Level of Service Standards for Fire Protection Services

Ineligible expenditures under Capital Facilities Management Program

While First Nations may choose to deliver the following specialized services, they are outside of CFMP's mandate^{Footnote 6} for funding and therefore not eligible for CFMP funding:

• Emergency management response and training for natural disasters^{Footnote 7}, the Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP) may provide funding for training related to natural disasters
• Fire service to third parties, for example, any service off reserve, or to on reserve lessees, non-First Nations interests, or to for profit enterprises
• Forest and grass fire response requiring specialized training and advance registration with provincial bodies
  • Please note: Wildland-urban interface equipment and training is eligible for funding under CFMP authorities
  • Please note: In the case of advanced registration with provincial bodies, the province, through the appropriate department, enters into agreements with fire services to assist in the extinguishing of forest fires. The department is paid an agreed upon rate for fire protection services related to wildland firefighting. First Nations may enter into these types of agreements with the appropriate provincial department, for example, in Ontario, this type of agreement is called Fire Department Fire Protection Services Agreement
  • Please note: As per NFPA 1710 – A semi-urban fire is within 150 metres of infrastructure. However, if the fire is more than 150 metres from infrastructure then it is considered a forest fire
• Medical emergency response^{Footnote 8} requiring First Responder training and registration with provincial bodies
• Motor vehicle accident response requiring specialized equipment, training and registration with provincial bodies
• Search and rescue^{Footnote 9} activities and training, for example, high alpine, water

For a complete list of the infrastructure and activities related to fire protection that are covered under this directive, please refer to the Transfer Payment Program Terms and Conditions: Contributions to Support the Construction and Maintenance of Community Infrastructure.

First Nations and band councils

First Nations are the owners and operators of community infrastructure on reserve. First Nations that receive funding from ISC through the CFMP must plan for the provision of fire protection services for the community. First Nations may establish their own fire departments or contract fire protection services from nearby communities through the establishment of a municipal-type service agreement.

In addition, they are responsible for:

• ensuring fire prevention awareness information and programs are delivered in their communities
• prioritizing spending to meet the needs of their communities, including fire protection services
• ensuring that fire assets are maintained in operating condition. Operation and maintenance funding is provided under the CFMP
• ensuring that fire protection infrastructure is designed, constructed, maintained, and operated in accordance with the relevant standards, protocols and guidelines
• ensuring that operators and firefighting personnel are certified to the appropriate level for the services provided, and adhere to relevant National, Provincial and Territorial Occupational Health and Safety standards
• Financially contribute to the operation and maintenance costs of their fire services, facilities, vehicles, equipment and systems in accordance with the ISC policy directive on operation and maintenance, see appendix C
• adhering to the Protocol for ISC-Funded Infrastructure, which includes building and fire codes
• ensuring working smoke alarms and smoke detectors^{Footnote 10} are in all band-owned houses, community buildings and supporting their use in other dwellings in the community. Establishing of programs and policies to support regular annual smoke detector verification^{Footnote 11} and replacement. Funding is available for First Nations to support the purchase of this equipment for public access buildings and homes

Communities that track fire events are better able to identify fire protection needs and define funding requests based on the type, number and costs associated with fires in the community. Incident reporting would include information about the event including what is listed below:

• number of fires
• type of fires
• location of the fires
• number of people injured or fire-related deaths
• number of buildings damaged or destroyed

Incident reporting enables fire departments to learn from each incident to improve fire response times and effectiveness while helping to prevent future incidents. This information should be recorded and reported to ISC on the triannual E-ACRS Fire Protection Questionnaire. First Nations communities can request copies of this data through writing to Fire-Protection-Incendie@sac-isc.gc.ca. Fire incident reports should also be registered in the respective provincial fire commissioner's office and can also be reported to the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council's National Incident Reporting System.

Home and business owners

Private home and business owners on reserve are responsible for fire prevention, including the installation and maintenance of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Business owners are also responsible for provision of fire extinguishers.

Provinces

On invitation of the First Nation, provincial fire marshals and commissioners should provide fire investigation services to First Nations and make recommendations on how to prevent them. Provincial fire investigation services may also be undertaken at the request of a coroner or police authority in the case of a death or criminal investigation.

ISC

Officials support First Nations with accessing funding for the provision of fire protection services for residential and ISC funded public-access buildings or assets on reserve.

