Building owners and employers are responsible for fire code compliance in British Columbia, but in the interests of long-term safety for workers, the government will now be asking high-risk facility owners to provide documentation of fire code compliance.

In the course of regularly scheduled and/or targeted inspections, WorkSafeBC will be requesting all building owners to provide documentation related to fire code compliance. The BC Safety Authority (BCSA) will request documentation of fire code compliance when performing on-site inspections of regulated equipment installation.

To assist, Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour, and Shirley Bond, Minister of Justice and Attorney General introduced today the creation of the Fire Inspection and Prevention Initiative (FIPI). Through FIPI, WorkSafeBC will invest one million dollars in funding over two years to reduce the risk fire represents to workers in industrial operations and to improve compliance.

FIPI will improve awareness of employers' fire safety obligations and education about the BC Fire Code standards. It will also improve co-ordination between WorkSafeBC and BCSA inspectors and the OFC, which has responsibility for enforcing the BC Fire Code.

The B.C. government expects these enhanced fire code compliance efforts will improve health and safety for workers in British Columbia and provide more clarity about the accountability of industrial owners and operators and how they must meet BC Fire Code standards.

Quotes:

Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and the Minister Responsible for Labour -

"The safety of all of our workers is of paramount importance to all of us. We believe that through the better accountability that we will demand from industrial owners and operators, as well as through improved education and awareness, we will be able to save more lives and improve safety at all of our high-risk industrial operations in British Columbia."

Shirley Bond, Minister of Justice and Attorney General -

"Public safety is of the utmost concern to our government. We must ensure that industrial owners and operators are keeping their worksites and workers safe, starting with the companies performing their own routine safety audits. Now, with the co-ordinated framework we're implementing and the oversight from FIPI, there are more stringent checks and balances to ensure that inspections are being done, but also when they're not, that there are sufficient and adequate consequences."

Kelly Gilday, deputy B.C. fire commissioner -

"The Fire Services Act requires that we respond to reports of non-compliance of the Fire Code. With the creation of FIPI, there will be better information sharing that will allow us to continue to respond and impose penalties or remedies as necessary. We are hopeful that companies take proactive action to comply and mitigate these safety risks, but if it becomes clear that punitive action is necessary, the OFC can and will impose it."

Betty Pirs, vice-president, prevention, WorkSafeBC -

"WorkSafeBC is a partner in this initiative that will improve safety for workers who work in environments that may be at risk of fire hazards. While the responsibility for fire prevention rests with building owners and employers, WorkSafeBC officers will, in the course of their routine inspections, ask employers for documentation indicating they are Fire Code compliant; if not, the issue will be referred to the Fire Inspection Prevention Initiative (FIPI). Our combined efforts will enhance the safety of workers."

Quick Facts:

• Following recent tragic explosions at B.C. sawmills, a closer examination of fire inspection processes in the province revealed inspectional and jurisdictional gaps related to Fire Code inspections.

• Under the Fire Services Act (the Act), municipalities are assigned responsibility for Fire Code inspections. However, small municipalities often lack the expertise and resources to conduct inspections at high-risk industrial operations under the BC Fire Code. The Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) currently has a staff of five inspectors.

• Public buildings, including industrial operations, may not receive consistent or regular independent Fire Code inspections in unincorporated areas. If there is a complaint or if it is deemed advisable beyond the regular inspections the owners are expected to undertake, OFC will respond, investigate and provide inspections.

• Industrial operations on federal First Nations lands may not receive consistent Fire Code inspections. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) provides inspections of many public buildings on First Nations lands, but industrial operations are not inspected. Compliance of the fire code is the responsibility of the property lessee on First Nations lands.

• WorkSafeBC inspectors and British Columbia Safety Authority (BCSA) safety officers are not qualified nor mandated to conduct Fire Code inspections.

• WorkSafeBC has the mandate under the Workers Compensation Act to, among other things, conduct inspections of workplaces by an occupational safety or hygiene officer. The officer will leave an Inspection Report (IR) which is an official record of the visit and details the findings of the worksite visit. It also lists any orders or penalties for violations of the Workers Compensation Act or Occupational Health and Safety Regulation that result from the visit.

• BCSA has the mandate under the Safety Standards Act to conduct assessments of technical equipment. Safety officers issue Certificates of Inspection which document matters of non-compliance requiring corrective action.

For More Information:

Contact:

Media Relations
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training
250 356-8177