell, it is the responsibility of the Owner of a building to ensure that all tests are performed, at the correct intervals, and that all records are kept in order according to the Fire Code. Additionally, the Owner must check if their service provider is giving them the correct documentation and if their qualifications meet the Code.

It is the vendor’s responsibility to ensure that they are properly representing the qualifications of their staff and that their staff follow the testing guidelines from their training.

Enforcement and Penalties

Each jurisdiction across the country will handle the enforcement of the Fire Code differently. For reference, below I have provided the treatment of Fire Code violations under the Fire Prevention Act in Ontario:

Penalty, individual:

(3) An individual convicted of an offence under subsection (1) is liable to a fine of not more than $50,000 for a first offence and not more than $100,000 for a subsequent offence, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both. 2019, c. 7, Sched. 29, s. 2 (1).

Same, corporation

(4) A corporation convicted of an offence under subsection (1) is liable to a fine of not more than $500,000 for a first offence and not more than $1,500,000 for a subsequent offence. 2019, c. 7, Sched. 29, s. 2 (1).

(source: Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4)

To conclude, it is important for building owners to understand their responsibilities and to ensure that they are in compliance with the Fire Code. Ultimately, the buck stops with them. There could be a misconception out there that once an outside vendor has been hired to do the maintenance, inspection, or testing work on a sprinkler or fire alarm system, that the responsibility of the Owner has been passed off. This couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Want to Dive Deeper?

This is just a part of what you might need to know about inspections, testing and maintenance responsibility as a building owner. We’re making it easier to learn more, with a Precision Course offered in the Kilo Lima Code School.

In This Course:

Define Life Safety Systems

We will define the different life safety systems in a building that are required to be inspected and tested, and the specific testing requirements for each.

Responsibilites

Understand the responsibilities of the building Owner Operator vs Service Provider vs AHJ under the Fire Codes.

Reports

A discussion on correct and incorrect report documents, and a look into deficiencies on reports and what they can mean.