Office of the Fire Marshal Emergency Building Measures A Guide to Strengthen Emergency Management of High-Rise and High-Risk Buildings

2. Background

What is an emergency?

Under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, an emergency is defined as:

“a situation or an impending situation that constitutes a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property and that is caused by the forces of nature, a disease or other health risk, an accident or an act whether intentional or otherwise.”

Numerous events can be “emergencies”, including:

• fire/explosion
• hazardous materials incident
• flood or flash flood
• severe weather (hurricane, tornado, winter storm)
• earthquake
• radiological accident
• criminal activity
• airplane crash

In Ontario, Emergency Management Ontario, a division of the Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services, is responsible for emergency management programs for the Government of Ontario.

Elected heads of council (municipalities and First Nations) are responsible for ensuring emergency management plans and programs exist within their jurisdictions. When emergencies do happen, most are dealt with routinely at the community level by local first response organizations, including police, fire and ambulances services and public works.

What services do local emergency responders provide?

Services provided by local emergency responders are determined by the community government that employs them. Developing emergency plans for buildings is not normally included. It is the responsibility of the building owner/manager to determine the type of emergency plans needed for a particular building and to assign staff or hire consultants to develop their plans.

Fire safety plans that are required by the Ontario Fire Code must be approved by the Chief Fire Official. Plans for other types of emergencies do not require approval. However, building owners/managers may wish to consult with their local fire department and other emergency responders to ensure that their plans are compatible.

What is emergency management?

Emergency management is the on-going process of preparing for, responding to and recovering from any unplanned events that could have a negative effect on your organization.

Although planning is a critical first step, it must be followed by training, drills and regular tests of building safety features and equipment. It is also important that your emergency plans be co-coordinated with those of your community.

Building owners and managers are responsible for ensuring public safety within their buildings in response to all types of risks and occurrences. This guide provides step-by-step advice on how to develop and maintain an Emergency Plan for a variety of incidents or disasters.

Successful emergency management must have the support of upper management. The owner, chief executive officer, building manager or plant manager establishes the importance of the process by instructing management to perform the necessary planning and associated activities to create an effective emergency plan.

It is easier obtaining support for emergency management activities if the benefits of being prepared are stressed rather than the consequences of an emergency (e.g. deaths, injuries, financial loss). For example, effective emergency management:

• can reduce damage to a building and/or equipment, allowing the company to recover faster
• assists in compliance with health and safety related requirements
• helps to show the organization showed “due diligence” and may reduce exposure to civil or criminal liability in the event of an incident
• helps convey the image that the organization is a concerned “citizen” of the community.

What are the key steps in establishing an Emergency Plan?

There are five main steps in establishing an Emergency Plan:

Step 1 -- Establish an Emergency Management Team
Step 2 -- Analyze Risks and Response Capabilities
Step 3 -- Develop the Plan
Step 4 -- Provide Training and Exercise the Plan
Step 5 -- Test, Evaluate and Modify the Plan

Details on each of these steps can be found in the Developing an Emergency Plan section of this site.

Regardless of plans developed for specific occupancies, building owners/managers and occupants must clearly understand that their safety depends on knowing and understanding their roles within the plans and appropriate actions to be taken during an emergency or drill.