Centre For Local Research into Public Space (CELOS)
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You are on the [Fire Services Story] page of folder [Neighbourhoods]
For the cover page of this folder go to the Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Buildings: their approach(es) to laneway housing
New from the city website: revised emergency access rules from Toronto Fire
From Toronto Buildings:
(1) overview
(2) rules for building a new laneway suite
(3) affordable laneway suites pilot program
Feb.19, 2020, correspondence
Email (Dec.23, 2019) from Toronto Fire to Councillor Ana Bailao re Building Code Commission decision re 349 Manning, here: From deputy fire chief Jim Jessup to Toronto Building head Will Johnston: "This is very concerning…I suggest we discuss in the new year as we will need a mechanism for these addresses to be identified to TFS so that we can flag in our CAD for responding fire fighters."
Feb.17, 2020, BCC decision about space between houses
July 4, 2019 The agent was listed as Gary Eisen. Here's a 2014 Globe piece about his firm, Curated Properties.
Feb.14, 2020: The Building Code Commission issues its written decision about 349 Manning
The full document is here. Notes and excerpts are here and here.
Jan.15, 2020: The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between TB (Toronto Building and TFS (Toronto Fire Services)
The MOU was released through Freedom of Information. The document comes in two versions, dated Oct.2, 2017 and revised on October 31, 2019: here
Jan.9, 2020, John Lorinc in the Globe and Mail online
Ontario clears building-code roadblock to laneway home development
.....City officials insisted that the rules, though rigid, were meant to protect the residents of the microneighbourhoods that they envision springing up in the laneways of the older parts of Toronto. “If there is a fire emergency [in a laneway suite], firefighters need to be able to get access to that unit,” said Will Johnston, executive director of the city’s Toronto building department. Mr. Johnston is also a former senior building code official in Vancouver, where similar rules accompanied the rollout of that city’s laneway suites program.
Prior to the BCC ruling, chief planner Gregg Lintern added that this issue was addressed in the staff report recommending the laneway suite bylaw. He says that the planning department didn’t attempt to figure out how much of the potential laneway house stock might be ineligible as a result. “Ultimately it’s an [Ontario Building Code] issue that zoning can not set aside,” he said in a text messsage. “We are better off learning from experience than studying it and not getting some lived experience from builders.”
....Mr. Johnston defended the existing rules, saying the minimum access route widths are designed to allow firefighters carrying bulky gear to reach an emergency as quickly as possible. He also says that sprinklers on their own don’t guarantee that firefighters can reach the scene. (City of Vancouver rules require all laneway houses to have sprinkler systems.)
Nor will the building department assume that emergency crew can go through the main house, even though firefighters have broad rights to enter premises in order to contain a blaze.
Dec.12, 2019: Building Code Commission hearing notes
Dec.13, 2019: Urban Toronto, good article by Ryan Debergh: Dispute over Laneway Housing Building Permits Heard by Ontario Building Code Commission
Quote: "Although not precedent setting, there was an undertone that this particular case would render any future permit refusals based on this reason to be obsolete, removing a stubborn barrier to the construction of Laneway housing. If upheld, however, laneway housing of any kind would be relatively non-permissible. This particular property sits just off Manning Ave as the second plot of land in the lane, one of the closest in proximity to the road; if this permit could be refused, any of the other properties further down the lane could be refused for the exact same reason, preventing almost 100 potential housing units from being built on this lane alone."
From J.Treviranus, an article called Sidewalk Toronto and Why Smarter is Not Better
In our history, data and machine determinations about people have often been used to excuse inhumane decisions. Pointing to the data is used to absolve ourselves of guilt in acts that we would otherwise consider unfair. Common examples include when a government official denies a service or gives an excuse for an unreasonable application of a policy. We claim that the data doesn’t lie; that we are powerless to make exceptions.
Excerpts from notebook #2:
From Fire Prevention chief Doug Babcock: "Stretchers need to fit through the walkway, so the distance between houses has to be at least 1 meter."
Comment: EMS stretchers mainly need to fit through doors to houses. Doors on downtown houses: Front: 83 cm. Back 73 cm.
EMS stretchers are made by the Stryker company. Width: 56 cm (22 inches). Height: max is 100 cm (39 inches), min is 37 cm. (14 inches).
