Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIR 05-23Report to Executive Committee Report Number: FIR 05-23 Date: November 6, 2023 From: Steve Boyd Fire Chief Subject: Ajax-Pickering Automatic Aid Agreement - File: A-1440-001-23 Recommendation: 1. That Report FIR 05-23 regarding Ajax-Pickering Automatic Aid Agreement be received; 2. That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute the Ajax-Pickering Automatic Aid Agreement, set out in Attachment 1 to this report, subject to minor revisions as may be required by the Fire Chief and the Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor; and, 3. That the appropriate officials of the City of Pickering be authorized to take the necessary actions as indicated in this report. Executive Summary: The Automatic Aid Agreement serves the purpose of enabling each Fire Service to promptly respond to incident locations that may arise in areas of another municipality where the local Fire Service may not be able to respond as swiftly. These areas encompass portions of the 401 and 407 highways, as well as select areas in the north section of Ajax and the south area of Pickering. Over the past two decades, both municipalities have undergone significant changes, including residential growth and the expansion of the road network, which necessitate a revision to the agreement . Financial Implications: None. Discussion: Subsection 2(5) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997,SO. 1997,c 4 reads as follows: Services outside municipality (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 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 may be specified in the agreement from a fire department situated outside the territorial limits of the municipality. FIR 05-23 November 6, 2023 Subject: Ajax-Pickering Automatic Aid Agreement Page 2 Automatic aid agreements (6) A municipality may enter into an automatic aid agreement to provide or receive the initial or supplemental response to fires, rescues and emergencies. Since April 1, 2000, the City of Pickering and the Town of Ajax have been operating under an Automatic Aid Agreement. However, with the exponential growth experienced by both municipalities over the past 13 years, including residential expansion, the construction of additional fire stations, and changes to road networks connecting the two municipalities, adjustments to the response boundaries serviced by each respective Fire Service are necessary. These changes are outlined in Appendix A of the attached Ajax -Pickering Automatic Aid Agreement. Attachments: 1. Ajax-Pickering Automatic Aid Agreement dated October 1, 2023. Prepared/Endorsed By: Steve Boyd Fire Chief SB:jm Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer 1 THIS AGREEMENT made in quadruplicate this 1st day of October. 2023 BETWEEN: THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF AJAX ~ and ~ ("AJAX") THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF PICKERING ("PICKERING") WHEREAS Paragraph s. 20(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 provides that a municipality may enter into an agreement with one or more municipalities or local bodies, as defined in section 19, or combination of both to jointly provide, for their joint benefit, any matter which any of them have the power to make within their own boundaries. 2001, c.25, s.20(1). AND WHEREAS Subsection 1(4) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4 provides that for the purposes of that Act, an "Automatic Aid Agreement" means any agreement under which; a) a municipality agrees to ensure the provision of an initial response to fires, rescues and emergencies that may occur in a part of another municipality where a fire department in the municipality is capable of responding more quickly than any fire department situated in the other municipality; or b) a municipality agrees to ensure the provision of a supplemental response to fires, rescues and emergencies that may occur in a part of another municipality where a fire department situated in the municipality is capable of providing the quickest supplemental response to fires, rescues and emergencies occurring in the part of the other municipality. AND WHEREAS Subsections 2(1)(b), 2(5), and 2(6) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4 specifies that: Municipal responsibilities (2)(1) Every municipality shall, b) provide such other fire protection services as it determines may be necessary in accordance with its needs and circumstances. Services outside municipality (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 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 may be specified in the agreement from a fire department situated outside the territorial limits of the municipality. Automatic aid agreements (6) A municipality may enter into an automatic aid agreement to provide or receive the initial or supplemental response to fires, rescues, and emergencies. AND WHEREAS, there are areas in each of Ajax and Pickering in which a fire department in the other municipality is capable of responding to the areas more quickly than any fire department situated within the municipality. Attachment #1 to Report FIR 05-23 2 IN CONSIDERATION OF the mutual covenants, provisions and conditions contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, Ajax and Pickering covenant and agree as follows: 1. DEFINITIONS/INTERPRETATION a. “AFES” means Ajax Fire and Emergency Services. b. "Agreement" means this agreement including its recitals and any schedules, which form part of it, as amended from time to time. c. "Ajax" means The Corporation of the Town of Ajax including its successors and assigns, and, where the context allows, its employees, servants, agents, officers and elected officials. d. "Automatic Aid Area" means any or all of the areas as described