FIRE SERVICES AGREEMENT
The full legal text of the multi-jurisdictional agreement for the provision of fire and emergency resources.
FIRE SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS Agreement is made as of the ___ day of ___, 2016,
BETWEEN:
THE CORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF CENTRAL SAANICH 1903 Mount Newton Cross Road Victoria, B.C. V8M 2A9
(Hereinafter called "Party")
AND:
THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT 1229 Esquimalt Road Victoria, B.C. V9A 3P1
(Hereinafter called "Party")
THE CORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF SAANICH 770 Vernon Avenue Victoria, B.C. V8X 2W7
(Hereinafter called "Party")
THE CORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF OAK BAY 2167 Oak Bay Avenue Victoria, B.C. V8R 1G2
(Hereinafter called "Party")
THE TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL 45 View Royal Avenue Victoria, B.C. V9B 1A6
(Hereinafter called "Party")
WHEREAS each of the above municipal fire departments are responsible to maintain their own firefighting equipment and personnel.
AND WHEREAS each of the above municipal fire departments shall consider it to be beneficial to co-operate in the fighting of fires and in the performance at other emergency incidents.
AND WHEREAS each of the above municipal fire departments shall make available the necessary resources to fulfill the obligations of this Agreement.
AND WHEREAS each of the above municipal fire departments shall be committed to demonstrating equity through the reasonable commitment, and the distribution of resources within their jurisdiction to ensure that no participant unfairly benefits at the expense of the other participants.
AND WHEREAS the Parties acknowledge that, while the underpinning of this Agreement is to provide mutual benefit and equitable sharing of fire services between the Parties by way of cost neutrality, this will not preclude a responding Party from bringing forward for discussion purposes or consideration of the requesting Party, any extraordinary staffing or related costs incurred to maintain its own fire protection and emergency response capability while providing service within a requesting Party's jurisdiction.
AND WHEREAS the goal of the Fire Service Agreement is to provide service to enhance the level of life safety and property protection available to citizens in the participating jurisdictions.
AND WHEREAS the goal of the Agreement is to ensure that available resources from one jurisdiction are used to complement a neighbouring jurisdiction's ability to provide appropriate levels of fire and emergency-related response resources in a timely manner.
NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the mutual agreements contained herein, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows:
DEFINITIONS:
- In this Agreement, including in the recitals hereto, the following capitalized terms shall have the following respective meanings: a) "Agreement" means this agreement, including the recitals, as the same may be amended from time to time by the Parties and references to sections or subsections, means sections or subsections of this agreement; b) "Assistance" means the provision of resources by a party to another party to respond to an emergency incident, class of event or category of event as determined by the Fire Services Committee; c) "Fire Chief" means the Fire Chief or delegate of any of the Fire Departments; d) "Dispatch Centre" means Saanich Fire Dispatch, or any entity or organization replacing or succeeding the same; e) "Officer in Charge" means the individual in charge of a Resources. f) "Parties" means, collectively, The Corporation of the District of Central Saanich, The Corporation of the Township of Esquimalt, The Corporation of the District of Saanich, The Corporation of the District of Oak Bay and The Town of View Royal and "Party" means any one of them; g) "Providing Party" means a Fire Department providing resources in response to a request to assist another Fire Department; h) "Requesting Party" means the Fire Department requesting assistance from another Fire Department; i) "Resources" means all personnel and equipment that are available or potentially available, for assignment to incidents to which the emergency services organizations responds to deliver emergency services, including rescue, fire suppression, emergency medical care, and other forms of hazard control and mitigation. j) "Workers Compensation Board Claim" means any claim by or on behalf of any Firefighter in relation to a workplace injury or death suffered in connection with any response.
TERM AND TERMINATION
- This Agreement shall have an initial term of five years, and shall renew automatically for five year terms unless terminated in accordance to section 3.
- A Party may terminate its participation in this Agreement at any time after the initial term of this Agreement, by giving not less than six months' notice in writing to the other Parties.
GENERAL PROVISIONS:
- Each party agrees to provide such resources to a requesting party as are available at the time of the request.
- No remuneration or compensation is payable by either Party to any other Party for the assistance rendered to its fire department pursuant to this Agreement.
- This Agreement is complementary and does not restrict any Party to participate in any other Fire Service, Mutual Aid, Automatic Aid or Memorandum of Understanding.
- Each Party shall use Incident Command System (ICS) and British Columbia Emergency Management (BCEMS) principles while providing Assistance to a Requesting Party. Upon arrival of the authority having jurisdiction a transfer of command may occur.
- If, in the opinion of the Officer in Charge of the Providing Party, the safety of their Fire Fighting personnel is a concern, or good firefighting practices are not applied, the Officer in Charge of the Providing Party shall have sole discretion as to the utilization and deployment of their Resources.
- Resources supplied by a Providing Party pursuant to this Agreement may be recalled at any time when the Fire Chief of the Providing Party has determined in his or her sole discretion that the Resources are required in the Providing Party's area of jurisdiction.
- As soon as the emergency has been brought under control, Resources supplied for assistance under this Agreement shall be released as soon as possible.
- Each Party shall have the right to use the closest water supply to a fire, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the fire is located, if the factors of time, life and safety warrant.
- Participating Parties while providing assistance to a Requesting Party will meet or exceed the training requirements for a Full Service Department in accordance to the Office of the Fire Commissioner "Structure Firefighter Competency and Training Playbook" (current edition).
- The Requesting Party upon request by the Providing Party(s) will provide replacement of any extra-ordinary consumables, reimbursement for deductibles or repair any damages to equipment that may result while providing Assistance.
