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Essex County Fire Services Training

Feasibility Study

Essex County Fire Services Training Facilities Feasibility Study

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Index

Terms of Reference ……………………………………………Page 1 to 4

Executive Summary …………………………………………...Page 4 to 10

Introduction ………...………………………………………….Page 11to 14

Needs Assessment …...……………………………………….. Page 15 to 35

Conclusion …………………………………………………….Page 36

Appendix “A” Legislative requirements ………………..…….Page 37 to 45

Appendix “B” Best Practices…………………………………..Page 46 to 51

Appendix “C” Existing Facilities ……………………………..Page 52 to 55

Appendix “D” Core Services ………………………………... .Page 56 to 57

Appendix “E” Conceptual Facility………………………….…Page 58 to 66

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PROJECT BACKGROUND On November 18, 2011, Essex County Chief Administrative Officers (CAO‟s) received a presentation from the County Fire Chiefs who were asked to provide an overview of the co-operative training efforts of fire departments in Essex County and the City of Windsor, in terms of programming and facilities. Following the presentation the Chiefs were requested to put forward Terms of Reference to study the feasibility of utilizing/adding to the existing fire facilities, to identify and take advantage of existing collaboration, and/or a new training facility for all of Essex County Fire Services and to identify and take advantage of existing collaboration. Using a multi-departmental approach, this project is designed to enhance the County‟s ability to prevent, mitigate, plan, respond and recover from disasters and emergencies, while ensuring continuation of core services. A multi-municipal Steering Committee was established to oversee and approve the project‟s deliverables. A Working Group was established to develop and implement the project‟s deliverables. GOVERNACE MODEL A Steering Committee was established to oversee and approve the project‟s deliverables. This committee consisted of four members from the CAO group and three members from the Fire Chief‟s group. The members are:

Bill Marck CAO Leamington Kevin Miller CAO LaSalle Donna Hunter Director of Finance Essex Sandra Ingratta Director of Finance Kingsville Bruce Montone Fire Chief Windsor, Fire Co-ordinator Essex County Bob Kissner Fire Chief Kingsville Alternate Fire Co-ordinator Essex County Doug Pitre Fire Chief Tecumseh

An Input Group (Project Team) was established to provide information surrounding the provision of training, the facilities available, and the resource currently being offered in Windsor and Essex County. The committee was comprised of members from the following organizations: Essex CAO‟s Committee – Two Members Municipal Finance Representatives – Two Members Windsor Fire Rescue Services LaSalle Fire Services Tecumseh Fire Rescue Services Amherstburg Fire Department Essex Fire Service Kingsville Fire Department


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Leamington Fire Services Lakeshore Fire Services Pelee Island Fire Service St. Clair College University of Windsor Industrial Fire Services within the County of Essex Other Identified Stakeholders

TERMS OF REFERENCE The Essex County Fire Services Training Facilities Study Terms of Reference were issued on April 16, 2012 inviting proposals form consulting services. An agreement between The Corporation of The City of Windsor (representing the city and all County Municipalities) and B.F.E Solutions was signed on December 12, 2012 for the provision of consulting services for the project. PROJECT DELIVERABLES Needs Assessment: Identify and assess the needs of the services/departments/branches/units, potentially using the existing facilities and or a centralized model, and or standalone facility. Ensure proper needs for the immediate future and long term to ensure a centralized model. Fire services SWOT (or similar) analysis. Facility Assessment: Consider and leverage existing infrastructure currently in use by individual municipalities looking at both immediate and long term needs as identified through the SWOT analysis. Review is to consider what is in place now, and what could be added to fire facilities as they are upgraded in order to provide training components not found at another Essex County fire hall. The study will also review the feasibility of utilizing existing non fire training facilities i.e. Schools, Colleges and Universities. The review will also examine development of a standalone facility and address classroom, offices, building, land and equipment. The evaluation should include a future component of approximately 30-40 years. Incorporate the latest features of modern infrastructure for training. Operational Plan:


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Out-line the daily management and operations of the training centre. Map out details concerning joint partnerships, inter-agency services and inter-department activities. Produce operational requirements documentation. In the case of multiple partners, how should shared facilities and or a single facility be managed, and address governance of such facilities. Site Requirements Explore current sites, review potential and existing infrastructure costs, permits and neighbourhood issues. Determine the processes for training and transportation of personnel to locations. The site design should include future development. Some of the programs to be delivered may include: Class A Fire Burn Structure Fire Simulator (LP Gas) Defensive Driving Pumper Operations Ladder Operations Special Operation (extrication, confined space, trench, and hazmat etc.) Medical Operation Multi-story Training Facility SCBA Emergency Operations CPAT Testing ETC.

Financial Assessment Define the cost to the individual fire services training systems now and in the future. Define the cost of any added features to their facilities that could be shared by all parties, taking into account local construction costs. Provide estimated values for all aspects of the training facilities design, construction, operation and maintenance. A phased in approach should be included in both existing and a new facility. Include an estimate of annual operating costs and annual revenue potentials including grants and financial assistance from all levels of Government. Cost Benefit Analysis


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Outline the benefits of a training facility, individually and as a multi-departmental facility system. Document both tangible advantages and ensure legal requirements are met. Funding Strategy Investigate all possible funding opportunities, partnerships, local, Provincial and Federal. Define phases in periods if applicable. Special Requirements Research current training practices in large geographic cities/counties across

North America Research background information on vendor‟s products Health and Safety issues Environmental issues Storage NFPA Best Practices Training ratios Mandatory issues Site Orientation visits.

Schedule and Target Completion Dates Work Plan/schedule of activities and deliverables. Completion dates for various phases of the assignments. Draft report due before final report to ensure input from the project authority/steering committee. Information and/or services to be provided by all participating municipalities Review of the Feasibility Study Projects may be reprioritized and/or deferred for development and implementation subject to the authorization of a Governance structure. Outcomes and recommendations of this review will be reported to a Governance structure.


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Executive Summary

The provision of any service should only be established after a need is clearly demonstrated. Providing training is not an option for municipalities it is a requirement, required by law, and defined by the Occupational Health and Safety Act. (see Appendix “A” OH&S Act Section 21- Guidelines) The Fire Chiefs with-in Essex County and the City of Windsor are well aware of their obligation to provide training. Over the years the fire chiefs have worked collaboratively in an effort to provide, competent, safe and affordable training to their firefighters. The fire service has also invited other emergency agencies in their respective areas to participate in the training if it was beneficial to all parties. Although no formal governance has been established, the chiefs have been able to accomplish much of the required training and share in it jointly. The lack of a nearby facility to provide class A live fire training is one of the major and immediate challenges facing all municipalities in Essex County. The input from the fire chiefs indicates that between thirty (30) to thirty five (35) recruits will be needed each year to allow the departments in Essex County to maintain their current staffing compliment. The former Ontario Fire College “Mod A” program is an example of the type of training required for a recruit, five (5) of the nine (9) required components should be performed in a facility that provides live fire training. Training facilities very early in the process became a focus of the working group. A single centralized facility certainly has some economic and practical advantages. The logistics of operating all training out of a single location for a county as geographically large and diverse as Essex is however, challenging at best. Provision must be made for training in closer proximity to home municipalities. In order to meet this need, certain existing facilities must be maintained to maximize training opportunities. In particular, the current fire service training facilities in the various fire stations should be kept available for in-service, supplementary and skills maintenance. This takes advantage of existing facilities and resources and the expertise of local instructors.

One other technology, or technique, that helps to expand the reach of the training model is the use of portable equipment and mobile training aids or props. When properly designed and packaged, a wide variety of equipment and resources can be scheduled and deployed remotely to assist in the core training programs and resources.

Examples of such technologies currently in use are the props used to simulate confined space rescue by the fire service. Other examples of equipment and props that are portable for training application in remote locations include ropes and knots, pumps and nozzles, and first aid/CPR etc.

Portability is one delivery technique that is a natural extension of facility-based learning that can be scaled and designed in such a way as to be an effective and efficient training instrument. Given the current identified gap that exists to provide live fire


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training, a mobile or portable LP gas simulator and props could be used to address the gap.

It is recommended that in the short term, an Essex County fire services mobile LP Gas training simulator become a component of the County Fire Services training delivery program. Acquiring a mobile LP Gas simulator or constructing a fire tower for the provision of live fire training is only one part of the challenge. In the case of a fixed training tower the facility must be located in a municipality that has the personnel in place to support the day to day operations of the facility. Municipal services must be available including electricity, sewer and water. A significant amount of site engineering is required to meet both Ontario Building Code and Ministry of the Environment requirements. Collective decisions would need to be made to insure that proper operational guidelines are in place for the smooth operation of a training facility and/or mobile simulator. Although a formal governance body has not been establish officially, the fire chief‟s and the fire coordinator have demonstrated a willingness to work together to improve the delivery of a centralized training model to take advantage and leverage existing efforts of fire protection services in the County. Training is an essential required function in the service delivery of fire protection and plays an important role and should be treated as such. It is recommended that the Essex County Fire-Coordinator in conjunction with the County Fire Chiefs establish a Essex County Mutual Aid Association for the purposes of promoting regular and specialized training throughout the county as identified in the Fire Coordinator manual from the Office of the Fire Marshal. The Essex County Mutual Aid Association executive should then establish various committees as required coordinating common functions throughout the county. Some examples include fire service training, fire prevention, TAPPC Coalition, Hoarding Coalition for the purposes of sharing training resources, information, and personnel. The role of Essex County Fire Coordinator has some obligations to County Council. This relationship should be fostered for the provision of training throughout the county. The need for interoperability of all emergency service is imperative to ensure the potential risks of all municipalities are addressed throughout Essex County. The provincial government has established hazardous material response teams in three (3) key locations throughout southern Ontario, Windsor is one of them. Hazardous materials responses are only one example of situations that will require a multi-agency response to mitigate the incident. Success will only be accomplished when joint training has been provided to include all municipal fire response agencies.


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It is recommended that each municipality review their comprehensive community risk assessment establishing their potential risks. The county training committee should correlate the training needs and identify common threads based on community risk. This information will form the basis of common training program needs and would compliment efforts towards a centralized delivery model that includes the continued use of existing satellite (local) facilities, and the centralized coordination of local programming. In the short term several low cost effective enhancements can be undertaken to take greater advantage of existing efforts and resources currently provided throughout the County by all participating municipalities. These enhancements could include;

1. Develop a web based training aid and props catalogue

2. Develop a web based central database of instructors and associate instructor authorizations

3. Develop a web based central listing of courses and NFPA guided uniform training

available in Essex County. The Essex County Mutual Aid training committee in collaboration with the County Fire Chiefs and Fire-Coordinator, prepare a presentation for Essex County Council on fire services training needs for Essex County. The Presentation to Essex County Council should include the benefits of joint multi-agency training resources and propose the development of a formal governance model that is administered by the county. (Similar to Waterloo Region) There are many locations in Essex County to host a much longer term goal of the development of a permanent live fire training facility. The development of a county training facility should be considered a very long term project and funded as a partnership by Essex County municipalities. The proposed longer term goal of a permanent facility represents a significant investment on the part of the County of Essex and should not be undertaken without the cooperation and participation of the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada. However, the analysis contained in this report shows to some degree that the anticipated benefits outweigh the costs and that the longer term goals warrant further consideration.

It should be recommended to Essex County Council that the City of Windsor and County of Essex Councils agree in principle with the implementation of the short


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term goals as identified in this Essex County Fire Services Training Feasibility Study. This report be forwarded to the City of Windsor and County municipalities for consideration, to adopt in principle. When adopted in principle, by the City and County municipalities, the area Fire Chiefs be assigned through the Fire Coordinator, the task of developing a critical path to implement the short term goals outlined in the study. Following five years after the implementation of the short term goals the area CAO’s review the benefit of the said joint effort, and should it be determined a more comprehensive study is required to support the long term goals outlined in this study, that the CAO’s for the City and County prepare a joint report and draft terms of reference for Councils consideration.

