Canadian Fire Protection Described in Report
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Canada’s fire death toll and property loss, among the highest in the industrial world, are ignored by the Canadian government as a national problem, according to Donal Baird, co-author of a National Research Council study of the Canadian fire scene and also Canadian correspondent for Fire Engineering.
The published study is reminiscent of the similar report on American fire protection published in 1973: America Burning.
More research had been called for — and led to the council’s study— after data showed that the Canadian fire death rate per thousand population was the highest in the world during 1972 to 1974.
No national policy
“There is no concerted Canadian effort.” reported Baird, “to come to grips with such careless squandering of lives and resources. There is no coordination of the diverse elements of the fire protection field, geographically or organizationally, commensurate with the problem, nor is there a national policy on the subject of fire control.”
Baird added this was not the case with the police services, “in which there are strong federal components, including research, statistics, information and a residential college. The federal and provincial department officials concerned with police work meet and collaborate on problems of policy.”
Lack of education, training and information lie at the root of most of the problem areas in the Canadian fire control field, in the view of the study team. Deficient education about fire was said to apply almost universally to children, adults, engineers, architects, private and public managers, and politicians. Training for fire department personnel was found deficient, especially in the areas of command, management and engineering technology.
Fire prevention at the provincial level was also hit. The Provincial Fire Prevention Act gives commisssioners or fire marshals strong powers of entry, investigation and enforcement, Baird said. “However, many of them do not exercise these powers to any great extent,” he commented.
Given all that, he observed, “it was apparent that it was not effective for 3300 Canadian municipalities to fight the common enemy individually.”
Nevertheless, the study did not call for a provincial fire service nor a large new government bureaucracy like the United States Fire Administration. Rather, the Canadian government was called upon to facilitate a better partnership between municipalities and the provincial governments more on the model of the heavily built-up counties in Maryland and Virginia.
Predominantly volunteer
“In these cases,” Baird said, “the advantages of local volunteer fire departments were complemented by the larger scale, centralized and standardized functions carried out by the county.” The Canadian fire service is predominantly volunteer. Unlike in America Burning, where numerous detailed recommendations were given, the Canadian study lacked a list of other very specific suggestions.
“The study report itself,” explained Baird, “had to paint the Canadian fire scene with a very broad brush. It remains for the fire service and all its connections to pursue the matter and fill in the gaps.”
