HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIR 02-15 °0 ==- Report to
ril Executive Committee
PICKERING
Report Number: FIR 02-15
Date: June 8, 2015
From: John Hagg
Fire Chief
Subject: Mutual Aid Agreement between Pickering Fire Services Department and
Toronto Fire Services
- File: A-1440-001-15
•
Recommendation:
1. That Report FIR-02-15 of the Fire Chief be received;
2. That the Fire Protection Services Agreement between The Corporation of the City
of Toronto and The Corporation of the City of Pickering be approved;
3. That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute the said agreement
subject to minor revisions satisfactory to the Fire Chief; and
4. That appropriate City of Pickering officials be given the authority to give effect
thereto.
Executive Summary: The City of Pickering Fire Services Department currently has
the benefit of a Mutual Aid Agreement with the other municipalities within Durham
Region, including the Town of Ajax. These Agreements have served the City of
Pickering very well. At various times, the City has been both the recipient and the
provider of assistance. Geographically, the City of Pickering is bounded on two sides by
municipalities from Durham Region and on the west side by the City of Toronto and
York Region municipalities. The City of Toronto is the largest City in Canada. Given the
resources available in Toronto and the close location of those resources to Pickering's
western border, it make sense for Pickering to enter into a Mutual Aid Agreement with
Toronto in the form of Attachment 1.
Financial Implications: There are no financial implications related to'this report.
Discussion: . Subsection 2(5) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act,
1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4 reads as follows:
(5) A municipality may, under such conditions as may be specified in the agreement,
enter into an agreement to, (a) provide such fire protection services as may be specified
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FIR-02-15 June 8, 2015
Subject: Mutual Aid Agreement between Pickering Fire Services and Toronto Fire
Services Page 2
• in the agreement to lands or premises that are situated outside the territorial limits of the
municipality; and (b) receive such fire protection services as maybe specified in the
agreement from a fire department situated outside the territorial limits of the
municipality.
The City of Pickering Fire Services Department currently has the benefit of a Mutual Aid
Agreement with the other municipalities within Durham Region, including the Town of
Ajax. These agreements enable Pickering to obtain from neighbouring municipalities
assistance at fire alarms where Pickering has either maximized its resources or requires
additional resources to control or contain a fire. The Automatic Aid Agreement Pickering
has with Ajax is for a defined area of Pickering, in the vicinity of Ajax's Fire Station.
Consequently, Ajax's Fire Service can service that area more quickly, and is
automatically dispatched on alarms in that defined area.
The Fire Protection Services Agreement (Attachment 1) is a Mutual Aid Agreement with
Toronto Fire Service for assistance which will need to be requested as and when
required. The assistance may be in the form of fire suppression, rescue or emergency
services or any combination of them, and includes assistance with hazardous materials
incidents.
The Fire Protection Services Agreement will serve to strengthen fire protection services
for the residents of Pickering. Utilizing the resources of the largest fire service in
Canada, and being able to offer our services to Toronto (in particular our water tankers)
is an excellent example of municipal cooperation and a win-win situation for both
municipalities: .
Attachment:
1. Fire Protection Services Agreement between The Corporation of the City of
Toronto and The Corporation of the City of Pickering
Prepared/Endorsed By:
Joh -gg
Fire Chief
JH:nrm/ks
CORP0227-07/01 revised
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• FIR-02-15 June 8, 2015
Subject: Mutual Aid Agreement between Pickering Fire Services and Toronto Fire
Services Page 3
Recommended for the consideration
of Pickering City Council
, o-aaeja. I/04i 14, Lots
Tony Prevedel, P.Eng.
Chief Administrative Officer
CORP0227-07/01 revised •
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ATTACHMENT*. _TO REPORT
#._._
es/0m
THIS FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES AGREEMENT made in quintuplicate as of the
Xth day of Month, 2015.