Laneway use for emergency access:
Chief Babcock: "The laneway has to be as wide as a street or the firetrucks won't fit."
Comment: Firetruck width: 2.9 metres. Laneway width: at least 3.6 metres.
Excerpt from notebook #3:
The....total fires reported have been decreasing, even as the number of population and structures have been increasing. This does not reflect decreased reporting. From 2012 to 2016 the number of total calls reported – fire and non fire calls has increased from 462,542 incidents reported in 2012 to 494,811 in 2016.
Loss fires are defined as any fire with an injury, fatality or dollar loss reported.
All Loss fires reported have declined from 11,294 in 2012 to 10,844 in 2016.
Residential fires account for about 73% (2016) of structure fire losses. These fires have also decreased from 5,440 in 2012 to 5,243 in 2016.
- Cooking 2012-2016 - average of 1,281 fires per year, a decline of 9%.
- Electrical wiring, outlets, etc. 2012-2016 - average of 636 fires per year, a decline of 14%.
- Heating, cooling 2012-2016 - average of 583 fires per year, a decline of 20%.
- Cigarettes 2012-2016 - 532 fires per year, a decline of 3%.
- Appliances 2012-2016 - 329 fire per year, a decline of 10%.
More:
Toronto Fire Services 2017 Annual Report
Fire Services Efficiency Review 2013: This is a very detailed and interesting report, see the excerpts.
(Excerpt from Fire Services Efficiency Review 2013):
Information for 2011, all Toronto fire stations:
- 58% of all responses by the fire service were to medical calls
- 4% were to alarms
- 1.4% were to fires.
Ontario Fire Code Right of Entry
Number of insurance claims against Fire Services for property damage during fire and medical calls,
2011 to 2018 (Freedom of Information -- FOI): 44
Number that are listed as $0 payout: 22.
Total cost of the remaining claims: $42,164.
FOI details
Fire incidence: decline in Toronto
The....total fires reported have been decreasing, even as the number of population and structures have been increasing. This does not reflect decreased reporting. From 2012 to 2016 the number of total calls reported – fire and non fire calls has increased from 462,542 incidents reported in 2012 to 494,811 in 2016.
Loss fires are defined as any fire with an injury, fatality or dollar loss reported.
All Loss fires reported have declined from 11,294 in 2012 to 10,844 in 2016.
Structure fires are about 66% (2016) of the total fires with loss.
The graph shows a total decline from 7,496 in 2012 to 7,169 in 2016.
Residential fires account for about 73% (2016) of structure fire losses. These fires have also decreased from 5,440 in 2012 to 5,243 in 2016.
Cooking 2012-2016 - average of 1,281 fires per year, a decline of 9%.
Electrical wiring, outlets, etc. 2012-2016 - average of 636 fires per year, a decline of 14%.
Heating, cooling 2012-2016 - average of 583 fires per year, a decline of 20%.
Cigarettes 2012-2016 - 532 fires per year, a decline of 3%.
Appliances 2012-2016 - 329 fire per year, a decline of 10%.
Toronto population
2011: 2,615,060
2016: 2,731,571 Fire Services staff directory
BA 19.1 $751,066: Award of Request for Quotation No. 0302-19-0014 to 2419613 Ontario Ltd. Pioneer Bedding for the Supply, Delivery, Installation of Mattresses, Box Springs, Heavy Duty Bed Frames, Including the Removal and Disposal of Replaced Items for Toronto Fire Services.
--- Award of Request for Quotation No. 6115-18-0372 March 28 2019 to Dependable Emergency Vehicles Ltd., for up to 28 new fire/pumper trucks: $19,171,822
New Fire station at Keele and Tavistock (across from Downsview Park, south of Sheppard): $ 9,004,970 including HST and all applicable charges.
Chapter 880 Fire Route Designations, sample new fire route designation: 97 Lawton. See also this example.
fire classification (open data link)
Garage fires, Toronto 2011 to 2016. Total fires: 214. Deaths: 0. Injuries (unspecified): 5.
Meeting about fire access rules March 13, 2019. Requested and then documented by Rohan Walters, who has other excellent blogs about laneway housing here and here.
Laneway fire drill proposal
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