ISC officials will use the tiered approach, such as prioritizing support to First Nations for activities such as community fire prevention, code compliance and education programs in providing funding assistance through the CFMP to First Nations for fire protection on reserve. ISC officials should work collaboratively with First Nations to support them in reaching the highest achievable level of fire protection, subject to funding availability, within the Level of Service Standards to reduce the risk of fire-related deaths, injuries and loss of critical infrastructure on reserve.

ISC officials will provide recipients with assistance regarding funding criteria as outlined in this policy directive and the Level of Service Standards found in ISC Level of Service Standards for Fire Protection Services.

ISC may support the efforts of partner organizations in fire protection initiatives.

Other parties

There are regional and technical First Nations organizations as well as national fire partners that may provide advice and support to First Nations governments in developing and delivering fire protection services on request by First Nations.

• Circuit Rider Training Program (Quebec)
• First Nations' Emergency Services Society (British Columbia)
• First Nations Technical Services Advisory Group Inc. (Alberta)
• National Indigenous Fire Safety Council
• Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation
• Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management
• Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology (SIIT)

Similarly, provincial or national agencies or organizations may also play a role, for example in the certification of firefighter personnel and provision of fire investigation services.

First Nations may also enter into municipal type service agreements or mutual aid, mutual response agreements with municipalities which have associated roles and responsibilities as set out in the agreement.

Continuum of services model

The Continuum of services model supports a range of funding options for providing fire protection services in First Nation communities. The model is based on three tiers of increasing investment in fire protection. The continuum starts with investments for fire prevention and educational programming, then investments in firefighting capacity and training and finally investments in capital and equipment. First Nations should meet the requirements at each tier prior to moving to the next tier of funding.

As such, ISC will support a continuum of services that is built on a tiered foundation of investment for fire protection. This continuum, and its associated scope and categories of service including community-level capacity, are outlined in the Technical Guidance for Fire Protection Assets, Tier 3 sample capital investments section.

Tier 3

Capital investments is the highest funding level for fire service provided by ISC. At this funding level, First Nations are expected to have met all the requirements of tier 1 and tier 2. This tier provides capital investments toward fire protection infrastructure or equipment dependent on clearly identified risks and requirements.

• Communities are serviced solely by a fire department or a combination of a fire department and partial municipal type service agreements

Tier 3 funding aims to enhance the fire department capacity and preparedness through capital investments in infrastructure and equipment. This is intended to assist First Nations in the planning, design, construction, repair, renovation and replacement of fire infrastructure. It is focused on fire services inclusive of individual home fire safety, public and community fire safety governance and an operational fire department.

Capital project proposals for fire infrastructure and equipment remain subject funding availability and the Department's National Priority Ranking Framework and overall infrastructure planning process. Additional funding may be available through programs such as Canadian Core Capabilities List for Emergency Management (CCCL), Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) or Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP), although these are not subject to the Level of Service Standards updates.

The National Priority Ranking Framework's priorities are defined by the following program activity categories:

• Protection of health and safety as well as assets and asset management, for example, assets require upgrading or replacement to meet appropriate standards
• Health and safety improvements, for example, upgrades of existing assets, new construction or acquisition projects to mitigate an identified significant risk to health and safety
• Recapitalization or major maintenance, for example, extend the useful operating life of a facility or asset, or maintain the original service level of the asset
• Examples:
  • Adding or expanding additional bays to an existing fire hall to house additional, or larger, fire apparatus, mobile water supplies and other fire protection-related apparatus and equipment
  • Adding an additional fire hall due to geographic distances between the communities, which can justify the needs for 2 or more fire halls as well as population and housing growth requirements
  • Including a feasibility report, adding a fire hall to the FNIIP and going through the capital funding process

Population and community growth projections, for example, anticipated community growth requiring new housing, roads, schools, community buildings:

• Communities need to plan fire halls not only for the present, but for 20 to 30 years into the future to account for change in their communities, such as growth and increased geographic distances within a First Nation
  • For example, please see NFPA 1300, Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development
• When designing a fire hall and determining the number firefighters required, NFPA 1710 and NFPA 1720^{Footnote 20} should be utilized in accordance with provincial standards as it includes the minimum number for firefighters to be effective as their availability for responses
  • For example, a target of a minimum of 4 trained in basic exterior attack and equipped firefighters available to respond 80% of the time with an adequately designed and maintained initial attack apparatus^{Footnote 21}
• When establishing a fire department, communities should determine what type of fire protection services they are going to provide, such as:
  • full-service fire protection^{Footnote 22}
  • mission, structure and organization of the fire department
  • responsibilities, task limits, for example, exterior or interior attack and special powers of the fire department
  • emergency management responses
  • fire prevention regulations
  • fee schedules for services not covered by CFMP

