Fire Response Guidelines for Toronto Services

When an alarm company reports a fire alarm, but no testing or maintenance is documented, the call taker will verify the location matches the LOI details. If they match, a single emergency vehicle might be dispatched.

The alarm company will be instructed to contact the building owner or resident to investigate the alarm.

A full response, typically multiple vehicles, will be dispatched to all addresses reporting ringing fire alarms when no LOI information indicates testing or maintenance.

If a fire alarm system fault is confirmed by the District Chief, a single emergency vehicle will be sent for future reports of alarm bells, as long as no smoke, flames, or odors are reported.

The Operations District Chief determines how long the single vehicle dispatch will continue, with a maximum duration of the Operations Division shift.

If a single emergency vehicle is dispatched for a known fire alarm fault, the Operations Captain (Incident Commander) will inform the communications center about the confirmed system fault.

If the known alarm system fault can no longer be confirmed at the scene, a First Alarm response will be dispatched to all subsequent alarms at that location.

A First Alarm response will be dispatched to all addresses reporting ringing fire alarms when there is no CAD LOI information indicating fire alarm system testing or maintenance.

The CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) system is used to document and manage fire alarm testing or maintenance.

The LOI (Letter of Instruction) is used to provide information about scheduled testing or maintenance of fire alarm systems.

The Incident Commander is in charge of determining when an alarm response is thoroughly investigated and all units can be cleared from the scene.

Company Officers, who are in charge of the initial responding unit, have the authority to clear other responding units if they determine a fire alarm is false or accidental.

Company Officers should investigate claims of false fire alarms by building personnel to verify the validity of the claim before clearing all apparatus.

Factors influencing the decision to clear other units before investigation include the training and competence of building personnel, their willingness to assist Toronto Fire, the size and complexity of the building, and the volume of responses being handled by Toronto Fire.

District Chiefs dispatched to incidents will respond with lights and sirens until cleared by the Communications Centre.

When a fire alarm is responded to by multiple units, the Officer In Charge of the first arriving unit has the authority to clear all other responding units, including the District Chief, if after a thorough investigation, a false or accidental alarm is determined.

TFS Communications Centre personnel are responsible for having a thorough understanding of TFS guidelines for downgrading responses and clearing apparatus.

Company Officers in mobile command at a scene can advise the District Chief of their findings and intention to clear apparatus, but the decision to clear is solely the Company Officer's prerogative as Incident Commander.

The Officer In Charge of the first arriving unit is responsible for ensuring that each alarm response is thoroughly investigated before considering a situation under control and clearing all apparatus from the scene.

Company Officers at the scene of a response, upon hearing reports of false fire alarms by on scene building personnel, should investigate to verify the validity of the claim prior to clearing all apparatus.

A notification sent to the TFS communications center before fire alarm system testing or maintenance is performed at a specific address.

A record created in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system database when the TFS communications center receives a notification about fire alarm testing or maintenance.

The type of event used for responses to reported alarm bells when fire alarm testing or maintenance is in progress.

A single emergency vehicle response deployed to an address with a reported ringing alarm when the communications center has received a fire alarm testing/maintenance notification.

The process of verifying whether there are any signs of a fire, such as smoke, flames, or odors, reported at the address where the alarm is ringing.

The action of a fire department dispatcher to send a full fire alarm response with multiple emergency vehicles to an address due to a reported alarm.

The dispatcher's action of dispatching a First Alarm response to an address with a reported ringing alarm when no LOI information has been recorded in the CAD system.

The dispatcher's action of reviewing the recorded LOI information to verify if the reported alarm location matches the details of the ongoing fire alarm testing/maintenance.

The dispatcher's action of sending a single emergency vehicle to the address with a reported ringing alarm when the LOI information matches the reported alarm location.

When a fire alarm is triggered but there's no fire, it's considered a false alarm. This can happen due to a malfunctioning system, testing, or accidental activation.

The communications center can be contacted by specific individuals to downgrade a fire alarm response after the initial dispatch. These individuals might be the building manager, security personnel, or the company performing maintenance or testing.

When someone identifies a false alarm, the call taker verifies the information by confirming the person's details, the company involved, and any recorded information about maintenance or testing.

If a false alarm is confirmed, the updated information is relayed to the responding fire crews.

Only one emergency vehicle will continue to respond to the incident, with the others being cleared by the communications center.

Fire crews must wait for instructions to clear the scene from the communications center.

A radio transmission is used to announce the false alarm situation and direct responding apparatus.

The GTAC is used by apparatus clearing the scene to update their status.

The communications center handles downgrading fire alarm responses, verifies information, and relays updates to responding crews, ensuring a timely and efficient response.

The process ensures that false alarms are handled properly, avoiding unnecessary responses and minimizing disruption to fire services operations.