The proposal offers the partners an opportunity to look to the future and make a significant contribution to future generations. It is intended to enhance the learning and expand the capability for emergency response equipment, materials and practices. This proposal represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and should be pursued.

Summary of Recommendations

1. That in the short term, a Essex County fire services mobile LP Gas training simulator become a component of the County Fire Services training delivery program.

2. That the Essex County Fire-Coordinator in conjunction with the County Fire Chiefs establish a Essex County Mutual Aid Association for the purposes of promoting regular and specialized training throughout the county as identified in the Fire-Coordinator manual from the Office of the Fire Marshal. The Essex County Mutual Aid Association executive should then establish various committees as required to coordinate common functions throughout the county. Some examples include training, fire prevention, TAPPC Coalition, Hoarding Coalition for the purposes of sharing training resources, information, and personnel.

3. That each municipality review their comprehensive community risk assessment establishing their potential risks. The county training committee should correlate the training needs and identify common threads based on community risk. This information will form the basis of common training program needs and would compliment efforts towards a centralized delivery model that includes the continued use of existing (local) facilities, and the centralized coordination of local programming.


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4. That the Essex County Mutual Aid training committee in collaboration with the

County Fire Chiefs and Fire-Coordinator prepare a presentation for Essex County Council on fire services training needs for Essex County. The Presentation to Essex County Council should include the benefits of joint multi-agency training resources and propose the development of a formal governance model that is administered by the county.(Similar to Waterloo Region)

5. That the City of Windsor and County of Essex Councils agree in principle with the implementation of the short term goals as identified in this Essex County Fire Services Training Feasibility Study. This report be forwarded to the City of Windsor and County municipalities for consideration, to adopt in principle. When adopted in principle, by the City and County municipalities, the area Fire Chiefs be assigned through the Fire Coordinator, the task of developing a critical path to implement the short term goals outlined in the study. Following five years after the implementation of the short term goals the area CAO‟s review the benefit of the said joint effort, and should it be determined a more comprehensive study is required to support the long term goals outlined in this study, that the CAO‟s for the City and County prepare a joint report and draft, terms of reference for Councils consideration. The recommendations contained herein, be further developed as short and long term goals as identified below, so the burden is spread out over time and provides a more manageable undertaking.

Short Term Purchase a mobile LP Gas (propane) fired training unit, complete with a acquisition and utilization plan

Develop a web based training aid and props catalogue

Develop a web based central database of instructors and associate instructor authorizations

Develop a web based central listing of courses and training available in Essex County. Create a centralized delivery model that includes:

NFPA Guided uniform training


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Existing satellite facilities centralized coordination

delivery of local programming

Long Term

Detailed needs assessment from all agencies to determine size and scope of a fixed multi-agency facility.

Develop a project master plan for implementation of a fixed multi-agency training facility.

Choose and acquire adequate land to accommodate a fixed multi-agency training facility

Construct a fixed multi-agency facility including governance, administration and management.


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INTRODUCTION The project to develop a Fire Services training system for Essex County originated with fire service needs for a local solution that would meet the growing and changing needs for comprehensive training of its firefighter personnel. The fire service has recognized that the smaller and scattered training resources may be inadequate to meet the changing training needs of Essex County and the City of Windsor. The focus of this study was to be on the particular needs of fire services with some consideration, where warranted, for the associated needs of all other Essex County emergency services.

The original terms of reference for this study recognized that a training facility has the potential to serve similar needs of other agencies, i.e. Community emergency management throughout the service area. Potentially there could be other users of such a facility such as St. Clair College and other fire services located in neighbouring counties as well as other municipal services such as public works, parks, etc.

Recognizing the broader potential user base for a training facility, the study was to survey these and other stakeholders to determine the extent to which the fire service training facilities could be utilized for multi-agency training purposes. In December 2012, Essex County selected the consulting firm of B.F.E. Solutions, Inc. To conduct the study and work began to facilitate the fire service leaders through the process of gathering information and analysis for a training delivery model and facility proposal.

Framework

Early discussions disclosed a framework that brings fire services together in the search of common solutions. This framework could be characterized as:

- Capacity: the size and scope of training facilities required to meet training objectives;

- Adequacy: the suitability of training programs and facilities that prepares emergency response personnel for the complex and changing situations, technologies and potential situations.

- Economies of scale: the opportunity to maximize every dollar spent on training by creating opportunities for joint and common use of facilities that could meet the needs of more than one agency;

- Interoperability: the need for cross-agency training to respond to the increasing number of emergency situations requiring joint and coordinated action, and;

- Research: the desire to be more proactive in advancing the understanding of the characteristics of contemporary emergency situations, and in developing and testing new and improved methods, equipment and materials for meeting the 21st century response challenges that are encountered.


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The primary facilities utilized for current delivery of fire service training is conducted locally in-station as part of the on-going operational routine of volunteer firefighting and career personnel. Although the in station training model may have met past expectations, requirements have changed radically in the past number of years. The most pressing need identified was to ensure that the requirements of the OH&S act (Appendix “A”) are met, not only for new recruits but on an ongoing basis for all fire fighters. This is compounded by the growing need for “Live Fire” training which is not available anywhere within the Essex County nor the City of Windsor. As a result very little initial and refresher training is provided due to time, distance and funding challenges.

In addition, some of in-station fire service training facilities and resources are used by other partnering agencies, particularly the classrooms. This suggested the opportunity for mutual development and common use of facilities at a future new Essex County training centre. The fire service is increasingly confronted with a variety of needs for joint training; these needs also support the potential for the mutual development and operation of a coordinated County Wide training model.

In the short term however, several low cost effective enhancements can be undertaken to take greater advantage of existing efforts and resources currently provided throughout the County by all participating municipalities. These enhancements could include;

1. Develop a web based training aid and props catalogue

2. Develop a web based central database of instructors and associate instructor authorizations

3. Develop a web based central listing of courses and NFPA guided uniform training

available in Essex County. Emergency Management: the emergency management units of each municipality are responsible for meeting the training requirements for combined response to multi-agency emergency situations. In all municipalities the local Fire Chief has a key role and in many is the Community Emergency Management Coordinator, CEMC. As such, emergency management could benefit from shared facilities to conduct joint training classes and exercises. Emergency management activities and preparation has to compete with the rest of municipal/county operations for limited classroom space, this makes curriculum planning and scheduling difficult and uncertain. Emergency management could utilize the capability to conduct full-scale exercises using real world simulations involving evaluation of all logistics of the municipality‟s emergency services.

Common requirements: other factors for the study arise from common needs. For example, all the fire services may need to build stronger programs for development of management and command staff. Much of the curriculum and/or training facilities (e.g. tactical command simulations) are common to all municipal fire services, and their


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integrated design and delivery, where appropriate, can provide economies of scale as well as resulting in enhanced interoperability between and among all agencies.

Satellite facilities: Whereas a single centralized campus certainly has some economic and practical advantages, the logistics of operating all training out of a single location is challenging at best. Provision must be made for training in closer proximity to home municipalities throughout Essex County. In order to meet this need, certain existing satellite facilities will need to be maintained to maximize training opportunities. In particular, the current fire service training facilities in the various fire stations should be kept available for in-service, supplementary and skills maintenance. This takes advantage of existing facilities and resources and the expertise of local instructors.

Portability: one other technology, or technique, that helps to expand the reach of the training model is the use of portable equipment and mobile training aids or props. When properly designed and packaged, a wide variety of equipment and resources can be scheduled and deployed remotely to assist in the core training programs and resources.


Portability is one delivery technique that is a natural extension of facility-based learning that can be scaled and designed in such a way as to be an effective and efficient training instrument. Given the current identified gap that exists to provide live fire training, a mobile or portable LP gas simulator and props could be used to address the gap.

Driver training is another common requirement that can best be addressed collectively. Each of the Essex County fire services has a need for a dedicated road/street environment which can be configured for a variety of real-world driving situations that may be encountered in responding to any emergency. The incorporation of a driver training centre as part of the project could allow for classroom instruction, computer-aided simulations and actual driving experience that prepare all personnel to react efficiently, effectively and safely to emergency response situations.

Other areas in which economies of scale and/or enhanced interoperability can be realized:

The pooling of fire services library and research resources,

Coordinated deployment of instructors,

Conducting joint exercises and simulations,

Sharing of some classrooms/breakout rooms and board/conference rooms


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The Vision

The project team recognizes that the vision for this project extends beyond the current training needs and requirements of each of the individual Fire Services agencies. The initial working session with the fire chiefs identified a common need to develop advanced, training capabilities to potentially prepare the next generation of fire personnel to meet the ever-changing demands for advanced response. There is a corresponding need for advanced training and preparation of all emergency personnel for integrated, multi-agency response to situations. A list of best practices for consideration is included as Appendix “B”.

The working group proceeded according to certain guiding principles that were restricted to the fire services but it became clear that the project needed to be expanded as follows:

The training should be dedicated to enhancing the readiness of all emergency services personnel to preserve and protect the lives, health and property of the citizens of Essex County and surrounding area.

The training should adopt a balanced approach to centralized and integrated training for the Essex Counties‟ fire service agencies, while taking advantage of other decentralized delivery methods and technologies where appropriate (e.g. satellite sub-centres, e-learning, mobile props, etc.);

The training should include a research component for advanced work in developing and testing emergency response equipment and practices in cooperation with the local university and college resources and related businesses and industries;

The training should address the growing and changing needs of emergency service personnel for the next thirty plus years;

The training should address the need for cross-agency learning to respond to the increasing number of emergency situations requiring joint and coordinated action.


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Needs Assessment The goal of every fire service should be to provide fire protection services through a range of programs designed to protect the lives and property of the ratepayers of the municipality, from the adverse effects of fires or exposure to dangerous conditions created by man or nature; first to their municipality; second to those municipalities requiring assistance through mutual aid; and third to those municipalities which are provided fire protection services via approved agreements. Fire services must provide training to an accepted standard which will ensure the continuous up-grading of all personnel in the current practices of fire prevention, fire suppression and rescue, and the control of emergency situations, at the same time meeting the requirements of the Ministry of Labour, Occupational Health and Safety Act including the Section 21 Guidance Notes. The fire chiefs of Essex County have endeavoured to provide adequate training for their staff by meeting many of the requirements of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards or Ontario Fire Service Standards created by the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC) and the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM), the Ontario Fire Fighter Curriculum as administered by the Ontario Fire College (OFC). A comprehensive and collaborative Essex County training needs assessment has not been conducted. Conducting a comprehensive training needs assessment will provide an opportunity to catalogue and assess the effectiveness of current training programs and delivery methods; and secondly, assist in the design of future program requirements that account for changes that are needed in the field of emergency services delivery, and thirdly, to investigate the potential opportunities and benefits of providing structured training through a formal county training system and organization.

The needs assessment data for this report has been compiled by collecting verbal information from the working committee along with a written survey and task assignments sent out to all Essex County fire chiefs. The survey questions attempted to identify the current training resources including programs, topics, instructors and support facilities. This preliminary information provides an indication of the level of training as it is currently designed and delivered. To identify the future training needs projections were made based on factors such as population growth, firefighter attrition rates, new and expanded programs required and emerging delivery techniques and utilization of new computer and web based technologies. Current Training Practices:

The current training programs (including topics, instruction and support facilities) for emergency fire services were identified and tabulated to give a view of training as it is currently designed and delivered by members of the working group.