The First Nations Fire Protection Strategy (FNFPS), 2023 to 2028^{Footnote 23} outlines priorities and specific goals under the 6 pillars, some of which are supported through the ISC Level of Service Standards for Fire Protection Services that are critical to the reduction of structural fire-related risk and losses.

Fire prevention education

• Tier 1 of the Level of Service Standards supports the FNFPS through:
  • Individual home fire safety and awareness
    • Residential fire preparedness: National Fire Protection Association safety tip sheets^{Footnote 24},
    • Wildland urban interface preparedness: FireSmart^{Footnote 25}
  • Public and community fire safety and prevention. National Fire Prevention Association safety tip sheets and FireSmart measures should be utilized
  • As the authority having jurisdiction, chief and council should identify and designate a person to ensure fire prevention and education are in place in the community

Community standards

• Tier 2 of the Level of Service Standards supports the FNFPS through:
  • Supporting building and fire code compliance
    • Band Council Resolutions and by-laws are existing mechanisms that communities can utilize to support building and fire code compliance
  • Updating and maintaining smoke alarms to provincial and national standards:
    • New homes should be constructed with hard-wired smoke and carbon monoxide alarms as per the National Building Code or the relevant provincial building code
    • Battery-operated smoke and carbon monoxide alarms should be installed and maintained in every existing home
    • Develop a program to provide installation services to ensure that they are properly installed and up to provincial and national standards
    • Community programs should be created to verify that there is a working smoke alarm in every home near every sleeping area every year Communities should self-assess and strive for 100% compliance

Fire service operational standards

• Tier 3 of the Level of Service Standards supports the FNFPS through:
  • fire department coverage and capacity and preparedness, if available
    • Fire department should be in accordance with the relevant provincial standards as well as NFPA 1710 and NFPA 1720
  • firefighter training

Fire flows, piped and alternative water supply

The Level of Service Standards for Fire Protection Services is primarily concerned with levels of pressure available at the water sources such as fire hydrants. The piped water supply systems to provide required fire flows will be established by a qualified professional or specialist who will establish water flow requirements based on fire loads and site conditions. Fire flow will be integrated with domestic and commercial flow requirements where feasible and without compromise to water potability as recommended by the qualified professionals or specialists. A fire service assessment will determine required fire flow, which may be defined by NFPA 1142^{Footnote 55} or Fire Underwriter Survey Water Supply for Public Fire Protection in Canada requirements or other authorities have jurisdiction.

• NFPA 1142^{Footnote 56} 1.2 Purpose: The purpose of this standard is to assist the authority having jurisdiction to establish the minimum water supply necessary for structural firefighting purposes in those areas where it has been determined that there is no water or inadequate water for firefighting
• NFPA 291^{Footnote 57} 4.2.2: It is generally recommended that a minimum residual of 20 psi, 1.4 bar, should be maintained at hydrants when delivering the fire flow

If fire flows utilizing piped water supplies do not meet the needs of the community then alternative water supplies should be considered. Alternative water supplies can include dry hydrants, suction points, large-diameter hose relays, cisterns and hauled water using tanker shuttles^{Footnote 58}.

Fire vehicles

Motorized water delivery and fire pumpers are to meet standards as described below. The type, weight and capacity of fire vehicles, the water supply system, for example, size, type and condition of piping and the transportation infrastructures, for example, roads and bridges to carry weight, must be compatible and in accordance with federal and provincial laws and regulations. All fire apparatus must meet the requirements and undergo annual testing in accordance with CAN/ULC-S515, Motorized Firefighting Equipment and be registered as emergency vehicles in accordance with the relevant provincial laws and regulations.

A well-maintained apparatus can last decades the following information is used in insurance grading and should solely determine the replacement age of apparatus. To support the highest level of fire insurance grading, frontline fire apparatus should be replaced on a schedule of every 20 years. If the apparatus is in excellent condition, well maintained and all test results are positive, then the recognition for fire insurance grading can be extended by submitting a request to Fire Underwriters Survey. The request should indicate the requested extension time frame and include evidence of all maintenance and test results. No extensions beyond 30 years will be granted by FUS with respect to fire insurance grading.

