By Keith Lacey
Valley East should have around-the-clock fire protection from two professional firefighters at all three fire halls.
That was the key recommendation made by a coroner?s inquest jury of two men and two women.
Currently there only six career firefighters in Valley East, and only one on duty at any given time.
Friday afternoon, after listening to five weeks of testimony and two weeks of deliberations, the jury released a comprehensive list of 24 recommendations in an attempt to prevent a similar tragedy from the one which claimed the lives of three people 17 months ago.
Asha-Jade McLean, 3, her brother Ellias McLean, 4, and their great-grandmother Pearl Shaw, 75, perished a tragic house fire at 4141 Roy St. in Hanmer the afternoon of April 22, 2001.
The inquest featured emotional and controversial testimony from neighbours who tried to rescue the victims and firefighters who tried valiantly to save them.
The inquest heard it took firefighters about 12 minutes from the time a neighbour placed a 911 call to arrive at the home.
It was also revealed a malfunctioning natural gas furnace likely caused the fire by spitting out flames through an opening at the front of the furnace, which engulfed clothes on a clothes line in the basement of the home.
Bobbi McLean, mother of the two children who perished, was very pleased with the jury?s recommendations, and said she will do everything in her power to ensure the recommendations are adopted as policy by various stakeholders.
?It?s a good start,? said McLean.
McLean was particularly happy with the recommendation to staff all three Valley East fire halls with career firefighters around the clock.
In closing submissions, the family demanded all three fire halls be manned around the clock with four full-timers.
She was also pleased the jury recommended the Office of the Chief Coroner, in co-operation with all appropriate agencies, review all coroner jury recommendations annually for the next two years. The coroner?s office was also asked to provide an annual report on the status of each recommendation and any steps being taken for unimplemented recommendations to be filed as a public document.
?We want to make sure the recommendations are listened to,? she said. ?I don?t want my children to be forgotten or what happened to them. It?s very important these recommendations be followed.?
Following is a complete list of the jury?s recommendations.
* To the Association of Municipalities of Ontario?a regulation be passed mandating all municipalities provide information on tax assessments indicating the level of fire protection provided to individual property owners.
* To the provincial government and/or Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)?that radio and television air time be made available for disseminating fire safety information targeted at adult education.
The jury suggested short, repetitive messages be developed by the Ontario Fire Marshal?s office.
* To fuel providers of gas, oil and propane. The businesses should provide safety information and large legible stickers in bill mailing for all appliances as appropriate. For example, a sticker for gas furnaces would address potential dangers with clearance.
* The Ministry of Education should make mandatory programs such as Risk Watch for children in all Ontario elementary curriculums as well as licensed daycare facilities and private schools. The rationale is inquest evidence indicated this is at the local school board?s discretion and the deceased?s guardian was unaware of Risk Watch program.
* The ministry should also made mandatory fire drill procedures for all educational facilities. As an example, head counts.
* The City of Greater Sudbury initiate immediately a comprehensive fire risk assessment of all annexed communities under amalgamation and most specifically the former town of Valley East.
* The city develop a Master Fire Plan to be submitted to the Ontario Fire Marshal for review and comment every fire years. The plan should be developed using a comprehensive risk assessment and resource rationalization process.
The plan should include standards of fire protection coverage based on local needs and circumstances. The master plan should be developed by a representative group from the municipality, headed by the fire chief. Business, political, community and firefighter representatives must also be involved.
The master plan should be available for public review and comment prior to approval by city council. The jury said the evidence indicates this has never been done in this city.
* The community of Valley East should undergo a comprehensive fire risk assessment and a plan be immediately implemented to provide for manning of three fire halls around the clock as to provide two pieces of equipment each with two firefighters to arrive simultaneously at structure fires. Volunteer firefighters should go directly to a fire. The jury said evidence indicated civilians had to help at the fire scene due to insufficient simultaneous arrival of a minimum number of firefighters. As a minimum, four firefighters are required to perform a limited rescue attempt.
* The Ontario Fire Marshal?s (OFM) office should develop a fire safety program for secondary schools that would be made mandatory in the curriculum. The fire marshal?s office should also develop a training record for firefighters and then be responsible for receipt of accurate, precise and up-to-date data.
All fire departments in Ontario should adopt the Ontario Firefighter Curriculum and the fire marshal?s office certification program for career firefighters should be made mandatory through legislation. The jury said evidence indicates Valley East training records were incomplete and there was no standard for uniform level of training within the City of Greater Sudbury.
The fire marshal?s office should also develop a standard operating procedure for accurate timing of personnel arriving at a fire scene as evidence indicated there was no method for determining the arrival time of fire personnel.
The province formally adopt a standardized incident command system that would be developed by the OFM to be used by all fire departments. Further, the OFM should monitor, police and enforce compliance.
* All municipalities be required by regulations to prepare a master fire plan in the form and manner as specified by the fire marshal. Master plans should be submitted to OFM for review and comment every five years and be developed using a comprehensive risk assessment and resource rationalization process.
The master plan should be based on local needs and circumstances and include all key stakeholders, including members of the public, fire chief, politicians and firefighters.
* The Ministry of Public Safety and Security should establish minimum fire protection and public education requirements specified in the OFM guideline be incorporated as a regulation under the Fire Prevention and Protection ACT (FPPA). This should include completion of a comprehensive risk assessment, smoke alarm program, escape planning, distribution of public information and inspections on complaint or request.
The jury said evidence indicated a risk assessment for the former town of Valley East was not done prior to amalgamation and still has not been done.
The Ontario Fire Code should be amended to include a smoke detector on every level of each residence in Ontario, smoke detector in every bedroom and carbon monoxide detector on every level of a home.
* The province adopt a standard for installation, maintenance and use of emergency services communications systems and dispatch facilities and centres in Ontario and further the OFM investigate, monitor and enforce compliance.
* An independent and comprehensive audit be conducted of the operations of the OFM by fire service stakeholders to review the role and effectiveness of the OFM.
* A pilot project be launched to include a province-wide survey to determine the effectiveness of dissemination of public child/adult education relating to fire protection.
* The province consider amending the building code to include sprinkler systems for new construction of all residential buildings.
