P2
POLICY REPORT
PUBIC SAFETY
Date: April 1, 1996
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Assistant Chief Fire Prevention, Vancouver Fire & Rescue
Services
SUBJECT: Minor Amendments to the Vancouver Fire By-law
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT Council accept in principle the proposed amendments to
the Fire By-law as summarized in the Appendix to this report,
and
B. THAT Council authorize the Director of Legal Services to bring
forward the appropriate by-law amendments.
GENERAL MANAGER, VANCOUVER FIRE & RESCUE SERVICES' COMMENTS
The General Manager of Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services RECOMMENDS
approval of A and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
The current edition of the Vancouver Fire By-law was approved by City
Council on November 1, 1992 and has had several amendments over the
years. Council in the past have requested that all items requiring
study be submitted to a public review process and non-controversial
items be submitted directly to them as time permits during the year.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval in principle of
the proposed minor amendments to the Fire By-law No. 7004, as listed in
Appendix 'A' of this report.DISCUSSION
The attached summary of proposed by-law amendments (Appendix A) covers
all the items which are basically deemed non-controversial in nature.
We have discussed them with the affected groups, a City Solicitor and
the City By-law Prosecutor. Some of the items are felt to be worthy of
more explanation to Council, such as:
Fire Watch
The clauses referring to a fire watch have been grouped and amended in
their wording to take away such tasks as a person employed to watch for
fires . A new definition is introduced where a fire watch refers to a
procedure rather than an appointed person.
Storage Tanks
The reference documents of both underground and aboveground storage
tanks are amended to the latest editions which stipulate the use of
secondary containment systems. An out-of-date requirement of obtaining
pre-approval from the City Engineer prior to installation of underground
storage tanks is deleted. The authority of issuing permits for the
removal and abandonment of storage tanks is added to formalized the
permit procedure that has been existing.
Reinspection Charge
There are many instances where a final inspection is called but the
inspector will find the equipment not verified nor working. By applying
a reinspection hourly fee, the onus is put back onto the applicant to
have a substantial completion before requesting an inspection. The fee
has always been in the fee schedule, but has not been fully utilized.
Maintenance of Smoke Alarms
Changes are made to include all buildings for maintenance of smoke
alarms, rather than just one or two family dwellings as referenced
before.
Maintenance of Fire Rated Closures
The wording of this much used clause for prosecutions has been
simplified. The original wording is cumbersome for an inspector to lay
charges to an owner because the integrity of the closure has to be
somehow proven to be ineffective.Open Air Fires
Open air fires are only allowed by permit or in an acceptable container
like a barbecue on private property. The wording of the section has
been simplified to indicate just that.
Occupant Load
The maximum number of people allowed in an assembly space used to be
administered under the Provincial Public Hall and Theatre Safety
Regulations which was repelled. The method of calculating occupant
load is now based on the Vancouver Building By-law.
Fire Safety Plan
The original wording was in error on the preparation responsibility of a
fire safety plan. The clause was corrected which put the onus on the
owner to prepare a fire safety plan, rather than on Vancouver Fire
Department to prepare a fire safety plan. Also a resubmission of the
fire safety plan is proposed for every 3 years or where substantial
changes have occurred where a building permit is required.
Inspection of Automatic Sprinklers
A new reference NFPA 25 on the testing and maintenance of an automatic
sprinkler system is included to keep in line with the recent National
Fire Code changes.
Fee Schedule
The fee schedule has been revised to include fees which have been
introduced over the years but have not been incorporated in the
schedule. The hourly rate for special inspections and plan checking
activities is adjusted from $70 to $85. This rate has not changed since
the Fire By-law was introduced.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
Section 2.1.2.2.(1), 2.1.2.2.(2), 2.4.5., 4.3.1.(2) and 4.10.1.2. all
have environmental implications and are directed to protecting the
environment.
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no social implications in this report.FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The financial implications to the City will be the cost of printing the
Fire By-law amendments. This has been provided for in the annual budget
of the Fire Prevention Division. Also, the ability to recover costs has
been enhanced.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
If Council approved the Fire By-law revisions, the Fire Prevention
Division will make available copies of the changes to all customers and
staff who are in possession of a current Fire By-law No. 7004.
CONCLUSION
In order to bring the Fire By-law up to date, it is recommended that the
changes in Appendix A be adopted at this time. We have highlighted some
of the more significant changes in the above section. The changes are
more house keeping clauses and are anticipated by outside industries.
The changes will bring the Fire By-law more in line with the latest
edition of the National Fire Code in some sections. We will be
proposing further changes in the near future for adopting other sections
of the 1995 National Fire Code.
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