Fire vehicles sizes

Firefighting apparatus^{Footnote 60} and mobile water supply apparatus will be of a capacity and design to conform to standards adopted by the Authority having jurisdiction using applicable ULC S515^{Footnote 61} or NFPA standards such as 1901, 1906 and 1911. In addition, all fire apparatus should have the firefighting capacity to pump water from its own reservoir, draft water from a source and increase water pressure from a source such as a hydrant or to a source such as a building sprinkler system. Fire trucks must suit local conditions and requirements in accordance with the following allowable standards^{Footnote 62}:

Triple combination pumper^{Footnote 63}

• 4 x 2 (2-wheel drive) or 4 x 4 (4-wheel drive)
• Gross vehicle weight rating:
  • 6,550 to 15,896 kg (14,000 to 35,000 lbs)
• Pump rating: Average 2,841 litres per minute (LPM) (625 Gallons per minute (GPM))
  • Firefighting pump rated at 2,000 to 5,000 LPM (440 to 1,100 GPM)
• Water tank capacity: Minimum 2,273 L (500 Gallon) tank
  • Water tank capacity: 2,279 to 9,092 litres (500 to 2,000 gallons)

Mini pumper^{Footnote 64}

• Truck with either 4 x 2 (2-wheel drive) or 4 x 4 wheel drive (4-wheel drive)
• Gross vehicle weight rating:
  • 4,889 to 15,876 kg (11,000 to 13,000 lbs)
• Fire fighting pump rated at 1,909 LPM (420 GPM)
• Water tank capacity: Minimum 1,135.62 L (300 gallons)
  • 1,135.62L to 1,892.71 litres (300 to 500 gallons)

Wildland urban interface truck^{Footnote 65}

• Fire Truck 4 x 4 (4-wheel drive)
• Gross vehicle weight rating:
  • 4,491 to 8,164kg (14,000 to 18,000 lbs)
• Fire fighting pump rated at 1,909 LPM (420 GPM)
• Water tank capacity: Minimum 1,363 litres (300 gallon) tank
  • 1,363 to 2,271.25 litres (300-600 gallons)

Tanker truck:^{Footnote 66} Water delivery or fire fighting body

• Truck 4 x 2 (2-wheel drive) or 4 x 4 wheel drive (4-wheel drive)
• Gross vehicle weight rating:
  • 18,597 to 33,565 kg (41,000 to 74,000 lbs)
• Water tank capacity:
  • 7,570 to 15,141 liters (2,000 to 4,000 gallons)
• Examples of possible features:
  • Protective interior coating
  • 5 spray heads
  • PTO driven pump
  • Storage and hose reels
  • Top, hydrant and reservoir filling capability
  • Stainless steel tanks

Fire hall accommodation

Capital funds, subject to availability and departmental priorities, may be provided for the construction or acquisition of fire halls or acceptable multifunction infrastructure at an acceptable level of service as determined by the following criteria and conditions:

• a site survey has been completed by a qualified professional or specialist identifying fire protection requirements and fire hall needs
• the First Nation has, or shortly will have, at least 1 fire apparatus
• the First Nation has an active fire department:
  • There should be a minimum of 4 firefighters whose primary functions are to pump and deliver water and perform basic firefighting at fires at each fire hall^{Footnote 67}
• firefighting services that meet the needs of the community are not available or practically provided through an adjacent region, municipality or fire district through a mutual-type service agreement
• all of the other conditions of the Capital Facilities Management Program are met

Construction of new fire halls^{Footnote 68} and the upgrading of existing buildings shall comply with the protocol for ISC funded Infrastructure.

Fire hall space is for the exclusive use of fire trucks, firefighter apparatus and equipment and associated firefighting activity.

A fire hall may be a free-standing structure or a dedicated portion of another building such as a public works building. Fire halls may also be integrated with police, ambulance and emergency preparedness facilities.