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Recruit training for a new fire fighter is a municipal investment into the future members of their fire service. Fire suppression and rescue services in Essex County are provided by 343 volunteer fire fighters and officers, 29 part-time fire fighters and officers, and 304 career fire fighters and officers. The results of the survey indicate that between 25 to 30 new fire fighter recruits per year will be required to meet the future needs of the fire service. Information in the response from the survey also indicated that all fire departments in Essex County currently provide a recruit training program. In many cases the recruit training programs are provided as a joint venture by the departments sharing their resources that include: Course outlines Lesson plans Facilities Instructors Training props Practical exercises

Competency Based Training: All of the fire departments in Essex County are providing competency based training based on local needs and circumstances and local service levels, including the elements of theory, practice, test and documentation for basic skills along with other specialised training modules as a joint venture including but not limited to the following:

Fire Suppression and Rescue Water & Ice Rescue Search and Rescue Confined Space Rescue High Angle Rescue Handling of Hazardous Materials Training Auto Extrication

Some modules of the above training are being completed in acquired structures donated to the department for their use prior to being demolished by their owner. An unfortunate incident in the United States claimed the lives of three fire fighters during a training evolution and the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL), Section 21 Advisory Committee issued Guidance Note # 7-5 : “Live Fire Training Consideration for Acquired Structures” If departments continue to use acquired structures to perform live fire training evolutions they must comply with this MOL Section 21 guidance note. Some fire departments have focused in providing training for a variety of specialty modules and have built or purchased many of the required training aids and props to ensure a high quality training package.


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There is a strong spirit of cooperation between the fire chiefs and fire departments in Essex County; however there is currently no formal method to provide structured training programs and the sharing of resources. Specialized Training Society has demanded that fire departments provide much more than fire suppression services and therefore a wide variety of specialized services are being provided that require unique training. The following is a list of specialized services provided by many fire departments.

Auto Extrication

Hazardous Materials Response

Marine Rescue

Medical First Response

Water and Ice Rescue

High Angle Rescue

Trench Rescue

Confined Space Rescue A training program should be capable of providing the level and type of training to satisfy the needs demonstrated by the partner municipalities for the provision of the listed specialized services. There is a measure of liability and exposure to risk for the municipalities due to extended exertion and fatigue required to perform fire fighter training and more specifically live fire training along with the requirement to have fire fighters travel long distances to and from these training facilities outside Essex County. The high cost of meals and accommodation makes over-night travel for training an additional burden on tight fire service budgets and manpower.

Operational Guidelines (OG’s)

On February 6, 1989, the Ontario Ministry of Labour under The Occupational Health and Safety Act established the Section 21 Committee. The purpose of the committee is to advise and make recommendations relating to the occupational health and safety of all fire fighters in Ontario. The committee has also developed a number of guidance notes that outline recommended equipment and practices for protection of the health and safety of all fire fighters across the province of Ontario. Appendix “A” The fire departments of Essex County have developed and/or are in the process of developing/revising operational guidelines that meet the requirements of the Ministry of Labour Section 21 Committee guidance notes. The operational guidelines may vary


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from department to department, because of the type and level of service they provide. Fire departments throughout the county and province often share in the development of operational guidelines to make the process easier. This can be especially important when municipalities are assisting each other at Mutual Aid activations or joint training exercises. Current Shared Resources Not all training resources and props can necessarily be shared, some fire departments are currently sharing the following resources as required to assist neighbouring departments.

Classroom Facilities

Instructors

Teaching Props

Programs/Course Outlines/Lesson Plans

Practical exercise scenarios for Water & Ice Rescue, Confined Space Rescue. High Angle Rescue and Hazmat etc.

Live Fire Training One of the most common training gaps throughout the county is the lack of a local facility that will accommodate live fire training. This is a significant stumbling block to efficient and effective fire-fighter training within Essex County. County fire fighters are required to travel a minimum of 3 to 4 hours each way to reach a location that has a facility that provides this type of training. Live fire training is not considered optional for municipalities who provide interior structural fire fighting with and expected rescue component, it is a Ministry of Labour requirement. The Industry Norm of providing fire fighters with live fire training prior to delivering services would pose an enormous challenge for municipalities to defend if they do not conduct business in like ways and means. Library Material/NFPA Standards Over the years most fire departments have accumulated a significant collection of resource materials including manuals, videos, CD‟s, and props. In many cases this material is duplicated by neighbouring departments at a cost. If a county training model was established and all resources catalogued in a library they could then be made available for use by all departments, and a cost saving could be realized by making more efficient use of resources. Standardization


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Standardization could also be the catalyst to identify additional municipal collaboration and could lead to more cost effective delivery of training. This will lead to a consistent method of operation at an emergency situation. This is especially important when dealing with large scale emergencies, especially where municipalities are relying on neighbouring departments for assistance through mutual aid. Standardized training will also lead to a better quality of operations overall and enhancing the local fire department‟s capabilities. Recruiting and retention of fire fighters is becoming more and more of a challenge in today‟s mobile society. Standardization of training would promote the use and transfer of firelighter‟s skills/knowledge within Essex County. Technology Utilization The elements of a good training program are theory, practice, test and documentation to meet the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and to provide for the health and safety of all fire fighters. Training facilities in all current and future fire stations should be required to have connectivity for, internet based web-casting to allow for e-learning ensuring that all participants are receiving a consistent message. This method of training can provide a significant cost saving of instructor time. The information technology (IT) infrastructure needs would likely consist of high speed internet, desktop or laptop computers, projectors, flat screen TV, cameras etc. Training and support for the users of this technology would also have to be provided. It would be feasible to establish a shared database for a training records management system that could be utilized by all fire departments. The database system must be capable of meeting the requirements of the Ministry of Labour, Sec. 21 Guidance Note # 7-3 “ Documentation of Training Plus Daily Training Reports”. A shared server system should have the capabilities of storing lesson plans, power point presentations, etc., that are easily shared and usable by all member departments. The Essex County fire service provides a number core service to the communities they serve, these core services dictate how they provide emergency response in their municipalities. The type and level of core service also determines their training requirements. The chart in Appendix “D” outlines each municipality‟s core services and indicates the required standard of training to be compliant with health and safety regulations. Comprehensive Community Risk Assessment


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Needs and circumstances are those things that impact on the provision of fire protection services and include considerations on the demographics, economic situation, geography, building profile, physical layout of the municipality, the risks to be protected, community infrastructure of roads and water systems, presence or lack of pressurized water distribution system and service delivery system (i.e. full time, volunteer or composite fire department). Citizens will determine what they expect as to the quality or level of service the municipality will provide. Municipal councils, as representatives of their constituents, have the sole responsibility for determining which fire protection services are to be delivered based on the needs and circumstances in their individual municipalities. Municipalities have options with respect to conducting the research and analysis required to help them assess their risks and subsequently their needs, based on their circumstances. They may conduct the work themselves using the tools provided the Office of the Fire Marshal, or they may choose to hire a consultant to undertake the work for them. In either case, conducting this necessary research and analysis will be invaluable for the municipality in determining their risks and the training required to mitigate them. The individual municipalities in Essex County should complete a comprehensive community risk assessment to ensure the type and quantity of training for each risk is based on their needs and circumstances, similarities can be identified with partner municipalities and suitable training can be provided accordingly and effectively for example wind turbines, large commercial warehouses. Another option could be to enter an agreement with a neighbouring municipality for the provision of services that are required on a limited basis and require extensive training. Some examples include hi angle rescue, water/ice rescue, trench rescue, etc. Staff Resources for Training In 1988, “Paradigm for Progress”, a Task Force Report to the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, recommended that the Professional Standards Setting Body (PSSB) be created with the mandate to develop a training, educational and certification system for the Ontario Fire Service. The PSSB has developed and published nine Ontario Fire Service Standards. The educational and training programs for Ontario are based on a sound educational process that begins with occupational standards. The delivery model included the development of “Master Trainer Facilitators” (MTF‟s) and “Trainer Facilitators” (TF‟s). The educational process is performance based and the MTF‟s or TF‟s can sign off that they have witnessed the candidate perform the necessary tasks. Recently, the Province of Ontario has decided to abandon the Ontario professionalization process and has opted to pursue the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards as the future performance standards for the Ontario Fire


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Service. The Transition to NFPA will be undertaken in the next two years. Essex County fire services are in a favourable position for this implementation. Sharing Instructors Every department has some type of training staff; however training is currently being provided by all levels of staff within the various fire departments. Some are working as career training officers, some are OFC Associate Instructors with the Ontario Fire College, some are Master Trainer Facilitators, and some are Trainer Facilitators. About half the departments have membership in the Ontario Training Officers Association. A formal body of instructors has not been established in the Essex County for the provision of training. Although the Fire Chiefs know who is good at instructing what, a formal structure would allow the instructors an opportunity to specialize in the topics of their choice. Additional Opportunities: If a formal training body of instructors is established it could lead to some of the following opportunities: Cost savings Collective Recruit Training Company Officer Training Fire Prevention/Public Education Officer Training Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer Training Other Specialized Training opportunities. Some training is taking place on a shared bases at the present time, but it is not formalized. When a fire chief decides they need to provide a certain type of training they will often invite a neighbouring department to participate. Although, this seems to work it is not the best way to plan for training. Larger Classes If training was being provided in a formal manner the leadership could plan how many instructor staff they need to meet their requirements for the number of students enrolled for the course. There is potential for larger class‟s sizes providing more efficient use of instructor staff, facilities and resources.Collectively the fire departments of Essex County have the following training staff resources: 2 – Master Trainer/Facilitators 93 - Trainer/Facilitators 7 - OFM Company Officer Associate Instructors 4 - OFM Pumper Operations Associate Instructors


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2 - OFM Water & Ice Rescue Associate Instructors 1 - OFM Associate Instructor for Fire fighter Survival 2 - NFPA Technician High Angle Rescue Instructors 12 - First Aid/CPR Instructors 1 - Career Chief Training Officer 5 - Career Training Officers 10 – Career Specialized Trainers for Hazmat, Fire Prevention, Company Officer, Forcible Entry, Auto Extrication, First Aid/CPR, and Senior Officer Training. The total number of fire service staff providing training in Essex County is 139. The total number of fire department personnel in Essex County 676 fire fighters. This provides a 4.86 (5) fire fighter ratio per instructor which is an excellent ratio.

Options for Consideration to narrow the Identified Gaps; A comprehensive and collaborative Essex County training needs assessment

should be conducted If departments continue to use acquired structures to perform live fire training

evolutions they must comply with MOL Section 21 guidance notes. Capitalize on the strong spirit of cooperation between the fire chiefs and fire

departments in Essex County; formalize the structured training programs and the sharing of resources.

Reduce the measure of liability and exposure to risk for municipalities due to

extended exertion and fatigue required to perform fire fighter training and more specifically live fire training along with the requirement to have fire fighters travel long distances to and from these training facilities outside Essex County. In the short term purchase a mobile Live Fire Training simulator.

This would provide advantages for the fire services such as:

Cost avoidance of maintaining a permanent structure

Live fire training could be scheduled in local community,

Community acceptance, as it is not a permanent structure in their municipality.

Self-contained with on board propane storage and electrical power generator.

No environmental impacts by air, soil or water pollution.

Simulated smoke dissipates rapidly once released from the burn unit.

Mobile unit produces burn temperatures similar to Class-A fire in various burn

configurations.

Radiant heat is identical to heat produced by a Class-A fire.


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Limited set-up and clean-up time needed.

No Class-A fuel needed.

Programmable fire scenarios.

A computer-controlled temperature monitoring system with integral ventilation fan

control. Potential disadvantages would include;

the cost of moving the unit from one community to another

Ownership of the Asset

Storage location when not in use

Insurance, maintenance etc. Would require all participants to agree on assessment process

All training resources should be catalogued in a central library, they could then

be made available for use by all departments, and a cost saving could be realized by making more efficient use of resources.

