Yukon Fire Watch Course: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Who is in charge of fire safety in Yukon

This course is for guards in Yukon who may be posted on a fire watch. It explains Yukon's own fire laws and the Whitehorse fire department's rules. Always follow your site's fire safety plan, your post orders and the fire department.

The Fire Prevention Act

Yukon's main fire law is the Fire Prevention Act. Under it, the Yukon government appoints a fire marshal, deputy fire marshals and inspectors. The fire marshal keeps fire records, reviews building plans and gives fire safety advice.

The fire marshal works with local assistants:

In a municipality with a fire brigade, the local assistant is the chief or acting chief of the fire brigade.
Where there is no fire brigade, it is the municipal clerk, unless the council appoints someone else.
An RCMP member on duty in Yukon has all the powers of a local assistant.

The Act lets a fire code be designated by regulation. The City of Whitehorse fire department refers businesses to the National Fire Code of Canada (NFC). Whitehorse also has Emergency Services Bylaw 2024-44, which covers inspections, hydrants and fire department access.

Inspections and orders

Under section 13, the fire marshal or a local assistant may inspect any building. They may order changes when they find a fire hazard, a dangerous substance, or a building that lacks adequate provision for safe evacuation. Under section 21, no one may hinder or obstruct the fire marshal, a deputy, a local assistant or an inspector.

Lesson 2: When a fire watch is needed and who sets the rules

A fire watch is a person who patrols a building to look for fire and warn people while the normal fire protection is not fully working. Common reasons are:

The fire alarm or sprinkler system is shut down or impaired.
Detectors are covered or bypassed during dusty work.
Hot work, such as welding or cutting, is going on.
The fire department orders one.

Yukon's Fire Prevention Act and the Whitehorse bylaw do not set one patrol schedule for a fire watch. The schedule comes from the fire department's direction, the building's fire safety plan and your post orders. If no one has told you how often to patrol, ask before you start, and write the answer in your notebook.

The fire safety plan

Whitehorse says the NFC (Division B, Part 2.8) requires a fire safety plan in all buildings. The owner must keep it accurate and complete and review it each year. The plan tells you where the alarm panel, shut-offs and exits are, and who to call. The city offers a template, and questions go to its Fire Prevention Officer.

When a monitored alarm is out of service, the monitoring company should also be told when it goes out and when it comes back. Your post orders should say who makes that call.

Lesson 3: What to check on each round

The Whitehorse fire department's pre-inspection checklist shows what inspectors look for. Use it as your patrol checklist.

Élément	What the Whitehorse checklist says
Fire alarm panel	Look it over daily; keep 1 m clear in front of it
Alarm service	Maintained, inspected and tested annually by a qualified and certified fire alarm company
Monitored alarm	Monitoring certificate posted within 1 m of the panel
Sprinklers	Storage at least 450 mm (18 in) below sprinkler deflectors; 1 m clear path to the sprinkler tree (main valves)
Extinguishers	Serviced and tagged annually by a certified company; mounted with handles 900 to 1,500 mm high
Exits	Exit signs lit when occupied; doors open from inside without keys or special knowledge; outside clear of snow, ice and storage
Fire doors	Kept closed
Fire department connection and hydrants	Kept clear of storage, bins and parked vehicles
Records	Test records kept on the premises for at least 2 years

Also watch for smoke, burning smells, heat, blocked corridors and rubbish near heat sources. Check every area on your route, including stairwells and service rooms.

Under section 19 of the Fire Prevention Act, theatres, halls, churches, schools and similar places seating more than 50 people must have outside and main inside doors that open freely outward while the public is inside.

Keep the log

Write in the fire watch log right after each round: the date, time, areas checked, what you found and what you did, and your initials. Never fill in rounds you did not do.

Lesson 4: Hot work fire watch under Yukon OHS rules

Hot work means welding, cutting, burning and similar work that makes sparks or flames. Yukon's occupational health and safety regulations, published by the Workers' Safety and Compensation Board, set these rules:

Section 13.08(12): a fire watcher must be assigned to monitor the work while welding takes place where sparks and heat could affect combustible material.
Section 13.12(1): before the work starts, the surrounding area must be inspected and combustible, flammable or explosive material (including dust, gas or vapour) removed, or other equally effective measures taken.
Section 13.12(2) and (3): suitable fire extinguishing equipment in good working order must be readily available, and its location marked and made known to workers.
Section 13.08(11): overhead work must stop slag or sparks from falling on people or combustibles below.
Section 13.09(3): recently welded or flame-cut metal must be marked "HOT" or guarded.
Section 1.70: extinguishers must be provided where welding or cutting is done, and workers must be trained in the use, limits, types and locations of extinguishers, based on a hazard assessment.

Your job as fire watcher

Before work starts, check that combustibles are moved or protected and an extinguisher is ready.
Watch for sparks landing in cracks, on floors below and behind walls.
Stop the work if you see a fire risk, and raise the alarm if a fire starts.
Stay after the work ends for as long as your permit or site rules say. Sparks can smoulder for a long time.
Record the times and what you checked.

Lesson 5: If you find fire, and reporting

If the alarm is out of service, nobody else will warn people. Act fast:

Alert the occupants with the signal in your fire safety plan, such as an air horn.
Call 911 from a safe place. Whitehorse Fire and Protective Services says to dial 911 for fire emergencies. The 668-2462 line is for non-emergency fire matters only.
Use an extinguisher only if the fire is small, you are trained and you have a clear way out.
Help people leave, especially those who need help.
Meet the fire department and tell them what you know.

The general flow of an evacuation, which a fire watch guard helps start.

Raise the alarm and warn everyone in the building.
Help people who need assistance to leave.
Leave by the nearest safe exit.
Gather at the assembly point.
Count people and report to the fire department.

Keep the way clear for firefighters

Whitehorse's Emergency Services Bylaw says no one may obstruct access roads or streets to a fire or a hydrant (section 18), and no vehicle or object may be placed within 2 m of a hydrant (section 51).

Reports after a fire

Under section 11 of the Fire Prevention Act, if a fire causes a death or injury, the occupant must report it to the fire marshal immediately. Give your notes and log to your supervisor, and write your incident report the same day.