ISC supports are intended only the fire station portion of integrated building:

• The design must meet the required specifications for the community and its size
• O and M funding would support only the area the fire hall covers not the whole multipurpose building

Where the fire hall is part of an existing or proposed multipurpose building, the fire hall portion will be constructed so as to enable it to be isolated from other functions. In such cases, financial assistance will be calculated on the basis outlined below. Fire hall space eligible for financial assistance is as follows:

• Fire trucks: the number of fire trucks should be aligned with the feasibility study or community risk assessment:
  • Standard length of a fire truck, for example, triple combination pumper: 17.06 to 19.2 meters (56 to 63 feet)^{Footnote 69}
• Each additional fire truck should be aligned with the feasibility study or community risk assessment:
  • Doors should be a minimum of 4.26 metres (14 feet) wide and a height of 4.26 to 4.87 metres (14 to 16 feet) tall
  • There should be at least following amount of space around fire trucks in the fire bay as follows:
    • large fire truck: 2.5 metres
    • medium fire truck: 2.25 metres
    • small fire truck: 2.0 metres
• To reduce the risk of cancer to firefighters, new and retrofitted fire halls should have decontamination spaces to reduce the possibility of exposure to cancer-causing contaminants throughout the fire hall
• the fire hall space requirements should be based on current and future community needs and reviewed periodically
• specifications that expand the use of the building for services other than fire protection may be considered on a case-by-case basis

Personal protective equipment^{Footnote 70}

Fire departments or brigades should maintain the appropriate amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) for firefighters and ensure that it is up to required safety standards. PPE compatible with Workers' Compensation Board regulations, National Fire Prevention Assessment standards, for example, NFPA 1971, NFPA 1977 or acceptable to the province or authority having jurisdiction, is eligible for funding.

Examples of PPE or bunker gear:

• Turnout coat and pant
• Turnout gear undergarments
• Protective headwear
• Fire helmets, protective hoods, respiratory masks, hearing and eye protection
• Firefighter structural firefighting boots
• Firefighter gloves
• Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)

PPE should be replaced every 10 years^{Footnote 71} or if it becomes damaged or irreparable as per NFPA 1851.

Firefighting equipment^{Footnote 72}

Equipment and tools: Fire hoses, fire hose nozzles, ladders, pike poles, tarpaulins, self-contained breathing apparatus, self-contained breathing apparatus filling stations in remote communities, fire extinguisher filling stations in remote communities, various hand tools, forcible entry tools, defibrillators, drones^{Footnote 73} and any such other equipment required to fully equip a fire truck is eligible for funding based on a review of requirements, including tool maintenance schedules.

Fire department emergency communication system^{Footnote 74}: The provision of a fire department emergency communication system in both new and existing fire halls will be subject to an assessment of requirements and it will be compatible with existing systems in the area, including mobile and portable equipment.

• In case of communities that do not have access to 911 emergency dispatch service, then a communications system for the community should be implemented

Storage tanks^{Footnote 75}: Water storage facilities will meet household use and fire service demands as required. Sizing of storage should consider the required fire flows and minimum durations defined in the Fire Underwriters Survey guideline: Water Supply for Public Fire Protection in Canada (PDF) or in Quebec, NFPA 1142 and Directive 001 – Captage et distribution de l'eau du Québec (not available in English).

The design and location of storage tanks will be determined by applicable engineered standards who will consider such factors as the nature of the combustible materials, life hazard, fire frequency, climatic conditions, demography, geology and water source, adequacy and reliability of supply. Considering water redundancy such as underground tanks or tank trucks where the network capacity is insufficient is a best practice.

Fire hydrants^{Footnote 76} and fire boxes: The process of locating and spacing fire hydrants shall be determined from required fire flow, water system infrastructure, engineering studies, National Fire Prevention Assessment standards and Fire Underwriters Survey guideline: Water Supply for Public Fire Protection in Canada (PDF) or in Quebec, NFPA 1142 and Directive 001 – Captage et distribution de l'eau du Québec (not available in English).

• Fire boxes include basic firefighting equipment, such as a supply of hoses, nozzles, couplings, wrenches and tools, that allow volunteers to use for an initial rapid response to fires

Firefighter training and retention and fire protection officers

Appendix A: Enquiries

This document may evolve based on feedback from users and other stakeholders. Comments on the document and questions on departmental policy on which this document is based may be forwarded to Fire-Protection-Incendie@sac-isc.gc.ca.