•
BETWEEN:
City of Toronto
To be called in this Agreement "Toronto"
Of The First Part
•
- and -
•
The City of Pickering
To be called in this Agreement "Pickering"
Of The Second Part
Whereas Toronto and Pickering each maintain equipment and personnel for the
suppression of fires within their respective territorial jurisdictions; •
Whereas Toronto and Pickering each desire to augment the fire protection
available to persons, lands and premises within their respective territorial jurisdictions in
the event of large fires, conflagrations and natural or technological disasters;
Whereas Toronto and Pickering each have an interest in providing mutual
assistance to each other in emergencies in their respective territorial jurisdictions;
Whereas subsection 2(5) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O.
1997, c. 4 provides that a municipality, like Toronto and Pickering, may, under such
conditions as may be specified in the agreement, enter into an agreement to provide
such fire protection services as may be specified in the agreement to lands or premises
that are situated outside the territorial limits of the municipality and receive such fire
protection services as may be specified in the agreement from a fire department
situated outside the territorial limits of the municipality;
Whereas subsection 1(1) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act defines "fire
protection services" as including fire suppression, fire prevention, fire safety education,
communication, training of persons involved in the provision of fire protection services,
rescue and emergency services and the delivery of all those services;
Whereas the Council of the Corporation of the City of Pickering, in adopting
Report No. X at its meeting held on Xth day of Month, 2013 authorizing Pickering to
enter into this agreement on the terms and conditions set out herein,; and
Whereas the Council of the City of Toronto, in adopting Clause No. 3 of Report
No. 6, entitled "Fire Protection Services Agreements with Greater Toronto Area Fire
Departments and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority" of the Community Services
Committee at its meeting held on June 18th, 19th and 20th, 2002, authorized Toronto to
enter into this Agreement on the terms and conditions set out herein,
Now Therefore This Agreement Witnesseth that, in consideration of the
aforementioned background, the mutual covenants contained in the Agreement and
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ATTACHMENT# L TO REPORT#11a.°2--if
other good and valuable consideration (the sufficiency of all of which is now
acknowledged), the parties agree as follows:
1. Definitions. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires, the
following expressions_ have the meanings indicated below:
(a) "Agreement" means this agreement and all documents incorporated in it
by reference as the same may be amended from time to time in
accordance with the provisions hereof; "hereof', "hereto", and "hereunder"
and similar expressions refer to this Agreement and not to any particular
section; "Section" in this Agreement refers to the specified section of this
Agreement;
(b) "Assistance" means assistance in the form of fire suppression, rescue or
emergency services or all or any one or any combination of them and
includes assistance on hazardous materials incidents;
(c) "Assisting Fire Department" means the fire department of the party to
which a request for Assistance is made or which is making an offer of
Assistance and, if the request or offer is accepted, the fire department of
the party providing Assistance under this Agreement and, for the purposes
of invoicing as provided for in Section 13, mean the party whose fire
department provided Assistance to the Requesting Fire Department;
(d) "Emergency" means an actual or potential condition or situation within the .
territorial limits of the Requesting Fire Department that, in the opinion of its
Fire Chief, poses an immediate and serious threat to life or property or to
public health or safety and, in order to remove or reduce or otherwise
remedy the condition or situation or to bring it under control successfully,
requires resources that exceed the existing resources or capability or the
Requesting Fire Department;
(e) "Fire Chief' means the fire chief or chief fire official of the fire department
of the party and includes any person designated by the party to act in
place of the fire chief or chief fire official in his or her absence and also
includes any senior command officer or other person specifically
designated by either of them to act in his or her place in respect of an
Emergency;
(f) "prime rate" means the lowest rate of interest quoted by chartered banks
to the most creditworthy borrowers for prime business loans as
determined and published by the Bank of Canada; and
(g) "Requesting Fire Department" means the fire department of the party
requesting or being offered Assistance under this Agreement and, if the
request or offer for Assistance is accepted, the fire department of the party
receiving Assistance under this Agreement.
