Unions of Nova Scotia Municipalities

Nova Scotia Fire Marshall Office to Work with Municipalities on Improving Building Inspection Services

In May of 2011, The Provincial Auditor General identified several issues with Fire Marshall’s Office including monitoring municipalities to ensure buildings are inspected for fire safety. As a result of his report, four recommendations specific to municipalities were outlined, namely that the Office of the Fire Marshall should:

1. define minimum standards to be used in determining an appropriate system of inspections for municipalities and update legislation as required;
2. perform fire safety inspections when municipalities fail to complete inspections as required by the Fire Safety Act;
3. implement policies and procedures to follow up deficiencies identified during its reviews of municipalities; and
4. develop and implement a plan to determine whether municipalities are currently complying with their legislative responsibilities and ensure they continue to comply.

 
In response to these recommendations, the Office of the Fire Marshal, through the Department of Labour and Advanced Education, circulated a questionnaire to municipal units in early November to obtain information regarding their current system of inspection. To date, approximately 32 questionnaires have been received and follow up will occur with those municipalities that have not yet completed the questionnaire. A summary is being prepared which will be shared with municipalities.
 
The Office of the Fire Marshall is encouraged with the response rate and the feedback provided which will assist with responding to the Auditor General's recommendations as they relate to municipalities. The majority of municipalities have a system of inspection in place which is consistent with the requirements under the Regulations within the Fire Safety Act and the responses indicate that "a one size fits all" may not be the appropriate approach given the different needs of each municipality. In addition, the majority of responses reinforce the importance of consistency and direction in terms of basic guidelines and accountability from the OFM. There are also some valuable suggestions in terms of how the OFM may be able to better support municipalities that will be considered including education, training and information sharing.

A Committee has been struck to address the AG’s recommendations. It includes representatives from the Office of the Fire Marshall, SNSMR, Labour and Advanced Education, Fire Inspectors Association of Nova Scotia, UNSM and AMA.
 

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