FIRE SERVICES COMMITTEE:
- The Parties shall establish a Fire Services Committee, which shall be composed of the Fire Chiefs (or their respective designates) of the Parties. The Committee shall be entitled to request assistance from other Firefighters within the Fire Departments, or representatives from the Dispatch Centre, as it considers necessary or appropriate, for the purposes of addressing any issue before it. The Fire Services Committee shall operate on a consensus basis for issues that affect all Parties.
- The Fire Services Committee shall be responsible for establishing the operational policies and guidelines for fire and emergency response activations, including: a) identifying what constitutes an Emergency Incident; b) identifying the appropriate type of response that may include but is not limited to Mutual Aid, Automatic Aid, Predetermined Alarm Levels, Closest truck response models. c) recommending the appropriate responses from the Requesting Party and Responding Parties to Emergency Incidents; d) expanding or limiting the coverage area for emergency responses; e) establishing the necessary Uniform Operational Guidelines to cover responses; f) working with the Dispatch Centre to ensure appropriate dispatching of Emergency Incidents; g) setting training standards and requirements, including a reliable method for rapidly identifying the training levels of personnel from each of the Responding Departments; h) establishing or confirming communication protocols at the scenes of Emergency Incidents; i) recommending revisions to the governing bylaws of each Fire Department to ensure that the objects of this Agreement can be fully realized; j) making recommendations to update or amend this Agreement and; k) reviewing and analysing fire and emergency responses as part of this Agreement and any issues arising in connection with such responses.
- The Fire Services Committee is authorized to establish and revise operational policies and guidelines to facilitate the delivery of services identified in this Agreement. Each party agrees to adhere to any operational policies and guidelines established by the Fire Services Committee as agreed to in Section 15.
LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY:
- Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement, no Party and no Providing Party (including its Firefighters, volunteers, agents or representatives) shall be liable for failing to respond to a fire or emergency related request or for providing a level of response that is different from that contemplated by this Agreement, regardless of the reasons for not responding, or providing a different level of response.
- The Requesting Party shall indemnify and save harmless the Providing Party from and against any and all claims, causes of action, suits, and demands whatsoever, and related expenses, arising out of or related to the fire or emergency related assistance rendered by the Providing Party or its failure to respond to a request for assistance pursuant to this Agreement or its failure to render adequate assistance or assistance as contemplated by this Agreement.
- The indemnity provided for in section 18 shall not apply: a) to gross negligence or wilful misconduct by a Providing Party in connection with operations at the scene of an Emergency Incident; or b) in connection with any damage caused or injury suffered mustering Firefighters to a Providing Parties fire station(s) in connection with a request for assistance, or caused by the Providing Party travelling to the scene of an Emergency Incident; or c) any costs associated with Workers Compensation Board Claims, shall be dealt with in accordance with section 20.
- This Agreement does not constitute a Requesting Party as the employer of any Firefighter of a Providing Party. Any Workers Compensation Board Claims by any Firefighters of a Providing Party arising out of or related to a response, shall be the responsibility of the Providing Party.
THIRD PARTY RIGHTS:
- This Agreement is not intended to and does not create any rights or confer any benefits on any other person other than the Parties and their respective Fire Departments.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
- In the event of any dispute (a "Dispute") arising under or in connection with this Agreement, or any assistance rendered or not rendered pursuant hereto, the Parties shall seek to resolve such dispute amicably and professionally, with a view to ensuring the effective delivery of emergency services and the safety of Firefighters and the public. A Dispute may be raised by a Fire Chief and shall be put in writing and sent to each of the other Fire Chiefs, identifying in reasonable detail the matters at issue. Where a Dispute arises: a) the Fire Chiefs shall use their reasonable best efforts to settle the Dispute within 30 days of receiving written notice of it; and b) where the Fire Chiefs are unable to resolve the Dispute, it shall be referred to a committee composed of the Chief Administrative Officers.
ARBITRATION
- Disputes not capable of resolution through discussion under section 22 shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the Arbitration Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 55, to a single arbitrator appointed jointly by the parties.
- No one shall be nominated to act as an arbitrator who is in any way financially interested in this Agreement or in the business affairs of either party.
- If the parties cannot agree on the choice of any arbitrator each party shall select a nominee and the nominees shall jointly appoint an arbitrator.
- The laws of the Province of British Columbia shall govern this Agreement and any arbitration or litigation in respect hereof.
- The award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties.
- Notwithstanding section 22 nothing in this Agreement shall prevent a Party from taking such actions as it deems necessary or advisable to protect its legal position or interests in relation to any Dispute.
- This Agreement shall enure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Parties hereto and their respective heirs, administrators, executors, successors and permitted assignees.
- The waiver by a Party of any failure on the part of the other Party to perform in accordance with any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any future or continuing failure, whether similar or dissimilar.
- The headings in this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and in no way define, limit or enlarge the scope or meaning of this Agreement or any provision of it.
- This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first set out above.
Executed by THE CORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF CENTRAL SAANICH This ___ day of ___, 2016:
Authorized Signatory
Authorized Signatory
Executed by THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT This ___ day of ___, 2016:
Authorized Signatory
Authorized Signatory
Executed by THE CORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF SAANICH This ___ day of ___, 2016:
Authorized Signatory
Authorized Signatory
Executed by THE CORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF OAK BAY This ___ day of ___, 2016:
Authorized Signatory
Authorized Signatory
Executed by THE TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL This ___ day of ___, 2016:
Authorized Signatory
Authorized Signatory
END OF DOCUMENT
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