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2. Assistance Requests and Offers. In the event of an Emergency in its territorial l
jurisdiction, a party may through its fire department request Assistance from the
fire department of the other party, or the other party through its fire department
may offer to provide Assistance to the fire department of the first party when
faced with such circumstances, subject to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement.
3. Assistance Requests Acceptance and Refusal. Where a request for Assistance
is made under this Agreement, the Assisting Fire Department may in its sole
discretion accept or refuse the request to provide Assistance and, if it accepts the
request, may in its sole discretion determine the nature, type, scope, response
• time and amount of Assistance to be provided and, regardless of whether it
accepts or refuses the request, may in its sole discretion suggest alternatives to
the Assistance requested. The Assisting Fire Department shall communicate
any such decision to the Requesting Fire Department as soon as the
circumstances affecting the Assisting Fire Department reasonably permit.
4. Nature of Assistance. Where an offer for Assistance is made under this
Agreement, the Assisting Fire Department may in its sole discretion determine
the nature, type, scope and amount of Assistance to be provided and may in its
sole discretion suggest alternatives to the Assistance offered.
5. No Obligation. Nothing in this Agreement shall require or obligate, or be
construed to require or obligate a party to request, provide or offer Assistance or
to continue Assistance. Each party shall retain the right to refuse a request to
provide or to discontinue Assistance and the right not to accept an offer of
Assistance, and the right to suggest alternatives to the Assistance requested or
offered and the right not to suggest such alternatives.
6. No Further Obligation. Where Assistance has been offered or provided by the
Assisting Fire Department, the Assisting Fire Department shall not be obligated
to provide any further Assistance or to do any thing or take any action beyond
that which it specifically agreed to do in its offer of Assistance or its acceptance
of the request to provide Assistance.
7. Withdrawing Assistance. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Assisting
Fire Department, acting in its sole discretion, from withdrawing all or any part of
the Assistance or altering the nature, type, scope and amount of Assistance
offered or provided or to be provided to the Requesting Fire Department or
suspending or ceasing Assistance, in whole or in part.
8. Authority of Fire Chief. Each party authorizes its Fire Chief, on its behalf,
(a). to request Assistance;
(b) to accept or refuse, in whole or in part, a request to provide Assistance
made;
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(c) to offer to provide Assistance; 4 es1 b
(d) to accept or refuse, in whole or in part, Assistance offered;
(e) to determine the nature, type, scope and amount of Assistance to be
offered or provided, if any;
(f) to issue instructions or determine the exact mission relating to the
Assistance offered or provided or to be provided, if any;
(g) to alter, in whole or in part, Assistance offered or provided or to be •
provided, if any;
(h) to suggest alternatives to the Assistance offered or requested;
(i) to withdraw, in whole or in part, Assistance offered or provided or to be
provided;
(j) to withdraw, in whole or in part, and offer of Assistance made;
(k)' to rescind, in whole or in part, acceptance of a request to provide
Assistance or an offer of Assistance made;
(I) to suspend, cease or discontinue, in whole or in part, Assistance;
(m) except where expressly provided otherwise in this Agreement, to give any
consent, permission or approval or make any other decisions required;
and
(n) to communicate (including determining the method, form and means of
communication) to the other party any decision made or other matter with
respect to Assistance, under this Agreement.
9. Familiarization. The parties may take such measures as their respective Fire
Chiefs mutually determine are reasonably necessary to familiarize their
respective fire departments with the fire suppression, rescue or emergency
services that may be provided by the other party.
