G-FFOV Firefighting Operations Vehicle Fires Part 2

Unified Command

• Command shall be established by the initial arriving apparatus.
• The Incident Commander may change between the first responders as the incident progresses, depending on the required expertise.

Incident Commander

• May change to Paramedic Services when medical treatment is required for patients and there is no risk of fire or extrication.
• May change to Fire Services when extrication is required or there is a risk of fire.
• May change to Police Services when the patient has been stabilized, transported from the scene, or the fire has been extinguished, and the focus shifts to expediting traffic flow.

Notifications

• Police shall be requested for all vehicle fires where the owner/operator is not present.
• Notification of the police is at the discretion of the Officer in Charge when the owner/operator is on scene.
• The Officer in Charge shall obtain the personal information of the owner/operator.

Cause Determination

• It is the responsibility of the Toronto Fire Services (TFS) to determine fire cause and origin.
• Officers should use available resources to attempt to determine the cause of each fire.
• Fire cause shall be determined in accordance with G-FCAU - Fire Cause Determination or by TFS Fire Investigators.

Reporting

• The Incident Commander should ensure that sufficient information is obtained to complete the necessary reporting upon return to the fire station.
• The Incident Report should record what actions were taken by the crew.
• The Incident Commander is responsible for ensuring that all fires involving vehicles are thoroughly reported using the Emergency Incident Report in the Fire Records Management System.
• Insurance information should be requested from the on-scene police officer.

Invoicing

• Persons or corporations shall be invoiced by TFS for services at fires, collisions, or spills at which a lubricant or chemical absorbent material is used, and either the vehicle owner is a non-City of Toronto resident or the occurrence takes place on a provincial highway.
• Invoicing shall not occur for false fire calls, services not performed, incidents involving injury or fatality, or incidents that are 15 minutes or less in duration from dispatch to clear of the call.
• The required information for invoicing includes the OP number from a OPP officer or the TPS number from a TPS officer, plus the vehicle license plate number.
• The Emergency Incident Report shall be processed by the TFS Accounts Receivable Section for billing and cost recovery.
• Questions regarding vehicle incident billing shall be directed to the Accounts Receivable Section at TFS Headquarters.