Training facilities in all current and future fire stations should be required to have

connectivity for, internet based web-casting to allow for e-learning ensuring that all participants are receiving a consistent message. This method of training can provide a significant cost saving of instructor time.

The individual municipalities in Essex County should complete a comprehensive

community risk assessment to ensure the type and quantity of training for each risk is based on their needs and circumstances, similarities can be identified with partner municipalities and suitable training can be provided.

A formal body of instructors would allow fire services instructors an opportunity to

specialize in the topics of their choice.

Financial Analysis

For this analysis, an approach has been adopted that is more inclusive and “balanced” than used in a more traditional Cost/ Benefit analysis. Cost/ Benefit were determined to be too restrictive for assessing the feasibility of a centralized Training delivery system, and Facility. Costs can and have been quantified with sufficient accuracy for fiscal programming purposes and can provide the information for one side of the equation.


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However, this does not provide a complete picture of some of the less tangible costs that may be associated with the project, including potential degradation of service resulting from an inability to expand resources to meet growth demands and/or enhanced standards of performance or meeting legislative obligations. Costs, therefore, are not always straight-forward and quantifiable.

Many of the costs associated with the provision of fire services training are fixed cost and would be difficult to adjust, fire service staff must be paid, accommodations provided, and safety insured. The current costs affiliated with providing training throughout the county may lead to some cost saving and/or cost avoidance in the future. Total funding for Essex County and the City of Windsor fire services training in $2013 is $1,400,761.00 In an attempt to affix an average cost per fire fighter, assistance was received from financial administrative staff of the Steering Committee. It was determined that an amount of $2125.00 is the average cost per fire fighter per year based on current expenditures. An amount totalling $850.00/ Fire fighter of current expenditures should continue to be used to maintain skill competency. The following is a list of the current costs associated with travelling outside of Essex County and the City of Windsor for live fire training:

Lodging

Fuel/Mileage

Meals

Accommodations

Extended hours of work (overtime)

Alternate manpower coverage

Facility rental/staffing/technicians

Recruit Training Cost By using a block training model for the purpose of calculating the cost associated with the current method of providing training realistic numbers can be established. The block training in the following chart is based on a group of ten fire fighters. The following calculations are only for the provision of training that requires a Class “A” Tower or LPG Simulator to fulfil 5 of the 9 required sign offs in Ontario Fire fighter Curriculum Mod A program.

Costs incurred/10 fire fighters Unit Cost Total Cost

Lodging (2 FF per room) $100.00/2 days $1000.00

Travel Windsor to Gravenhurst/3 vehicles

1000 km. @ 0.50 cents per km. $1500.00

Meals for 2 days $30.00 per FF per day $600.00

Facility rental including 4 instructors 16 hrs. of instruction provided $2500.00


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FF wages $ 20.00 per hr. X 160 hrs. $3200.00

Total Cost 10 fire fighters Training 5 components Mod A

$8800.00

Cost per Fire fighter Recruit Block Training $880.00

Recruit Training for Essex County 30 recruits require training per year

$26,400.00

Projected cost for ten(10) years $26,400.00/year $264,000.00

Projected cost for twenty(20) years $26,400.00/year $528,000.00

Projected cost for thirty(30) years $26,400.00/year $792,000.00

Fire fighter Competency Maintenance Training Competency training for current fire fighters in Essex County for live fire training can us the same method of calculation.

678 Fire-fighters in city/county Training of 90% = 610 ff x $880.00 $536,800. 00

Projected cost for ten(10) years $536,800. 00 $5,368,000.00

Projected cost for twenty(20) years

$536,800. 00 $10,736,000.00

Projected cost for thirty(30) years

$536,800. 00 $16,104,000.00

678 Fire fighters Training of 80% = 542 ff x 880.00 $476,960.00

Projected cost for ten(10) years $476,960.00 $4,769,600.00

Projected cost for twenty(20) years

$476,960.00 $9,539,200.00

Projected cost for thirty(30) years

$476,960.00 $14,308,800.00

***Note*** Regardless of location, Instructor costs, meals and ff. Wages would be required. If a training facility was located within in the County, approximately 30% of the above costs (travel and lodging) could be saved. Additional costs/course for supplementary programs, available in Ontario :

1. Ontario Fire College-Pump Operator Course $650.00 per person.

2. St. Lawrence College-DZ Driver Training $1,600.00 per person.

3. Sprinkler Retrofit Course-$199.00 per person.

4. CO401- $300.00 per person.

5. Trench rescue awareness- $210.00 per person.

6. Media Training - $75.00 per person.


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7. CO601 Special Rescue and Response $325.00

8. Carbon Monoxide Awareness $185.00

9. CO Pre-Planning $295.00

10. Propane Emergencies Level 1-$435.00

11. Propane Emergencies Level 2-$435.00

Additional consideration may be given to identifying and assessing benefits for the system, which necessarily relies more on qualification rather than quantification. This is especially true when considering potential “cost avoidance” in identifying the benefits, i.e. preventing costs from occurring through better training, research and preparation.

Cost avoidance arises first in anticipating potential emergency occurrences; second, in training of personnel to better manage and control emergency incidents; and third, in better preparation to aid in recovery from emergency incidents. All represent opportunities to mitigate and/or eliminate costs through the training and research that could be conducted with the proposed solutions. But, the magnitude of such benefits is conjectural and cannot be accurately quantified. Problems of quantification not-withstanding, estimates of potential benefits are included in the analyses when they can be made with some reasonable degree of confidence.

Further, the complexity of the system and the multiplicity of stakeholders both from within the emergency services community and outside, requires that a wider set of evaluation criteria be employed in order to achieve a more complete view of potential benefits.

Benefits

With this in mind, this Analysis will take a Balanced Scorecard framework in defining the benefits to be expected from proceeding with the project. For purposes of this analysis, a four view Scorecard was employed:


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1) Community: This is a view of potential benefits from the perspective of the residents, the business community, visitors, as well, Essex is home to some Provincial and Federal government agencies and departments. This view includes:

- Public Protection - Public Education - Communications & Public Relations - Volunteer Programs

2) Operations: This view focuses on the benefits that will result from enhanced performance of emergency services personnel, including increased levels of proficiency in:

- Response practices and procedures - Activities and tasks performed in emergency situations - Tools and materials employed - Outcomes or results from increased levels of proficiency - Interoperative training and coordination

3) Resources: This view speaks to the efficiency and effectiveness of application of the all of the resources that the County‟s Fire Services have at-hand, or, basically, getting the most benefit from:

- Finances - Equipment - Technology

4) Organization: This takes into account the benefits that are expected to accrue to the County‟s Emergency Services personnel in terms of enhanced performance in emergency situations, improvement in safety and health, communications, leadership development and innovation for dealing with emergency situations;

- Culture - Employee Health and Safety - Communications

Fire Service Training

Community

Operations

Resources

Organization


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- Leadership - Innovation

This Scorecard approach will give decision-makers a more inclusive view of the expected concerns, expectations, costs and benefits from a wider range of stakeholders and perspectives than would be the case with a traditional cost/benefit analysis which focuses primarily on a “Resources” view.

It is generally accepted that training, combined with systematic operations research, will yield significant benefits and savings. The issue is not if benefits and savings will be achieved. Rather, the issue becomes one of valuing the benefits and savings. The discussion that follows describes, and to the extent possible, estimates the benefits and savings that can reasonably be expected to result from formalizing training on a county wide basis and constructing/operating a mobile or permanent Training facility.

Community

Benefits to the “Community” that can be derived from training are varied and potentially compelling. The value of “Public Protection”, for example, can be impacted significantly, either positively or negatively, by small changes in preparation, response and recovery from floods, major fires, ice storms, public disturbances, traffic accidents and/or environmental mishaps. Preparation can take the form of pulling together and maintaining all of the equipment and materials that are required for response and cleanup of hazardous materials spills so as to minimize disruption and delays to traffic. Response savings are illustrated first by the time required for Paramedic personnel to reach a person in distress, and second, by the transport time required to deliver the patient to a hospital. In this case, time and treatment have value to the community through reduced medical costs that result from conditions that are aggravated through delay in delivering and\or reaching appropriate medical help. And recovery can be illustrated by the time required for cleanup and restoration of a facility after a fire. Any reduction in recovery time equates to savings to the community, especially in the case of restoration of business revenues.

These are general examples of potential benefits to the “Community” that can be generated through the work of the proposed Training model. Specific examples of the potential benefits are shown as follows:

Fire Services: An example of the benefit (savings) that can result from the advanced training and operations research capability of the model is in the potential for reduced property damage due to fire. The total fire loss across the Essex County for the period from 2005 to 2009 amounts to a total of $84,711,108 M.

It is generally accepted among training professionals that aggressive training programs, generally, will result in a 10% to 20% increase in productivity, regardless of the subject area. Assuming a reduction potential of 10%, the low end of the estimated range of benefit, the potential reduction in fire loss that likely would result from a combination of improved response time, advanced firefighting equipment and techniques, and expanded public education programs, would provide an aggregate savings of


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approximately $8,471,110M over the five year reporting period ($84,711,108M x 0.10), or an average of $1.7M per year.

Emergency management: The various training courses and exercises conducted through the various municipal and county Emergency Management are intended to enhance the interoperability of the County‟s Emergency Services in responding to and managing a variety of potential disaster scenarios. The proposed facility would significantly enhance the capability of EM and the responding agencies to train for and mitigate the impacts of any crisis that might arise.

The potential benefit to the business community of advanced training and research to enhance this interoperability among the County‟s fire and emergency management services can be illustrated by a hypothetical example involving a disaster scenario at the Devonshire Mall in the City of Windsor.

The Devonshire Mall is a major retail and commercial complex. The Centre has approximately 1,085,991 sq. ft. and 160 Stores operating in the commercial/retail space, generating a high volume of shoppers. This, when added to the almost 2500 sales and mall staff employee base, results in a very high concentration of people occupying and passing through the Mall most days of the year. This, in addition to the proximity of the Mall to Border crossing traffic, makes the Mall a high impact target for domestic disruption. Assuming that the Mall is open and operating 355 days per year and taking the average sales per sq. ft. of $384.56/sq foot for October 2013, and expanding those sales over the commercial/retail space in the Centre, the total average daily retail sales for the Devonshire Mall amount to approximately $500,000/day. This means that each day that the mall is prevented from opening would result in a loss of over $500,000 in gross sales revenues. Therefore, each day saved in the recovery time required to reopen the mall following a disaster, has a gross approximate retail value of $500,000 per day. Recovery time could be minimized through advanced training and preparation.

This example is hypothetical. But it illustrates a scenario that, in this day-and-age, is not out of the realm of possibility. And, the example significantly underestimates the value of recovery time in that it does not include the loss of wages and salaries during any disruption and it ignores the re-establishment time and cost that would be required to bring a major retail outlet back into full operation, even after reopening. But it does provide a sense of the potential benefit to the Essex and City of Windsor business community through the training courses and exercises that could be conducted through the Training model.

Summary: This discussion is not intended to be a full accounting of the value of the community benefits that the enhanced Training would provide to the County of Essex. It does, however, illustrate the range and magnitude of the potential benefits to the community. Further, it is focused only on the community benefits. To the extent that the system and a mobile /permanent facility is proposed to be created to assist in


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training for fire services, the community benefits would be compounded many times over, greatly exceeding the value of the examples shown above.

As most of these benefits represent “cost avoidance” savings, they are hypothetical and not readily quantified. However, they are none-the-less real and should be considered carefully in deliberating the cost/benefit of the proposal.