10. Responsibility and Direction. Despite any other provision in this Agreement, the
Requesting Fire Department shall remain responsible for ensuring that all
reasonable and prudent measures are taken by the Requesting Fire Department
to mitigate an Emergency in respect to which an offer or request to provide
Assistance has been made under this Agreement. The Assisting Fire
Department shall keep confidential and, except, in the case of Pickering, for the
purposes of enabling the Pickering Fire Chief to report under Section 11 and, in
the case of Toronto, for the purposes of enabling the Toronto Fire Chief to report
under Section 12, not disclose any information concerning the Emergency or the
Assistance provided under this Agreement without the prior consent of the
Requesting Fire Department whose consent shall not be arbitrarily or
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ATTACHMENT# L TC7 REPORT 0Z-15
unreasonably denied or delayed. As far as is reasonably practical, during the
Emergency and the Assistance provided under this Agreement, the Assisting Fire
Department and the Requesting Fire Department shall remain intact, under the
direct command of its highest ranking officer; however, despite Section 8(f) but
subject to Section 7, operational direction to the Assisting Fire Department's
senior officer on scene shall issue from the Fire Chief of the Requesting Fire
Department only, provided that the Assisting Fire Department shall have the right
to assign supervisory personnel to operate, or supervise the operation of in
accordance with any such tactical or strategic direction, any of the Assisting Fire
Department's equipment or personnel or both furnished as Assistance to the
Requesting Fire Department.
11. Report to Pickering Council. The Pickering Fire Chief shall report to Pickering
council, at such times as the council may determine as appropriate and
otherwise as the Pickering Fire Chief considers appropriate, all Emergencies for
which Assistance was offered or requested and was provided or not and, if
Assistance was provided, the nature, type, scope and amount of the Assistance
and whether such Assistance was later withdrawn in whole or in part and
otherwise such matters as the Fire Chief considers relevant to the Emergency
and the Assistance provided under this Agreement.
12. Report to Toronto Council. The Toronto Fire Chief shall report to Toronto
council, at such times as the council may determine as appropriate and
otherwise as the Toronto Fire Chief considers appropriate, all Emergencies for
which Assistance was offered or requested and was provided or not and, if
Assistance was provided, the nature, type, scope and amount of the Assistance
and whether such Assistance was later withdrawn in whole or in part and
otherwise such matters as the Fire Chief considers relevant to the Emergency
and the Assistance provided under this Agreement.
13. Fee for Assistance. The parties agree that there shall be no personnel or
equipment/vehicle fees charged to or by either the assisting or requesting
department. The parties agree to reimburse the Assisting Fire Department for
materials and equipment used and not reusable such as chemicals, foams,
blankets and other non-reusable items or replace same with like goods.
14. Term of Agreement. This Agreement commences as of the date of this
Agreement and continues until terminated pursuant to this Agreement.
15. Termination of Agreement. Either party may, for any reason or for no reason at
all, terminate this Agreement upon thirty (30) days' prior written notice to the
other party.
16. No Liability. The parties agree that no liability shall accrue to the party that is the
Assisting Fire Department, its council members, officers, employees or agents
where the Assisting Fire Department refuses to provide Assistance to the
Requesting Fire Department or, if a request to provide Assistance is accepted,
where the Assisting Fire Department neglects or fails to provide Assistance, or
does not provide Assistance in a timely manner or, if Assistance is provided, for
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ATTACHMENT# 1 TO REPORT#ai?oz-►5
any decisions made by the Assisting Fire Department with respect to the nature,( LO
type, scope, response time and amount of Assistance provided or to be provided
or for compliance or noncompliance by the Assisting Fire Department with any
tactical or strategic direction issued by the Fire Chief of the Requesting Fire
Department under Section 10 or where the Assisting Fire Department withdraws,
discontinues, suspends or ceases Assistance, in whole or in part, or where the
Assisting Fire Department suggests alternatives to the Assistance requested.
The party that is the Requesting Fire Department hereby waives any claims that
it may or might have against the party that is the Assisting Fire Department
arising from all or any of the foregoing.
17. Indemnity. The party that is the Requesting Fire Department shall be liable for
and shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the party that is the Assisting Fire
Department, its council members, officers, employees or agents from and against
all claims, defence costs, settlement costs, all manner of action or actions, cause
and causes of action, duties, dues, accounts, covenants, contracts, demands or
other proceedings of every kind or nature whatsoever at law or in equity arising
out of the performance of any Assistance provided or to be provided under this
Agreement, except to the extent that same is caused or contributed to by the
gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Assisting Fire Department or any
person for which it is responsible in law in providing Assistance and relates to
damages, losses or injuries (including injuries resulting in deaths) suffered or
sustained by third parties.