Appendix B: Related policies, directives and tools

Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program Management Control Framework

• Contributions to Support the Construction and Maintenance of Community Infrastructure
• Fire Education and Prevention (ISC)
• ISC's Corporate Manual System – Capital Facilities and Maintenance – Operations and Maintenance
• Protocol for ISC Funded Infrastructure

Appendix C: Glossary

Appendix C provides a list of terms used throughout the Level of Service Standards.

Authority having jurisdiction^{Footnote 84}: Local government has the authority to determine standards when not defined by legislated or adopted codes, for example, the governmental body, such as, chief and council or tribal council is responsible for the enforcement of any part of this code. The official or the agency designated by that body to provide fire protection services can also exercise such a function.

Community risk assessment^{Footnote 85} (CRA): A comprehensive review and formally reported assessment of the physical assets and activities carried out to understand a community's risk and its capabilities to respond to a fire incident. In addition, the CRA will utilize local, regional, provincial and national statistics that will be used to target effective measures to reduce the loss of life, number of injuries, loss of buildings, personal property and jobs. This qualitative or quantitative evaluation of the measures designed to minimize, both direct and indirect, losses due to fire and is intended to strengthen a community's overall fire protection and provide more than one recommendation, allowing the chief and council to choose the best option for their communities and further improve fire services. A CRA^{Footnote 86} will accomplish the following:

• Identify specific risks affecting a community
• Locate hidden, hard-to-reach or underserved population
• Identify high-risk occupancies, populations, behaviours and neighbourhoods
• Build a foundation for the development of goals, objectives and strategies

Community risk reduction plan^{Footnote 87} (CRRP): The CRRP will provide a technical review and assessment of a First Nation community's risk, mitigation and ability to prepare for and respond to a fire incident. In addition, the community should compile statistics on the number of fires, severity, number of injuries and deaths to develop incident reduction strategies. A part of the CRRP should include an option or the opportunity to implement the plan in stages, which would allow the First Nation to choose the option best suited for the community. An integral component of a CRRP is the 5 E's framework: engineering, enforcement, education, economic incentives, and emergency response, and asks the following questions:

• Are there engineering or technology solutions that could help?
• Is stronger enforcement required?
• Would educating the public help? If so, who, what, when, how?
• Could economic incentives improve compliance and/or raise awareness?
• Would changes in emergency response protocols help?^{Footnote 88}

Continuum of services model: The approach taken by ISC, and described in the Level of Service Standards, to fund fire protection services, annex B. The Level of Service Standards' goal is to support the First Nations Fire Protection Strategy, 2023 to 2028 by supporting a decrease in the national rate of First Nations fire incidents, improve fire response time and address deficient infrastructure issues that impede emergency response on reserve. The continuum has 3 tiers. The first tier is investment in fire prevention and fire education programming. The second tier is investment in capacity development, training and effective operation and maintenance of fire protection equipment. The third tier is investment in capital towards fire protection infrastructure or equipment. First Nations should meet the requirements at each tier to move to the next tier of funding. This tiered funding approach increases support to a community based on its ability to deliver services at each tier.

Extended - Asset Condition Reporting System (E-ACRS): The periodic assessment of ISC-funded buildings and assets, including vehicles, to identify current conditions and recommend any improvements needed maintain the operation and maintenance of the assets so they will maintain their expected level of service and reach their expected life.

Fire department: The department of a First Nation, local or municipal authority in charge of preventing and fighting fires.

Fire protection assets: Procurement of assets that support firefighting on reserve, such as fire halls, fire trucks, fire boxes have to conform to the Protocol for ISC Funded Infrastructure, for example, the listing of statutes, regulations, policies, codes, directives, standards, protocols, specifications, guidelines and procedures applicable under the Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program.

Fire inspection services: The examination of ISC funded public-access buildings or assets, including vehicles, as part of ISC's overarching Extended – Asset Condition Reporting System (E-ACRS) inspection regime to determine if the construction as well as maintenance and operation conform to the Protocol for ISC Funded Infrastructure, for example, the listing of statutes, regulations, policies, codes, directives, standards, protocols, specifications, guidelines and procedures applicable under the Capital Facilities Management Program. These services are further enhanced through adherence to the National Building Code and National Fire Codes as well as the Fire Protection Questionnaire, which is now included in E-ACRS.