Operations

The training programs would benefit the operations of each of the emergency services individually as well as enhancing the interoperability of the services as an integrated whole.

The first concern of each of the Fire Services is to prepare for and meet their individual missions as mandated under municipal, Provincial and professional requirements and standards. The review has been designed, foremost, with this operational goal in mind. The operations requirements of each of the participating services are required to prepare their personnel in the practices and procedures, activities and tasks, and the tools and materials employed, in responding to emergency situations that fall within their individual mandates.

However, increasing attention and training effort are being directed toward improving the interoperability between and among the fire services. The expanding scope and complexity of emergency operations requires an increase in joint response and interoperability far beyond what traditionally has been the case. This necessarily requires a new level of joint and integrated training to better prepare the Fire Services to respond and control any emergency situation.

Fire Services: An example of the advanced operations training that is required, especially for fire personnel, is in the area of recognition and handling of fires involving hazardous materials. Whether it is in commercial buildings or house fires, industrial plants or car fires, the expansive use of exotic chemicals and materials is universal and escalating. This requires that firefighters have advanced knowledge of these chemicals and materials and their burn characteristics so that, when they are encountered their potential harm to emergency personnel, as well as anyone else in the area, is controlled and mitigated.

Providing the level of operational readiness required for handling these hazardous materials fires involves developing and pursuing an integrated program of training. Either facility planned would provide a controlled environment in which to conduct flammability and pyro-chemical experiments to identify the properties of hazardous chemicals and materials in a controlled and safe enclosure. Knowledge of flammability characteristics and burn by-products of various chemicals and materials can be applied in operational practice to enhance the effectiveness and safety of firefighters and the community at large. The knowledge gained through such experiments would be of operational value not only to all services but to firefighting world-wide.

A corollary to the research into hazardous chemicals and materials would be the development and delivery of operations training programs that would provide both


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academic discussion and hands-on experience with the properties and effects of fires involving such hazards. In combination with the computer simulations capability of a training program could be developed that would provide a simulated environment that would replicate the actual burn properties of hazardous chemicals and materials without exposing students to actual hazards. The development of this kind of research-driven training would significantly enhance the proficiency and safety of the County‟s firefighting personnel and provide a knowledge-base and operational training package that can be offered to a National and International audience.

The capability to develop and deliver this level of advanced training currently cannot be provided, given the existing facilities and programs of the municipalities. The level of training that would be made possible through the proposed facility would be unique to the firefighting profession and would make the County of Essex a leader in advanced training. Although not quantifiable, this, and other advanced training programs, would greatly enhance the operations capability of personnel.

Interoperability: In addition to the joint operations exercises that will be run by EM, the interoperability of the partnering agencies will be significantly enhanced through a wide variety of training and practice opportunities.

The proximity of the various agencies during special operations training, open up a wide range of potential opportunities to enhance the interoperability between and among the Services, the value of which should not be underestimated.

The value of the resultant operational benefit cannot be estimated. However, the Devonshire example, sited, illustrates the likely magnitude of operational benefit.

Resources

The training programs and a mobile simulator also will impact on the use of fire services resources across the area. By leveraging the finances, facilities and equipment of each of the partnering agencies, the economies of scale and sharing of resources can be gained.

Shared Costs: To the extent that many of the facilities and features of the proposed live fire simulator would be used in common by the partnering agencies, the shared costs would represent a savings to all concerned. A partial list of the more significant “common elements” that are examples of “shared cost” benefits includes:

- Site/unit Management and Administration - Site /unit Maintenance and Storage - Unit transportation - Library - E-Learning Centre - Computer Simulations Lab/Research - Command/Management Training - Tactical Training


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The collective value of these “common elements” amounts to approximately 30% of the total cost. This represents a significant potential savings when compared against the cost of duplicating any or all of these necessary elements through individual solutions among the services.

Taking a conservative assumption, one-half of the “common elements” would be duplicated in some way.

Leveraging Existing Facilities: All fire services plan to retain, and utilize the current training facilities. Use of satellite facilities could expand the capability of in-station training. In combination with more extensive use of kitting and mobile training techniques, these satellite training locations will supplement the programs delivered through the mobile unit and enhance the overall delivery of the training curriculum.

A wide range of potential training opportunities will be designed for offer to other agencies, and the fees for these offerings will be determined based on a cost-recovery basis and cannot be quantified at this time.

Organization

The fourth view in the balanced scorecard approach identifies the benefit of the proposed solution to the “Organization”. The potential benefits of the project include better cultural alignment and interoperability across the Emergency Services, inprovements in employee morale, clear definition of progression within the fire service, and protection of employee health and safety. Although not generally quantifiable, Organization Benefits should be considered as critical “enablers” for the examples above. Without achieving the organization benefits to follow, very little of the benefit enumerated in this section would be realized.

Culture: The trend in emergency services clearly is toward developing a greater degree of “interoperability” between and among the various service components (Fire, Police, EMS, Emergency Management). The increasing complexity and potential severity of emergency situations encountered by the County‟s emergency services require an incresed level of integrated response that runs counter to the traditional independent cultures of the various services. An entirely new level of “cultural” integration is required if the necessary degree of operational coordination, or “interoperability”, is to be realized.

The relationship between training and culture change has long been recognized. Organization culture is key to performance and cultural alignment is critical to establishing and maintaining the cultural norms and behaviours that reflect and support the goals and objectives of the municipalities, the individaul emergency services and the Emergency Services as a whole.

The passage from a 20th Century culture for emergency services based on separation of the services to a 21st Century culture of interoperability will occur as a function of technology, employee demographics, public perceptions, service demands and


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organizational complexity. Each of these elemental building blocks of culture must be tied together if the new generation of emergency services personnel are to meet growing service demands. And cultural alignment is the glue that binds these building blocks together. As noted by Deal and Kennedy “Training is not just part of corporate culture alignment; it is the KEY to alignment.”

And nowhere in the County Municipality‟s services is this need for cultural alignment more cirtical, or more intransigent, than in achieving the norm of interoperability in the management and operation of Fire Services. If interoperability is to be embedded in the culture and established as the principle norm for cooperative behaviour across the Fire Services, it must be embedded in the management and operations training at every opportunity.

The proposed system and facility has been designed explicitly to facilitate this necessary integration of cultural norms

The organizational value of cultural alignment around the norm of “interoperabilty” cannot be calculated but is, none-the-less, real. The increasing requirment for coordinated multi-agency response to emergency situations demands a higher degree of cooperation than in the past. It requires that old norms of independence and separation be replaced with new norms of interdependence and cooperation. However, it can be stated categorically that the Mobile Facility will play a critical role in developing and sustaining the essential cultural shift. If the necessary fucntional level of interoparbility is to be realized across the Fire Services, then this solution is a required enabler of that transformation.

Morale: As with cultural alignment, the link between training and morale is well established. And morale is a significant factor in performance. In a society that increasingly demands high-performance at every turn, the Emergency Services must look for every opportunity to boost morale and enhance performance.

In this regard, the training morale performance realtionship is the most effective and efficient route to achieving high-performance. “Not only does training hone skills and teach tools your employees need to do their jobs, it improves morale and self-esteem. Paying for training shows people they are valued by the organization. And this value is returned to the organization in the form of increased production.”

The value of enhaced morale as a determinate of performance cannot be under

estimated. Research data are lacking to quantify the morale performance realtionship, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the outcome of enahnced morale is an increase of performance in the range of 10% to 20% for most any organization. What this trranslates into in terms of dollar value cannot be calculated. But clearly, there is significant value in enhancing morale across the Fire Services. And the municipalities investment in, and support is a strong determinant factor in enhancing morale.


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Career/Rank Progression: The need to better prepare employees for progression through the ranks of Fire Services, especially the need for trained and qualified personnel to assume positions of increasing responsibility, has never been greater. Examination of the demographics of the emergency services employee base identifies that, through retirement and normal attrition, most of the mid and upper-level command positions across the Fire Services will come vacant in the next 5 to 7 years. These positions will best be filled from within, but that necessarily requires a focused and concerted initiative to develop the operational and business management capabilities of the upcoming generation of potential leaders.

The value of this level of training for progression is difficult to quantify. However, there is a general rule-of-thumb in organization development that estimates that the cost of a new-hire is approximately 6-months salary. It is estimated that the proactive training and development program that is planned for would shorten this transition time/cost by half. Conservatively, then, it can be expected that half of that 6-month transition time/cost could be eliminated.

Health and Safety: There is an increasing acknowledgement of and emphasis on the safety and health hazards associated with emergency response. The range of chemical, physical and biological exposures is seen in the changes in protective gear that have been made in the recent past, and it is the topic of much of the training that the fire services personnel undergo. Even though great strides have been made in protecting the health and safety of fire services personnel, it is acknowledged that more needs to be done.

There have been many studies conducted over the years that seek to understanding the impact of training on the health and safety behaviours of employees. One of the best and most comprehensive was a recent joint study sponsored by the Institute for Work and Health (Toronto, Ontario) in association with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Cincinnati, Ohio), January 2010, This survey initiative, conducted by a team of researchers lead by Lynda Robson, surveyed the research data from more than 1,000 separate studies, 1996 through 2006, 22 of which ultimately were selected for detailed analysis, based on methodological rigour and standardization of approach and outcomes. The results of this survey were non-quantifiable, but strongly indicative. The net result of the survey concluded that:

“There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of training on worker OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) behaviours.” (pg 82)

This finding, however, is tempered by the further observation that:

“Translating training into changes in worksite behaviour depends on an Interplay of extremely complex factors such as trainee characteristics, Characteristics of the work environment (including management commitment and peer support), as well as aspects of the training itself.”

Most importantly for the proposed facility is the finding regarding the “aspects of the training itself.” The study concludes that successful training is predicated on “intensity”,


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i.e. a multi-media, multi-dimensional focus of the training specifically on Health and Safety, “participation” of the trainees, i.e. hands-on practice in a real-world environment, and “repetition”, i.e. continuous training and practice in the training setting and on-the-job. This finding is at the heart of the design for the training system which will provide the setting for focused training sessions (intensity) with opportunity to immediately apply learning‟s through tactical application (participation) and as part of a training regimen that each of the fire fighters would have the opportunity to participate in annually, reinforced with on-the-job refresher topics (repetition). The overall facilities and programs also will demonstrate and reinforce the “management commitment and peer support” that ensure that the Occupational Health and Safety learning‟s become further embedded in the actions of all fire services personnel.

The examples developed to illustrate the “Organizational” benefits of the Training system and facility show significant potential. But, as with the other “views” of the balanced scorecard, they are illustrative rather than exhaustive and should not be taken to represent the total organizational benefits to be derived from proceeding with implementation of the formalized training and an LP gas mobile simulator.

Conclusion

The proposed feasible solution of both short and long term initiatives represents a significant investment on the part of the County of Essex and the City of Windsor and should not be undertaken without considering the cooperation and participation of the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada.

Preliminary analysis shows that the anticipated benefits outweigh the costs and that the projects warrant further action. This includes implementing the short term goals including a mobile LP gas Simulator and then after careful review and additional analysis, consideration of a future permanent facility and resources.

This study offers the municipalities and fire services an opportunity to look to the future and make a significant contribution to future generations. The facility as identified in Appendix “E “ - Conceptual Facility Needs and Comparative Costs, has been conceived


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as a future facility that will provide the best possible preparation for the fire services personnel. It is intended to enhance the learning and expand the capability for emergency response equipment, materials and practices. And, it is designed to provide the county and city with the best trained and prepared responders, commanders and managers who can better ensure the safety, security and property protection of the citizens they serve. This project represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it should be pursued with haste and commitment.