18. Insurance. During the term of this Agreement, each party shall obtain and
maintain in full force and effect, at its own cost, Commercial General Liability
insurance issued by an insurance company authorized by law to carry on
business in the Province of Ontario, providing for, without limitation, coverage for
third party bodily injury, property damage and personal injury. Such policy shall:
a. have inclusive limits of not less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) per
occurrence;
b. contain a cross-liability clause endorsement of standard wording;
c. add the other party as an additional insured; •
d. not be terminated, cancelled or materially altered unless written notice of
such termination, cancellation or material alteration is given to the other party
at least thirty (30) clear days before the effective date thereof;
e. provide that the Requesting Fire Department's liability insurance shall apply
as primary insurance and not in excess to any liability insurance available
under this Agreement to the Assisting Fire Department, except where the
Assisting Fire Department is responsible under Section 17, in which case the
Assisting Fire Department's liability insurance shall apply as primary
insurance in accordance with the above; and ,
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ATTACHMENT# I TO REPORT#iR.oZ-15
Otta
f. require that a party, upon the request of the other party, shall provide proof of
insurance in a form satisfactory to the other party's insurance or risk
manager.
19. Employment Status. Notwithstanding that employees, contractors and agents
(collectively, the "workers") of the Assisting Fire Department may, as a result of
this Agreement, be assigned to perform duties for the Requesting Fire
Department and, in fact, be performing services for the Requesting Fire
Department or the inhabitants,of its territorial jurisdiction or for their respective
benefit, the parties agree that, despite anything in Section 10, the workers of the
Assisting Fire Department shall retain their employment or contractual
relationship with the Assisting Fire Department and shall remain, in all respects,
workers of the Assisting Fire Department and, except as otherwise provided in
Section 10, shall be under the command and supervision of the Assisting Fire
Department and that the Requesting Fire Department is not to be considered the
employer of the Assisting Fire Department's workers, under any circumstances or
for any purposes whatsoever. The Assisting Fire Department shall remain
responsible for all statutorily required deductions, contributions, premiums and
payments (including without limitation employment insurance, Canada Pension
Plan and Workplace Safety and Insurance) in respect of its workers. "Workplace
Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c.16, provided that the Assisting Fire
Department shall fully indemnify the Requesting Fire Department in respect of all
costs, charges, liabilities and obligations which may be incurred by the
Requesting Fire Department by reason of subsection 71(1) of the said Act."
20. Notice. Where notice is required to be given to a party under this Agreement, the
notice shall be in writing and may be given personally (through courier or
otherwise), by regular letter mail, by electronic transmission, by telephone •
transmission of a facsimile (i.e., fax) or by some other method that allows proof of
receipt, and shall be given,
a. in the case of notice to City of Toronto, to:
Fire Chief Jim Sales
City of Toronto
Fire Services Division
4330 Dufferin Street
Downsview, Ontario
M3H 5R9
Fax No.: 416.397.4300
E-mail Address: jsales @toronto.ca. •
b. and, in the case of notice to The Corporation of the City of Pickering to:
Fire Chief John Hagg
The Corporation of the City of Pickering
Pickering Fire Services
1616 Bayly Street
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ATTACHMENT# I TO REPORT#r1tzoz--15
Pickering Ontario 43 4 to
L1 W 3N2
Fax No.: 905.839.6327
E-mail Address: jhagg @pickering.ca
c. any such other address or fax number of which the party to be notified shall
have given written notice to the other party in accordance with the above,
provided that,
d: notice given personally shall be deemed to have been received by the other
party on the date of delivery;
e. notice given by regular letter mail shall be deemed to have been received by
the other party on the fifth day after mailing; and
f. notice given by electronic transmission or by telephone transmission of a
facsimile shall be deemed to have been received the day after it is sent or, if
that day is a Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday, on the next day that is
not a Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday,
unless that other party establishes that it did not, acting in good faith, through
absence, accident, illness or other cause beyond that other party's reasonable
control, receive the notice until a later date than the deemed date of receipt, and
provided that,
g. notice given by or to its Fire Chief shall be deemed to be notice by or to the
party.
