Haldimand Fire Services to continue with national certification

By Lindsey Stuckless

The Haldimand Press

HALDIMAND—Despite legislation surrounding the mandatory certification of firefighters being repealed by the Province of Ontario, Haldimand will continue to train and certify members to the national standard.

In an effort to improve fire protection services, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MCSCS) proposed regulations requiring mandatory training and certification for firefighters, and mandatory reporting of community risk assessment and response times.

The mandatory training would have required fire departments to certify members to the National Fire and Protection Association (NFPA) standards. The proposal was met with pushback from some municipalities due to the timing and cost of implementing the new rules and the requirements were repealed effective October 5, 2018.

Since staff believe the repeal is only temporary, they recommended continuing training firefighters in the NFPA certification. Currently, Ontario is the only province that does not require members to be certified.