APPENDIX “A”

Section 21 Guidelines & Relevant Legislation The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Section 21 Committee has issued a number of guidance notes that contribute to the safe operation of the fire service. The guidance notes contain seven sections each containing a number of recommendations requiring some level of training for the fire department members.

Section 21- Health & Safety

Section 1 - Apparatus/Equipment Training Required


37

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE #1-1 Yes FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 1-2 ISSUE: VEHICLE INSPECTIONS & MAINTENANCE PROGRAM

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE #1-3 ISSUE: BACKING FIRE APPARATUS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE #1-4 ISSUE: ENCLOSED CABS FOR FIRE TRUCKS

No

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 1-5 ISSUE: LIFE SAFETY ROPE AND EQUIPMENT

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE #1-6 ISSUE: INSPECTION OF CHAINS AND EXTRICATION TOOLS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE #1-7 ISSUE: ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND CORDS

Yes

Section 2 Communications

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 2-1 ISSUE: INCIDENT COMMAND

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 2-2 ISSUE: THE BUDDY SYSTEM

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 2-3 ISSUE: RADIO COMMUNICATIONS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 2-4 ISSUE: INCIDENT SAFETY OFFICER

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 2-5 ISSUE: DESIGNATED OFFICER PROGRAM FOR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 2-6 ISSUE: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

no rescinded

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 2-7 ISSUE: REPORTING EXPOSURES TO BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL AGENTS

Yes

Section 3 - Environment

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 3-1 ISSUE: REDUCING DIESEL FUMES IN FIRE STATIONS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 3-2 ISSUE: ASBESTOS

Yes


38

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 3-3 ISSUE: HEAT AND COLD STRESS

Yes

Section 4 - Personal Protective Equipment

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-1 ISSUE: APPLICATION OF FIREFIGHTERS - PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT REGULATION

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-2 ISSUE: EYE PROTECTION

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-3 ISSUE: STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING BOOTS AND GLOVES

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-4 ISSUE: PERSONAL ALERT SAFETY SYSTEMS (PASS)

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-5 ISSUE: PROTECTIVE HOODS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-6 ISSUE: FIREFIGHTER HELMETS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-7 ISSUE: WILDLAND FIRE FIGHTING, PROTECTIVE CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT FOR MUNICIPAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-8 ISSUE: INSPECTION AND REPLACEMENT OF STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING BUNKER GEAR

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-9 ISSUE: RESPIRATORY PROTECTION PROGRAM

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-10 ISSUE: HEARING PROTECTION DURING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-11 ISSUE: FALL PROTECTION FROM ELEVATING DEVICES

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4 -12 ISSUE: FIREFIGHTER HEAD PROTECTION (STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4 -13 ISSUE: PERSONAL PROTECTION DURING FIRE INVESTIGATION OPERATIONS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 4-14 ISSUE: INFECTION PREVENTION AND EXPOSURE CONTROL PRACTICES

Yes


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Section 5 - Personal Accountability

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE #5-1 ISSUE: FIREFIGHTER ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENTRY CONTROL

Yes

Section 6 - Procedures

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-1 ISSUE: PERSONS RIDING ON FIRE APPARATUS TAILBOARDS

No rescinded

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-2 ISSUE: FIRE FIGHTING NEAR WATER

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-3 ISSUE: WATER AND ICE RESCUE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-4 ISSUE: ROPE RESCUE (Previously known as HIGH-ANGLE RESCUE)

Awareness level only

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-5 ISSUE: CONFINED SPACE RESCUE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-6 ISSUE: FLASHOVER

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-7 ISSUE: DRIVING SKILLS FOR EMERGENCY APPARATUS RESPONSE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-8 ISSUE: AERIAL LADDER OPERATIONS DURING LIGHTNING STORMS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-9 ISSUE: HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONSE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-10 ISSUE: HIGHWAY TRAFFIC CONTROL

Yes

Intervention Teams (Rescue) Effective: March 2001 Revised: January 2007 Page 1 of 2 FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-11 ISSUE: RAPID INTERVENTION TEAMS (RESCUE)

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-12 ISSUE: REHABILITATION DURING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

Yes

FIREFIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-13 ISSUE: VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-14 ISSUE: SAFE ROOF OPERATIONS

Yes


40

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-15 ISSUE: RESPONDING TO CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR (CBRN) TERRORISM INCIDENTS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-16 ISSUE: MACHINERY/ELECTRICAL LOCKOUT DURING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-17 ISSUE: CLANDESTINE DRUG LABS/MARIJUANA GROW HOUSES

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-18 ISSUE: UNPROTECTED LIGHTWEIGHT BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-19 ISSUE: HYBRID/ELECTRIC and ELECTRIC VEHICLE SAFETY

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-20 ISSUE: ELECTRICAL HAZARDS IN RESCUE AND FIRE SITUATIONS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-21 ISSUE: AIRCRAFT FIRE FIGHTING HAZARDS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-22 ISSUE: VENTILATION SAWS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-23 ISSUE: SAFETY DURING SALVAGE AND OVERHAUL

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-24 ISSUE: BUILDING COLLAPSE DURING FIRE SITUATIONS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-25 ISSUE: SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT TANKERS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-26 ISSUE: STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING – FIRE STREAMS AND VENTILATION

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-27 ISSUE: FIRES IN INDUSTRIAL DUST COLLECTORS, HOPPERS and BINS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-28 ISSUE: RESCUE FROM A COLLAPSED TRENCH

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-29 ISSUE: PREVENTION OF FALLS FROM FIRE APPARATUS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-30 ISSUE: PESTICIDE STORAGE AND PESTICIDE STORAGE FIRES

Yes

FIREFIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-31 ISSUE: AGRICULTURAL SILOS

Yes


41

FIREFIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-32 ISSUE: ELEVATOR RESCUE

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-33 ISSUE: HAZARDS CREATED BY ABANDONED BUILDINGS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-34 ISSUE: SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEMS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 6-35 ISSUE: WIND TURBINES

Yes

Section 7 - Training

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 7-1 ISSUE: HEALTH AND SAFETY DURING PRACTICAL TRAINING SESSIONS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 7-2 ISSUE: TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 7-3 ISSUE: DOCUMENTATION OF TRAINING PLUS DAILY TRAINING REPORT

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 7-4 ISSUE: FIREFIGHTER SURVIVAL AND SELF RESCUE TRAINING

Yes

FIRE FIGHTERS GUIDANCE NOTE # 7-5 ISSUE: LIVE FIRE TRAINING CONSIDERATIONS FOR ACQUIRED STRUCTURES

Yes

Transition to NFPA Standards

The Ontario Fire Fighter Standards are being transitioned to the National Fire Protection Association Standards for the training of fire service members in Ontario.

NFPA 1000 Standard for Fire Service Professional Qualifications Accreditation and Certification Systems

NFPA 1001 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications

NFPA 1002 Standard for Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Professional Qualifications

NFPA 1021 Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications

NFPA 1031 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Inspector and Plan Examiner

NFPA 1035 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire and Life Safety Educator, Public Information Officer, and Juvenile Fire setter Intervention Specialist

NFPA 1041 Standard for Fire Service Instructor Professional Qualifications


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NFPA 1061 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Public Safety Telecommunications Personnel

Legislation Affecting the Fire Service The operation of a fire department in Ontario is affected by both provincial and federal legislation. There are also best practices and standards that are commonly referenced by the fire service. It is important that municipal decision makers and fire service leaders are knowledgeable within the context of all the acts or regulations that affect the operations and potential liability of a municipality and its fire department. The following acts and legislation will require some form of training elements integrated into firefighter training.

Provincial Legislation Legislation Areas of scope/concern Ministry

Responsible

Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 and Ontario Fire Code

Mandates and authorizes both the OFM and

municipalities

Part IX is generally the responsibility of the

Ministry of Labour, except where terms and

conditions in collective agreements may adversely

affect the provision of fire protection

Community Safety &

Correctional Services

Provincial Offences Act Assistants to the Fire Marshal are Provincial Offences Officers under the Act for the purpose of smoke alarm related offences.

Attorney General

Municipal Act, 2001 Authorizes the passing of by-laws which include

those necessary for the provision of fire protection.

It also requires transparency of service delivery.

Municipal Affairs &

Housing

Occupational Health and Safety

Act and the various regulations

Human Resources

Occupational Health & Safety

Labour

Environmental Protection Act

(Ontario)

Requires fire department personnel to report spills

to MOE

Environment

Dangerous Goods

Transportation Act (Ontario)

Governs the transportation of dangerous goods Transportation

Emergency Management and

Civil Protection Act

Requires municipalities to have an emergency plan

and a trained Community Emergency Management

Coordinator

Community Safety &


Territorial Divisions Act Defines municipal boundaries which includes fire

protection areas for which the municipality has

responsibility

Municipal Affairs &

Housing

Building Code Act, 1992 Provides authority for municipalities to appoint

certain fire personnel as building inspectors

Municipal Affairs &

Housing

Highway Traffic Act Governs the response of firefighters on roads that

have been closed by police, the use of flashing

green lights on firefighters’ personal vehicles, and

controlling traffic at accident scenes.

Contains regulated requirement to log hours of

Transportation


43

service for operation of commercial motor vehicles.

Forest Fire Prevention Act Applies only to “Fire Regions” as defined in the act.

Controls outdoor fires in “Restricted Fire Zones”. It

requires municipalities to extinguish grass, brush or

forest fires within their limits. Provides authority

for appointment of “Wardens” and “Officer” by the

Minister. Also Regulation 207/96 controls outdoor

fires outside of restricted fire zones.

Natural Resources

Development Charges Act Provides the authority for portions of development

charges to be allocated to fire services

Municipal Affairs &

Housing

Coroners Act Regulates the control of bodies.

Authorizes/regulates Coroners’ inquests and

Coroner’s inquest recommendations

Community Safety &


Day Nurseries Act Defines the approvals from the fire chief that are

required to operate a day care facility

Community and

Social Services

Employment Standards Act Human Resources Labour

Human Rights Code Defines how boards of inquiry, complaints,

discrimination and enforcement are to be handled

Management Board

of Cabinet

Labour Relations Act Human Resources Labour

Municipal Freedom of

Information and Protection of

Privacy Act

To provide access to information held by

institutions and to protect the privacy of individuals

with respect to personal information about

themselves held by institutions

Management Board

of Cabinet

Pesticides Act Makes mandatory the reporting of wholesale and

retail pesticides to the fire department

Environment

Workplace Safety and Insurance

Act

Legislated requirement to report accidents and

provide and document training

Presumptive legislation

Labour

Technical Standards and Safety

Act, 2000

Expectation that propane facilities will liaise with

local fire departments to review and provide

comments on the emergency response and

preparedness plan

Consumer Services

Federal Legislation

Legislation Areas of scope/concern Department Responsible

Criminal Code (Bill C-45) Establishes criminal charges

for negligent acts in the

workplace by directors,

officers or corporate decision

makers

Justice

Canada Shipping Act Registration and crew training

requirements

Transport Canada

Transportation of Dangerous

Goods Act (Federal)

Fire chief’s duty to report Transport Canada

Canadian Charter of Rights and

Freedoms

Hiring practices Justice


44

APPENDIX “B”

Best Practices

The field of emergency preparedness has changed dramatically over the past several decades. Increasingly, the magnitude and complexity of emergency situations from fires, floods, and hazardous material incidents, wide spread medical emergencies, and severe weather events have highlighted the need for complete coordination and cooperation across multiple agencies.

The working group confirmed that training of fire services personnel is one of the most cost effective tools available for ensuring maximum protection of life and property in their community. Utilizing best practices including advanced equipment, materials and techniques can also provide cost avoidance, and can be a function of the proposed training facility. Much of this recognition has emerged from the experience in the United States of America, post 9/11, but is increasingly being understood and adopted world-wide. This thinking is significantly changing the way that emergency services training programs, technologies and facilities are being designed and operated.