in Appendix A. e. "Automatic Aid Response" means the delivery of Initial Response Services by a Participating Fire Service. f. "Home Fire Chief' means the Fire Chief of the Home Municipality. g. "Home Fire Service" means the fire service within the Home Municipality that , but for the provisions of this Agreement, would be responsible for providing Initial Response Services. h. "Home Municipality" means the municipality whose fire service would be responsible for providing initial response services. i. "Incident" means fire, emergencies or dangerous conditions that occur in the Automatic Aid Areas as described in Appendix A. j. “Incident Command System” means an Incident Management System with a common organizational structure with responsibility of assigned resources to effectively accomplish stated objectives pertaining to an incident. k. "Initial Response Services" for the purpose of this Agreement means the provision of an initial response designed to address the adverse effects of an Incident. l. “Officer” the first arriving Captain or Platoon Chief from either responding fire service who is deemed to be in command of the emergency scene. m. "Participating Fire Service" means the fire service within the participating municipality with responsibility for providing an Automatic Aid Response. n. "Participating Municipality" means the municipality that provides an Automatic Aid Response. o. “PFS” means Pickering Fire Services. p. "Pickering" means The Corporation of the City of Pickering including its successors and assigns, and, where the context allows, its employees, servants, agents, officers and elected officials. Gender, Plural: All words in this Agreement shall be deemed to include any number or gender, as the context requires. Proper Law: This Agreement shall be interpreted according to the laws o f the Province of Ontario. Headings: Article, section, clause and/or paragraph headings are for reference purposes only and shall not in any way modify or limit the statements contained in the following text. Legislation: Reference to federal or provincial statutes or regulations or municipal by- laws are deemed to refer to the relevant legislation as amended, including successor legislation. 3 1 TERM 1.01 Term: The term of the Agreement shall be indefinite and will be reviewed yearly by the participating Fire Chiefs. 1.02 Termination: This Agreement may be terminated by either party on sixty (60) days’ notice in writing to the other. 2 AUTOMATIC AID RESPONSE 2.01 Automatic Aid Response: Upon the occurrence of an Incident, an Automatic Aid Response shall be provided by the Participating Fire Service to the extent that the Participating Fire Service has equipment and staff available. 2.02 Response: Upon the occurrence of an Incident, the Home Fire Service shall respond. 2.03 Command: When a Home Fire Service and a Participating Fire Service respond to an Incident, the Incident Commander of the Home Fire Service shall assume responsibility as soon as practicable for the overall command of and coordination of operations in respect of the Incident. 2.04 Incident Command System: The first arriving officer, regardless of the location of the Incident and regardless of rank, shall assume Incident command and implement strategy and tactics appropriate to control the incident. 4 COST 4.01 No-cost Basis: There shall be no cost to the Home Municipality for the provision of an Automatic Aid Response. 5 RELEASE AND INDEMNITY 5.01 No Claims: Neither party shall have any claim or demand against the other for detriment, damage, accident or injury, of any nature whatsoever or howsoever caused to any person or property, including any buildings, structures, erections, equipment, material, supplies, motor or other vehicles, fixtures and articles, effects and things in any manner based upon, occasioned by or attributable to the execution of the Agreement or any action taken or things done or maintained by virtue of the Agreement, or the exercise in any manner of rights arising under the Agreement. 5.02 Indemnification: Each party covenants and agrees that it shall at all times indemnify and save harmless the other from and against all claims and demands, loss, costs, damages, actions, suits or other proceedings by whomsoever made, brought or prosecuted, in any manner based upon, occasioned by or attributable to the execution of the Agreement or any action taken or things done or maintained by virtue of the Agreement, or the exercise in any manner of rights arising under the Agreement, excep t claims for damage resulting from the negligence of any officer, servant or agent of the other while acting within the scope of his or her duties or employment. 6 MISCELLANEOUS 6.01 Notice: Any notice to be given under this Agreement shall be sufficiently given via email to: Ajax Fire & Emergency Services – fireadmin@ajax.ca Pickering Fire Services – fire@pickering.ca Receipt of notice shall be deemed on the date of delivery. 6.02 Force Majeure/Time: Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement, neither party shall be in default with respect to the performance of any of the terms of this Agreement if any non-performance is due to any force majeure, strike, lock- out, labour dispute, civil commotion, war or similar event, invasion, the exercise of military power, act of God, government regulations or controls, inability to 4 obtain any material or service, or any cause beyond the reasonable control of the party (unless such lack of control results from a deficiency in financial resources). Otherwise, time shall be of the essence of this Agreement and all the obligations contained herein. 