21. Time of Essence. Except as expressly provided otherwise in this Agreement,
time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. Despite the foregoing, the
performance of any obligation of a party hereunder shall be excused to the extent
that it is hindered or prevented or delayed because of labour disturbances,
including strikes and lockouts and other job actions and including any arising out
of any neglect or failure to have its collective agreement amended pursuant to
Section 20, acts of God, storms, accidents, government regulations or
interference or any cause whatsoever not within the reasonable control of the
party.
22. Rights and Remedies Where Breach or Dispute. Nothing contained in this
Agreement shall be construed as restricting or preventing either party from
relying on any other right or remedy otherwise available to it at law or in equity in
the event of any breach of this Agreement or a dispute under this Agreement.
23. Assignment. Neither party shall assign this Agreement, in whole or in part, or
subcontract any portion of the services to be provided under this Agreement,
without the written permission of the governing body of the other party, which
permission may be unreasonably or arbitrarily denied or delayed.
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24. Binding. This Agreement shall ensure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the
parties and their respective successors, administrators and permitted assigns.
25. Independent Contractors. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be
construed to mean that the parties are partners or joint venturers or agents of
each other, or that the officials, officers, employees, contractors and agents of
one party are those of the other party, or have any relationship other than that of
independent contractors.
26. No Third Party Benefit. This Agreement shall not be construed as or deemed to
be an agreement for the benefit of any third parties, and no third party shall have
any right of action arising in any way under this Agreement for any cause
whatsoever.
27. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Province
of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable in the Province, and shall be
treated in all respects as an Ontario contract.
28. Courts. The parties to this Agreement specifically submit to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Ontario.
29. Severability. If any of the provisions of this Agreement or their application to any
person or circumstance are to any extent rendered or held to be illegal, invalid or
unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement shall be construed as if such •
illegal, invalid or unenforceable provision had never been contained in it.
30. Extended Meanings. Words expressed in the singular include the plural and
visa-versa and words in one gender include all genders.
31. Grammatical Variations. Grammatical variations of any terms defined in this
Agreement shall have similar meanings to such defined terms.
32. Legislative References. Any reference in this Agreement to all or any part of any
statute, regulation, by-law or rule shall, unless otherwise stated, be a reference to
that statute, regulation, by-law or rule or the relevant part thereof, amended,
replaced or re-enacted from time to time.
33. Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire agreement and
understanding of the parties of the matters contained in it, and supersedes all
prior agreements and understandings on these matters.
34. Amendment. Except where expressly provided otherwise, this Agreement shall
not be amended, in any way, unless such amendment is in writing and is
executed by all the parties with the same formalities, including all necessary prior
approvals of the governing bodies of the respective parties, as this Agreement.
35. Conflict. In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and any agreement
entered into by a party made under subsection 1.3(3) of the Emergency Plans
Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9, the agreement made under the Act shall prevail. A
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conflict occurs whenever a provision in this Agreement A and a provision in that 1O°���
agreement are inconsistent and cannot be reconciled. In such case, neither
party shall have legal recourse against the other party and hereby waives all
claims that it may or might have against it as a result thereof.
36. Survival. Sections 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,
33, 34, 35 and 36 and the second sentence in Section 10 shall survive the
termination of this Agreement in respect of any matter arising before the effective
date of termination.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed'by their duly authorized representatives, as of the date indicated above.
•
City of Toronto
•
Peter Wallace
City Manager
•
The Corporation of the City of Pickering
Dave Ryan
Mayor
•
Debbie Shields
Clerk
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