It is clear that the trend toward interoperability in responding to emergencies is becoming the new norm in emergency training and preparedness. Increasingly, the potential severity and advanced complexity of emergency situations require the skills


45

and tools of more than one responding agency. This interoperability necessitates close coordination and cooperation to ensure optimum response.

Training programs

A centralized and integrated model for emergency services training would support the delivery of more advanced and comprehensive training of personnel on changing operational techniques, equipment and technologies. By bringing together the training requirements and resources of each individual agency, the model could allow more intensive and in-depth training, still meeting the required training needs for the separate emergency disciplines. This would promote cross-training and integrated response practice that is not otherwise possible.

Block Training: the capabilities of a centralized training model are best utilized when deployed in a block format. Under this format, personnel are brought into the training centre in small training groups for a block of time for upgrading and recertification of skills, for advanced training and skills development, for education into the changing rules and regulations of emergency preparedness and response, and for integrated training in multi-agency response procedures and techniques. This intensive model is employed by both the Ontario Provincial Police and Ontario Fire College in the delivery of their training courses.

This block format can take advantage of smaller student/instructor ratios and allow for the immediate application of theories learned in the classroom; this practical application ensures cumulative learning and knowledge retention within the shortest practical training time. The approach is especially effective when a combination of academic instruction is followed by practical application. Then, when associated topics are bundled together, the cumulative learning and retention are enhanced to gain maximum effect.

The block training format can then be reinforced through continued learning provided by e-learning, on-the-job instruction, practical drills and through additional special training opportunities offered from time-to-time. The net result is an emergency response force that is continuously learning and improving in performance.

This proposal facilitates the development of long-range training programs and the ability to set up annual training schedules. The format makes for easy mapping of training blocks across user agencies through the calendar year, this allows for integrated scheduling across all of the partner agencies and ensures optimal use of all training facility resources. It also provides more opportunities for oversight and evaluation of training staff, thereby providing quality assurance of instruction and consistency in course content and delivery.

Another advantage of the block model is that, through integrated scheduling, it is easier to utilize the resources of the centre throughout the week, for example to accommodate weekend rotations and/or volunteers (firefighters) who train primarily on evenings and weekends. Again, this helps to optimize the utilization of the training facility resources.


46

Flexible resourcing: intensive training at a training facility could allow for the best application of various specialized training resources that are employed by Windsor/Essex County emergency services. These resources include staff that have special skills and are qualified to perform training on an as-needed basis. For example there are a total of 139 individuals from the career and volunteer/part-time across the Essex County fire service that support the training of recruits and/or to conduct sessions in their areas of specialization.

For both full time and supplementary trainers, the training facility should provide an environment in which they will be applying and sharing their knowledge and experience with small groups of students throughout the year. An intensive training model could also provide more opportunities to train-the-trainers; again better assuring quality of instruction and consistency in content and delivery.

The integrated model also takes best advantage of training resources currently employed by the partnering agencies by allowing for more interaction and sharing of knowledge and experience, thereby benefiting the training programs of all of the partnering agencies.

Special teams: The fire, police and paramedic services all rely on a variety of special teams that have advanced training and qualifications in one or more area of expertise. The nature of these teams and the constantly evolving requirements and demands on team members may requires more frequent and more extensive training, both in the classroom and in the field. A training facility would potentially be of more practical use by the partner agencies to enhance the specialized skills of personnel and may evolve into service sharing agreements. Scheduling of classes and facilities could be set up on an annual basis, thereby guaranteeing that adequate time and resources are available to cover the requirements of all disciplines through the training year.

The special teams increasingly rely on multi-agency skill-sets, materials and equipment in the performance of their designated response functions. Having resources and integrated scheduling allows for optimal use of a training facility for multi-agency team training and minimizes the potential for conflicts and gaps in delivery of critical training.

The special teams also are a valuable source of part-time trainers. As an extension to the advanced training programs available through the training facility, special team members also could and should participate in “train-the-trainer” programs so that they can qualify to pass on their knowledge, experience and expertise as part-time instructors. This leverages the resources at the training facility for training programs and multiplies learning and response preparedness across the broader emergency services.

Command training: the proposed centralized and integrated training system for emergency service should/must provide incident command training.

This is especially important for Essex County emergency services because implementation of the incident management system (IMS), an international standard


47

designed to maximize communication and cooperation during emergencies that involve more than one responding agency including response with U.S.A. partners.

Through the application of classroom instruction, computer programs and three-dimensional models, and using a mock-neighbourhood for full-scale field exercises, command personnel can work through a series of exercises that recreate real world incidents that will prepare them to make better decisions in responding to actual emergencies. The setup and conducting of command training classes and exercises could be augmented by the setup of an alternate emergency operations centre (EOC) and policy room, on-site, at the training facility. This will allow for integrated command training employing the full resources of the EOC to simulate Essex County wide response to the most complex and severe emergency situations.

This integrated response training also could/should be the primary resource in the Essex County move toward implementation of the incident management system. The IMS is comprised of a set of policies, procedures, and role designations that all are integrated into a common organizational structure designed to improve emergency response operations of all types and complexities. IMS is based upon a flexible, scalable response organizational capability that provides a common framework within which different response agencies can work together effectively. The IMS structure may be populated from multiple agencies that do not routinely work together. For example when multiple levels of jurisdiction are involved, the IMS is designed to ensure standard response and operational procedures and to reduce the problems and potential for miscommunication and/or command conflicts during major incidents.

In addition to the capability to support common and joint training opportunities, the training facility may include staff from the emergency management CEMC‟s who have the responsibility for development and delivery of multi-agency training exercises. To support the mission of emergency management and to enhance the joint training capability of the training facility it should include an IMS laboratory with table-top and computer simulation capability that will support multi-agency response training.

Management training: in addition to training in incident command, it is increasingly being recognized that the methods of running complex and costly larger scale emergency operations requires that command personnel be better equipped with the tools and techniques of business management.

The need for some form of general management training is the same across all of the fire services. However, a training program could be developed and delivered that would create a more uniform management.

Common training: beyond the need for common management training, there are a number of operational needs that are common to all of the Essex County emergency services. For example, First Aid/CPR training is a requirement for all emergency services personnel. Other examples could include confined space rescue, basic hazmat response, and emergency scene isolation and protection. In addition, some of the specialized team training impacts two or more of the emergency services, for example water/ice rescue, hazmat and urban search and rescue. In each instance,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miscommunication


48

training could be delivered utilizing existing resources, e.g. Paramedics for the delivery of First Aid/CPR, and the fire service for conducting confined space training. The application of these common resources can improve overall training, thereby ensuring the most efficient use of training staff and consistency of program delivery.

The centralized programs and resources at the training facilities could promote this kind of common and/or cross-training, enhancing the capability of the emergency services to provide better and more extended coverage for potential emergency situations.

Interoperability: One of the most significant advancements in emergency response training that could be made possible through the development of a training facility is the opportunity for better joint training across all of the Essex Counties‟ emergency services. With the increase in the complexity and multi-agency response of many of today‟s incidents, the need for joint and coordinated response training is evident. With the training facility as the focus for all emergency services training, the setup and conducting of joint training classes and exercises will become an integral part of the training programs for each individual agency, as well as providing opportunities to train and practice together with situations that demand interoperability between and among responding agencies. This will help to minimize the potential for miscommunication and/or conflict in the field when multiple agencies are responding to actual emergency situations.

Training facilities

Satellite facilities: Whereas a single centralized campus certainly has economic and practical advantages, the logistics of operating all training out of a single location is challenging at best. Provision must be made for training in closer proximity to home municipalities throughout Essex County. In order to meet this need, certain existing satellite facilities will need to be maintained to maximize training opportunities. In particular, the current fire service training facilities in the various fire stations should be kept available for in-service, supplementary and skills maintenance. This program takes advantage of existing facilities and resources and the expertise of local instructors.

Portability: one other technology, or technique, that helps to expand the reach of the proposed model is the use of portable equipment and mobile training aids or props. When properly designed and packaged, a wide variety of equipment and resources can be deployed remotely to assist in the core training programs and resources.


Portability is one delivery technique that is a natural extension of facility-based learning that can be scaled and designed in such a way as to be an effective and efficient


49

training instrument. Given the current identified gap that exists to provide live fire Training, could be addressed with a mobile or portable LP gas simulator and props.

The vision for an emergency service training facility could be modeled on one of the facilities found at The City of Mississauga, The City of Kingston, Waterloo Region Emergency Services Training and Research Complex, Loyalist Township or Blythe training facilities. These facilities are designed primarily to provide for Class “A” fire training in a burn unit and multi-storey building and various other props to round out the course offerings, also including obtaining knowledge of the chemistry of fire, practical skill development in LP Gas, hose evolutions and fire suppression training. A series of links and photos are included in Appendix “C”

Centralized Facility –Long Term: A training facility should be built in a location that can provide the necessary resources needed to operate effectively and efficiently. The centralized model is intended to focus more of the Essex County emergency training resources in a common location, thereby creating more advanced and extensive opportunities for learning. Key features of a centralized facility should include:

Administrative facilities

Academic facilities

Driver Training

Training technologies

The vision for an emergency services training facility should be to incorporate some of the latest advances in learning technologies that are becoming available and will be an integral part of future training.

Computer simulations:

E-learning

Research

Computer simulations

Practices development and testing

Equipment/materials testing and evaluation

Conclusion

A future centralized training system could have the potential to be a true centre of excellence, providing the most effective training possible for the fire services personnel of the Essex County. A facility should look to the future, and be dedicated to continuous improvement in emergency response through world-class leadership by developing and delivering comprehensive training and advanced research to the benefit of the emergency response community. Program coordination can highlight and maximize current training efforts.


50

Appendix “C”

Existing Facilities


51

Loyalist Township Training Centre Photographs


52


53


54

Links to other existing multi-agency training facilities Waterloo Region Emergency Services Training and Research Complex (WRESTRC) http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/safeHealthyCommunity/training.asp?_mid_=23512

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Academy http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fr/academy/ City of Mississauga Begins Construction on the Garry W. Morden Centre http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/ward10?paf_gear_id=10200022&itemId=104200215n&returnUrl=%2Fportal%2Fcityhall%2Fward10

Blyth ESTC (Emergency Services Training Centre) http://estc.ca/

Appendix “D”

http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/safeHealthyCommunity/training.asp?_mid_=23512

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fr/academy/

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/ward10?paf_gear_id=10200022&itemId=104200215n&returnUrl=%2Fportal%2Fcityhall%2Fward10

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/ward10?paf_gear_id=10200022&itemId=104200215n&returnUrl=%2Fportal%2Fcityhall%2Fward10

http://estc.ca/


55

Core Services Provided by the Municipalities

Municipality Level of core service Standard

Amherstburg Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue

Ontario Fire Service /NFPA

Medical-First Response Ontario Fire Service

Auto Extrication–Heavy Rescue Ontario Fire Service /NFPA

High Angle Rescue

Essex Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue




Water & Ice Rescue-Level 1 Land Based

Ontario Fire Service

Hazmat Operations Level NFPA

Leamington Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue





Marine Rescue Ontario Fire Service

Lakeshore Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue







Pelee Island Structural Fire Attack & Rescue Ontario Fire Service /NFPA



Municipality Level of core service Standard


56

LaSalle Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue




Water & Ice Rescue-Level 2 Boat or Vessel Based



Marine Rescue Ontario Fire Service

FF Survival Self Rescue Ontario Fire Service

Kingsville Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue




Water & Ice Rescue-Level 2 Boat or Vessel Based


High Angle Rescue NFPA


Tecumseh Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue







Confined Space Rescue Ontario Fire Service

City of Windsor Aggressive Interior Structural Fire Attack & Rescue




Hazmat Technician Level NFPA

Appendix “E “ Conceptual Facility Needs and Comparative Costs


57

Fire Service: The needs assessment has determined that a fire services training system should include facilities which could be developed using short-term and long term phases. Short Term The municipalities must provide resources to the fire services that allow them to provide live fire training. This has been somewhat accomplished in the past by sending fire fighters outside the city/county. For a number of reasons contained in the needs assessment of this report this practice should be discontinued. Consideration should be given to purchasing a mobile live fire simulator that would be shared by the municipalities throughout Essex County. Mobile Training Unit Mobile Live Fire Training Units are available with different layout options. In a compact form they integrate elements of a fire simulation system for training in accordance with NFPA 1403. Typical configurations include 1 or 2 fires, the control and monitoring station and the necessary technology areas for the self-sufficient operation of the system. The fire training unit can be equipped with a moveable wall system that allows for flexible creation of maze elements. The fire fighters should be confronted with real flames, extreme heat, high humidity, severely restricted visibility and dense smoke during their training. This allows them to train for an emergency as realistically as possible. Manufactures provide portable training units with has area of approximately 300 square feet. The 1/8” steel walls and ceilings have welded joints to make the cladding water-proof. The flooring is slip resistance. The ceramic insulation used is rated for 2300F. The sacrificial and replaceable plates for heat shielding around the simulators are 3/16 steel.