6.03 Arbitration: All matters of differences arising between Ajax and Pickering in any matter connected with or arising out of this Agreement shall be referred to a single arbitrator if the parties agree upon the arbitrator's identity. Should the parties be unable to agree upon the identity of an arbitrator, then the matter shall be referred to a single arbitrator, to be appointed by a Justice of the Superior Court of Justice. The arbitrator shall conduct the arbitration pursuant to the Arbitration Act, 1991, S.0. 1991 c. 17 and every award or determination shall be final and binding on the parties and their successors and assigns and shall not be subject to appeal. The arbitrator shall be allowed unfettered and unlimited discretion to determine in each and every case the solution which best balances the competing interests of the parties to the arbitration in accordance with this Agreement, and she or he shall not be bound by any legal precedent in such determination. The arbitrator shall not be bound by the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1991, S.O. 1991 c. 17 in respect of her or his fees. The arbitrator shall be entitled to award all or part of her or his fees against any party in accordance with the principles, which govern an award of costs against a non-successful party in a contested matter before the Superior Court of Justice. In the absence of such an award by the arbitrator, the arbitrator's costs shall be borne equally by both parties, without regard to their involvement in the arbitration. 6.04 No Assignment: Neither party shall make any assignment of this Agreement without obtaining the prior consent in writing of the other to such assignment. 6.05 Successors: The rights and liabilities of the parties shall ensure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties and their respective successors and approved assigns. 6.06 Entire Agreement: This Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties relating to Automatic Aid Response and it is agreed that there is no covenant, promise, agreement, condition precedent or subsequent, warranty or representation or understanding, whether oral or written, other than as set forth in this Agreement and this Agreement fully replaces and supersedes any letter, letter of intent, or other contractual arrangement between the parties related to Automatic Aid Response in existence at the time of execution and delivery of this Agreement. This agreement is not part of the Durham Region Emergency Fire Services Plan [Mutual Aid]. 6.07 Partial Invalidity: If any article, section, subsection, paragraph, clause or sub-clause or any of the words contained in this Agreement shall be held wholly or partially illegal, invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, Ajax and Pickering agree that the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected by the judicial holding, but shall remain in full force and effect. The provisions of this Agreement shall have effect, notwithstanding any statute to the contrary. 6.08 Waivers: No supplement, amendment or waiver of or under this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by the party to be bound thereby and no waiver by a party of any provision of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision or a continuing waiver unless otherwise expressly provided. 6.09 Severability: If any sentence, clause, or phrase of this Agreement is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity shall not affect the validity of any other section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Agreement. 5 IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Parties hereto have herein affixed their Corporate Seals duly attested to by the hands of their authorized officers. THE COPORATION OF THE TOWN OF AJAX _______________________________ Shaun Collier, Mayor ________________________________ Nicole Cooper, Town Clerk THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY PICKERING _______________________________ Kevin Ashe, Mayor ________________________________ Susan Cassel, City Clerk 6 Appendix A AUTOMATIC AID PROGRAM AREAS – TOWN OF AJAX AND CITY OF PICKERING The areas identified in this appendix can be altered or increased as necessary with the approval of both Fire Chiefs and the Chief Administrative Officer’s for Pickering and Ajax. The areas authorized to participate in the Automatic Aid Program are as follows: (a) Ajax/Pickering Situation 1: For responses on Highway 401 westbound between Westney Road and Brock Road, AFES will respond with a minimum of one unit. PFS will also respond with a minimum of one unit. (b) Ajax/Pickering Situation 2: For responses on Highway 401 westbound between Brock Road and Whites Road, AFES will respond with a minimum of one unit in the express lanes. PFS will respond with a minimum of one unit in the collector lanes. Should a PFS officer confirm that the emergency is located in the collector lanes and the assistance of AFES is not required, then the PFS officer shall cancel the AFES response. (c) Ajax/Pickering Situation 3: For responses on Highway 401 eastbound between Brock Road and Westney Road, PFS will respond with a minimum of one unit. AFES will also respond with a minimum of one unit. (d) Ajax/Pickering Situation 4 - Initial Response: For the area bounded by Westney Road to the west, Highway 407 to the north (but not including Highway 407), Lakeridge Road to the east and the Fifth Concession to the south, Ajax dispatch shall dispatch one AFES unit in addition to PFS apparatus. Upon arrival of PFS, and at an appropriate time, the Pickering Fire Officer shall release AFES. (e) Ajax/Pickering Situation 5 – Initial Response: For the following areas bounded by Sideline 16 to the west, the Fifth Concession to the north, Church Street to the east and Rossland Road to the south, Ajax dispatch shall dispatch one PFS unit in addition to the AFES apparatus. Upon arrival of AFES, and at an appropriate time, the Ajax Fire Officer shall release PFS.