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	Corporate Report
DEPARTMENT/	Community & Emergency Services
DIVISION	Thunder Bay Fire Rescue	REPORT NO.	2012.034
DATE PREPARED	February 3, 2012	FILE NO.
MEETING DATE	March 12, 2012
SUBJECT	Municipal Forest Fire Agreement.

RECOMMENDATION

With respect to Report No. 2012.034 (Fire Services), we recommend that City Council approve an extension to The Municipal Forest Fire Agreement between the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the City of Thunder Bay through Thunder Bay Fire Rescue (TBFR) for the years April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2017, as appended to this Report;

AND THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute this, and any future extensions, by way of agreement between the MNR and the City of Thunder Bay through TBFR provided that any amendments are satisfactory to the Fire Chief;

AND THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute any necessary related documentation;

AND THAT any necessary by-laws be presented to Council for ratification.

This report recommends approval of an extension to the Municipal Forest Fire Management Agreement between Her Majesty the Queen in the right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources and the Corporation of the City of Thunder Bay through Thunder Bay Fire Rescue.

Upon the request of TBFR, for the purpose of control and extinguishment, the agreement provides for a response by the MNR to grass brush or forest fires within the City of Thunder Bay Municipal Protection Area (MPA). Upon the request of the MNR, for the purpose of control and extinguishment, the agreement also provides for a response by TBFR to grass brush or forest fires within the Crown Protection Area (CPA).

This report recommends approval of the Municipal Forest Fire Management Agreement between Her Majesty the Queen in the right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources (MNR) and the Corporation of the City of Thunder Bay through Thunder Bay Fire Rescue.

Due to the vast expanse of forested areas within the City of Thunder Bay MPA and the risk to life and property as the result of forest fires and wild land/urban interface fires, response by the MNR under the proposed agreement will continue to provide improved safety to the citizens of Thunder Bay in the event of forest fires and wild land/urban interface fires within Municipal boundaries

Pursuant to Section 21(1) of the Forest Fires Prevention Act (FFPA), The City of Thunder Bay, being located in a fire region, is responsible to extinguish at its expense Fires within its limits. Pursuant to Section 19 of the FFPA, Report No. 2004.224 established an agreement between the MNR and the City of Thunder Bay with respect to the prevention, control and extinguishment of outdoor Fires within the limits of the City of Thunder Bay.

As a result of this agreement, for a Fire Season (April 1 to October 31), the Ministry, at its expense shall respond to Incidents and suppress Fires within the Crown Protection Area (CPA). However, where, on request of the Ministry, Thunder Bay Fire Rescue responds to an Incident or suppresses a Fire in the CPA, the Ministry shall pay the City of Thunder Bay in accordance with the terms of this agreement.

Reciprocally, for a Fire Season, the City of Thunder Bay, at its expense shall respond to Incidents and suppress Fires within the Municipal Protection Area (MPA). However, where, on request of Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, the Ministry responds to an Incident or suppresses a Fire in the MPA, the City of Thunder Bay shall pay the Ministry in accordance with the terms of this agreement.

As detailed in the terms of the agreement, TBFR has designed a Fire prevention/education program based on the principles of the Ministry’s FireSmart program. The focus of the FireSmart program is to reduce the hazards of wildfire by properly preparing property in interface areas. This process consists of managing the space around structures by removing or reducing combustible fuel loads in three specific Priority Zones around a house or building. In partnership with the MNR in 2011, TBFR staff completed significant work in a specified area of Centennial Park in order to make it FireSmart.

This agreement has been reviewed by the Legal Services Department and no significant changes were identified.

Due to the fact that the occurrence and magnitude of natural or human caused fires is difficult to predict, the financial implications associated with the extension of this agreement are not easy to define. As per the terms of this agreement, in the event that TBFR requests the assistance of the MNR, the TBFR Operating Budget includes $5,300 for the costs associated with such a request.

It is concluded that City Council should, in the interest of the safety of persons and property in The City of Thunder Bay, approve the execution of an extension agreement between the MNR and The City of Thunder Bay.

Report No. 2004.224 established an agreement pursuant to Section 19 of the FFPA with respect to the prevention, control and extinguishment of Fires within the limits of the City of Thunder Bay.

Since the inception of the 2004 agreement, the normal procedure for the use of MNR assistance by TBFR has successfully followed an established Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which outlines when and how to contact the MNR should their resources be required. Typically, requests for assistance have been for the use of water bombers which have the ability to drop large quantities of water or water and foam agent from aircraft flying over a fire of significant magnitude.

Since the inception of this agreement, as per the SOP as detailed above, requests for MNR assistance by TBFR to assist with the suppression of Fires within the City of Thunder Bay MPA have occurred. As a result of this agreement, when requested by TBFR the MNR has assisted with the successful and expedited mitigation of forest fires and wild land/urban interface fires within the City of Thunder Bay MPA.

When enacted, the historical result of this agreement has been a significant reduction in damage to land and property as the result of forest fires and wild land/urban interface fires within the City of Thunder Bay MPA.

Municipal Forest Fire Agreement – Available at the City Clerk’s Office