Mobile Liquid Propane Gas Unit Cost;

Depending on the size and the configuration required, unit cost is approximately

$ 350,000.00 to $ 450,000.00. Long Term The long term projects should consider the following factors that contribute to the development of a training facility based on multi-agency needs.


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Infrastructure

Site development infrastructure is a key part in the development a training centre that meets the needs of the partnering agencies. There currently is no environmental requirement for recycling/recirculation of runoff from live-fire exercises. However, the responsible operation and anticipation of future environmental requirements, suggests the need for projections for the treatment and recirculation of live-fire runoff. In anticipation of this requirement, the site drainage system should be installed in conjunction with the construction of the fire training and research components that rely on large volumes of water.

Site Infrastructure

Component Requirements

Site Property

Adequate acreage/land that will require preparation by grading, drainage and basic utilities infrastructure

Roadways: Site circulation plus street network for mock-neighbourhood.

Two-lane roadways with curb & guttering, signage, lane striping and traffic markings, street lighting.

Parking: Lots providing parking for staff, trainees and public.

50 spaces (total)

Fencing: Perimeter and internal security fencing.

6-8 ft. chain link, Penitentiary Standard

Security: Site monitoring and intrusion warning systems.

Detailed requirements to be developed in architectural design phase. Preliminary requirements include CCTV, motion detection, perimeter patrol road, etc.

Drainage: Separate system for runoff catchment, treatment and recycling of water from live-fire exercises.

24” min

Water Treatment Plant: runoff from live-fire drills, facility equipment wash-down, etc.

Package unit – Requirements to be developed in architectural design phase

Common Needs


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Components that will be used by the partnering agencies should include: Classrooms, Centre Management and Administrative Space, Lunch Room, Fitness Centre, Library, Driver Training Centre, e-Learning Centre and Washrooms. The facility should also house a building(s) that supports maintenance and storage functions.

Common Needs


Parking Space 50 vehicles

Reception: Common lobby & Reception area for the Centre, including site security staff.

Reception – 20‟x30‟

Administration: Office – 8‟x10‟

Instructors‟ Offices: Offices – 8‟x12‟

Visitor Stations: Office cubicles with internet hook-up for use by visiting instructors and/or students

Casual use Cubicles– 6‟x8‟

Business Services: General office support centre (printing and reproduction, Fax, mailing, etc.) for use by management and administrative staff and instructors.

Service Centre – 20‟x20‟

Board/Conference Room: One dedicated Board/Conference Room is required for staff meetings, Board meetings, etc. May be available on a scheduled basis for use by partnering agencies.

Board/Conference Room – 15‟x20‟ (Occupancy 12-16)

Shared Classrooms: General use classrooms available for use by all partner agencies on a scheduled basis.

Classrooms – 30‟x36‟ (Occupancy 24-30)

Breakout Rooms: Two for each shared classroom.

General Use – 12‟x16‟ (Occupancy 8-10)

Storage: storage of general business supplies and materials for the Main Facility that are used

Storage –12‟x15‟


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on a regular basis.

Emergency Operations Centre (EOC):

Command and Operations Centre for running computer simulated emergency situations. Centre may be activated as Alternate Emergency Operations Centre for any of the nine (9) partner municipalities in case of an emergency.

ICS Lab: Virtual Reality/ Tabletop Exercise (ICS) capability.

Storage for training props and supplies.

Library: Hardcopy/ electronic library of reference/research materials.

With digital reading stations with hardcopy reproduction capability, computer access for on-line research, and shelving for critical reference materials and recent publications.

E-learning Centre: Electronic training media centre for software/data housing and training programs/materials distribution.

Central e-learning server and digital storage media plus work stations.

Computer Simulations/Research Centre: Simulations training and research for a variety of applications, including, driver training, police tactical training, disaster management, etc.

Stations with multi-screen setups for development and testing of simulations software.

Command/Management Training: Incident simulation classrooms/ breakout rooms dedicated to operational command and management training.

Classroom/Breakout Room setup with computer stations with large-screen video for digital simulations.

Mobile Data Terminal Training Mobile data training stations and instructional aides

Communications Training Room: Dedicated lab for communications training.

Communications training consoles and instructional aides

Lunch Room: full service facility for use by all staff and clients and will also serve as a student lounge.

Dining Area

Preparation/Storage


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Storage: general storage supplies and training materials/equipment used on a regular basis throughout the main building at the centre.

18' x 30' general storage

Fire Service Needs


Training tower (five-story)

3-7-story concrete construction “shell” with interior stairwells, balconies and interior spaces setup for a variety of practice scenarios in high-angle operations, rescue and confined space operations.

Vehicle rescue simulation

Space for storage and use of wrecked vehicles that can be used to simulate a variety of rescue operations.

Water/ice rescue

Pond for training in water and ice rescue. Also serves as a runoff impound and water supply source for fire service pump training exercises.

Outside training grounds

Open space with natural and maintained areas for outside drills and exercises

Driver training

A road network for training of emergency personnel in techniques of proper operation of emergency vehicles.

CPAT: Candidate Physical Aptitude Test for firefighter recruits.

Large Volume space for setup of props for test evolutions

Fire Station: Non-Operational Fire Station with cleanup and storage for training gear, materials and equipment, briefing room, SCBA service, training exercise briefing rooms and locker/shower rooms.

to accommodate space needs for tactical training support including:

Locker/Shower Rooms: 20‟ x 30‟, full M/F facilities for cleanup and decontamination of personal gear and equipment

Cleanup: environmentally isolated decontamination area for bunker gear and training equipment and materials and kitting


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for rescue.

SCBA Servicing: environmentally isolated for servicing of all SCBA gear.

Storage: storage of decontaminated/clean bunker gear and training equipment and materials.

Equipment Bays: 20‟ x 60‟, extra-wide bays for training with on-board equipment.

Roof Operations Structure: Replication of a variety of roof structures for roof ventilation/access training.

Water Supply/Pump Operations: The area also will serve for pump testing and for training in water supply and pump operations.

Asphalt test pad. To be located in proximity to the pond (water source). Test waters to be captured and re-circulated for repeated use.

Burn Building: Multi-story structure with movable partitions for live-fire simulation in a variety of settings and scenarios.

reinforced concrete building with movable internal walls – Heat resistant reinforced concrete construction and live-fire capability

Vehicle Fire Simulation: Gas-fired simulation unit with fire-resistant concrete pad.

A pad with fire water recapture/ recirculation capabilities.

Agricultural Structures: Variety of agricultural structures, e.g. grain silo, barn, etc.

Design to be determined during architectural phase.

Fixed Training Facilities in Ontario Loyalist Twp. Training Facility This facility consist of a portable classroom, concrete 3 storey tower, roof structure, burn building, and covered rehab area and storage garage.


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The three (3) story training tower was approximately $300.000.00. The cost of support buildings and training props was approximately $250,000.00. Kingston Training Facility

The City of Kingston and Kingston Fire and Rescue are developing a state of the art fire training facility where public safety agencies, government, educational and industrial user groups can develop their practical and emergency response skills.

The facility is being developed over four phases, phase one is complete and phase two is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2013. The Centre is being developed in accordance with the Kingston Master Fire Plan which recommended the establishment of a training facility where emergency response personnel can develop their skills.

The overall cost of the facility will be in the neighborhood of $ 15,000,000.00

Facility Features:

Phase 1:

A six story steel training tower providing both building interior and exterior training.

Draeger kitchen fire prop

A „Class A' high temperature annex o Chemical smoke o Draeger bedroom fire prop o „Class A' smoke o Movable walls o Forcible entry props o Fire alarm, voice communication, f/f phones, standpipe, hose cabinet, sprinkler systems o Stuck elevator prop o Confined space and firefighter survival props

Pond o Water/ice rescue o Drafting o High volume pumping o Pump testing o Multiple hand line prop

Driver Training Road circuit o Various roadways and surface types o Urban street o Rural roads and rural driveways

Extrication training area o Extrication pit o Multiple road surfaces o Electrical pole fire, wires down

Tanker shuttle operations

Rural driveway to fire tower

Urban approach to fire tower


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Phase 2:

Confined space rescue training

Trench rescue training

Wind turbine prop/high angle rescue

Flat roof, pitched roof, ceiling breach training

Rail Road derailment, 200' of track, 3 rail cars, road crossing

Hazmat training

Fixed fuel tank props

Draeger propane fire props

Waterloo Training Facility The Waterloo Region Emergency Services Training and Research Complex (WRESTRC) is a large-scale training facility developed to serve all of the Region's Municipal Fire Departments, the Regional Police Service, and the Region's Emergency Medical Service.

Administration Building:

The Administration Building has approximately 16,000 sq. ft. of floor space all on one level and is divided into three functional areas: administration/classroom area; employee fitness centre and emergency services area. The parking area can accommodate up to 56 vehicles.

Classrooms/Meeting Rooms:

Two classrooms which can be joined into one large room accommodating 80 to 100 people comfortably. Each room includes a video projector which can work separately or concurrently, a white board and a built-in PA system.

A small meeting room accommodating approximately 12 people, which has a smart board with built in video projector, and a white board. A lunch room with small kitchenette. No cooking facilities.

Emergency Services Area:

Large double garage bay with a lockable gear storage room, a workshop and SCBA air supply equipment. There is also access to locker rooms and showers for after training.

Training Ground:


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The driver training track is approximately 1.2 km of paved road surface with a 40 m by 200 m "skid pad" area designed for vehicle manoeuvring and control exercises.

The fire training building is a 3000 sq. ft., multi-level concrete building. The high-rise section is seven stories. The low-rise section varies in height from one to five stories and has three burn rooms. Fire crews can simulate "class A" structure fires in the low-rise area and smoke exercises with minimal heat in the high-rise area. With the assistance of the University of Waterloo Engineering Dept., we can monitor temperatures throughout the training structure. This facility may serve as a model for the development of the Essex County training facility.

Mississauga Fire Training Centre

Mississauga fire service has developed a training facility that opened in 2010 on thirty seven (37) acres of property for a total of $37 million dollars. This facility is shared with the military and the Peel Regional Police. This facility has opened very recently; its cost and design could be analyzed by a training committee once established.

All of the above facilities and others can be reviewed using the internet. Links can be found in APPENDIX “C” attached.

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