Fire investigation: Sometimes referred to as origin and cause investigations, they are the analysis of fire-related incidents. After a fire is extinguished, an investigation can launched by the authority having jurisdiction or at the request of the coroner or police authority to determine the origin and cause of the incident^{Footnote 89}. These are often conducted by provincial fire marshals or commissioners.

Fire Protection Officer (FPO): Duties could include:

• examining buildings to detect fire hazards and ensure that fire codes are met
• commissioning, installing and maintaining fire protection systems and equipment in buildings and other facilities
• performing fire inspections, investigations, education and training
• planning and managing fire department resources, such as personnel, financial and equipment

In addition, they can also prepare written reports and communications as well as plan, implement and evaluate fire department training and prevention programs. The FPO acts within the framework of the fire department's mission and is defined by a Band Council Resolution on the role, responsibilities and powers of the position.

Fire protection services: The protection of life and the safety of people and property for example, First Nation residences and common and utility buildings, as well residential areas dedicated and servicing solely band members, from fire, including everything relating to:

• CRRP developed from a CRA and related programs to reduce, mitigate or eliminate the community's risk
• Prevention of fire through public education, fire life safety initiatives, inspections, code enforcement, training, and awareness campaigns. It has been proven that fire prevention substantially reduces loss of life
• Suppression of fire using apparatus or infrastructure, such as fire departments to decrease the national rate of First Nations fire incidents resulting in loss of life and loss of property

Fire safety plan: Documentation that provides information on the alarms, transmission of alarms, response to alarms, evacuation of immediate area, evacuation of smoke compartment, preparation of floors and buildings for evacuation and extinguishment of fire. The building fire safety plan shall include emergency and evacuation procedures to be used in case of fire, including sounding the fire alarm, notifying the fire department, instructing occupants on procedures to be followed when the fire alarm sounds, evacuating endangered occupants, including special provisions for the disabled, confining, controlling and extinguishing a fire and the time required to complete evacuation.

Fire services assessment: An assessment of current fire service capacity by a qualified subject matter expert. See community risk assessments for additional information, which includes fire services assessments. The following standards address fire services assessments NFPA 1500, NFPA 1710 and NFPA 1720.

Fire Service unit: A fire protection team comprised of professional or volunteer firefighters and administrative personnel appointed by the authority having jurisdiction or the chief and council to undertake fire protection activities.

Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS): An organization operated by Opta Information Intelligence that rates public fire protection service levels for Canadian communities and publishes the results in the Canadian Fire Insurance Grading Index for use by insurers in determining property insurance rates. Information for Canadian communities is available in the FUS portal.

Incident reporting^{Footnote 90}: All fires that cause damage to property, injuries or fatalities, or which require fire department resources to suppress should be reported. This data should be entered into E-ACRS, keep notes on incidences that include injuries or deaths, property damage as well as the investigation report. Include this information on E-ACRS submissions and NIFSC's National Incident Reporting System (NIRS). Examples include, but are not limited to:

Integrated Capital Management System (ICMS): The database of record for the Capital Facilities and Maintenance program is the Integrated Capital Management System.

Structural firefighting, interior and exterior attack^{Footnote 91}: It is a comprehensive firefighting strategy utilized when responding to fires in buildings or structures. This approach integrates various tactics, both inside and outside the structure, to efficiently suppress the fire while prioritizing the safety of occupants and firefighters. It is important to note that before interior and exterior attack, a size up must be completed to analyze the incident scene.

Exterior Attack activities may include:

• Deploy resources: Position apparatus and equipment strategically around the building
• Apply water: Direct streams of water or suppression agents into the structure through openings
• Ventilate: Release heat and smoke from the structure to improve visibility and reduce interior temperatures
• Protect exposures: Prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent structures or areas
• Complete fire watch: Apply agent to the structure should it re-ignite post completion of initial attack and suppression completion

Interior Attack activities may include:

• Enter and advance hose lines: Move into the building with charged hoses
• Suppress the fire: Apply water or suppression agents to extinguish flames
• Search and rescue: Systematically search for and rescue occupants
• Provide medical aid: Assist and remove occupants, providing medical aid as needed
• Overhaul: Searching for fire extension, removing parts of the structure to find hidden heat
• Salvage: Attempt to save any items within the house from further water and fire damage

Subject matter expert: An individual with the required certification, proof of certification from the relevant authority and a curriculum vitae with references are recommended, professional experience and related knowledge to perform relevant reviews, inspections or analysis required for the community.