New Waterloo fire bylaw could fine building owners who don't respond quickly enough to alarms

A new bylaw in Waterloo would see property owners fined if a fire alarm is not reset within 45 minutes of fire crews arriving on scene a rule that aims to keep firefighters from waiting around at false alarms for hours.

The new bylaw, passed Monday night at Waterloo city council, would require building owners toappoint a designated person to be present during emergencies. As well, it requires all building owners to install a fire safety box.

Waterloo Fire Rescue deputy chief Sandy Van Solm says having a designated person willhelp firefighters respond more efficiently to emergencies.

"Right now, we sometimes have trouble finding someone to reset the alarm and that ties up the service, as well as occupants who are still outside their unit," she said.

Van Solm said fire crews can't reset fire alarms, but fire crews also can't leave a building while the alarm is going.

"When we have crews at the site, they're going towait for the responsible person in many circumstances," said Van Solm. "So we're tying up those crews and they can't really respond to another emergency anymore."

A fire safety box would include a fire safety plan, which would tell fire crews who the designated person is for each building, as well as a schematic of the building for fire services to know the layout of the building.By using the box, firefighters can also get access to closed buildings and information about the building during an emergency.

The box also has a lock on itand inside the fire box contains a replacement lock which can lock the box once again.

Ensuring safety

Van Solm says there are other municipalities in Ontario that have a similar system in place, and Waterloo's goes into effect six months from now.

After that,building owners will be charged $400 for the first violation of not having a fire box, and $800 for a second.

The maximum fee is $5,000, which is an "extreme" circumstance, Van Solmsays.

Van Solm saysa designated person in emergency circumstances can be anyone the building owner chooses.

"It could be from a company, it could be the owner themselves," she said."It's dependent on the building itself."

As well, buildings can be charged $739.32 if their designated person doesn't arrive in the 45-minute grace period for the first hour, then $369.64 for every half hour after that "in order to recoup staff time."

The report notes it's not likely add much to the city's budget, though.

"It is anticipated that $1,478.64 may be collected a month if two incidents occur within a month," the report says.

"The preference for fire rescue services is to use fees to establish compliance and earning revenue is not expected to occur in the long term."