Newfoundland and Labrador Fire Watch Course: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Fire safety law in Newfoundland and Labrador

Fire safety in Newfoundland and Labrador is governed by the Fire Protection Services Act and the Fire Protection Services Regulations made under it. A fire watch guard should know who writes the rules and who enforces them.

The codes in force

Section 3 of the regulations adopts national codes. For the use and operation of buildings, it names the National Fire Code of Canada, 2015 edition and the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, 2018 edition. The National Building Code of Canada applies to construction. Section 3(1.1) adds that later editions and amendments of these codes are adopted 6 months after they are published, so the edition in force can change.

Who enforces the rules

• The fire commissioner is appointed under the Act. The commissioner investigates fires, inspects buildings and can issue orders to fix fire hazards.
• Municipal fire chiefs may be appointed as the commissioner's local assistants (s. 6).
• In the area served by the St. John's Regional Fire Department (the City of St. John's, the City of Mount Pearl and municipalities that contract with St. John's for fire protection), the duties of the fire commissioner are carried out by that department's fire chief (s. 35).

The commissioner, or a designate, may enter a property without a warrant when a risk of fire poses an immediate threat to life. One of the listed powers is to post a fire watch (s. 10(1)(b)).

Lesson 2: When a fire alarm or sprinkler system is out of service

Newfoundland and Labrador has its own rule for this. Sections 8(7) (fire alarm and detection systems) and 14(3) (fire extinguishing systems, such as sprinklers) of the Fire Protection Services Regulations apply when a system is temporarily inoperative in an occupied building that must have one. The person responsible for completing the work on the system must:

Section 8(8) and section 14(4) add that an inoperative system must get high priority for repairs. A fire watch is a stop-gap, not a fix.

The St. John's Regional Fire Department's fire safety planning procedures say the same thing in plain terms: during a shutdown, alternative measures are necessary. The hourly patrol is often the job given to a security guard.

Lesson 3: Doing the patrol and keeping the log

Before your first round, find out which system is out, which floors or zones it covers, and who has called the fire department and the monitoring station. Learn where the exits, pull stations and extinguishers are.

On each round, check for

• Smoke, burning smells, heat or unusual sounds
• Blocked exits and corridors, and fire doors wedged open
• Hot work or smoking where it is not allowed
• Rubbish or other combustibles near heat sources
• The posted notices: are they still on every floor, by the elevators and at the entrances?

The fire watch log

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

Hands off the equipment

Under section 31(d) of the Fire Protection Services Act, it is an offence to interfere with, tamper with or damage installed fire protection or detection equipment. Never cover a detector, silence a bell or close a sprinkler valve unless you are authorized and trained to do it. Report anyone who does.

Lesson 4: Fire safety plans and what to do if you find fire

The St. John's Regional Fire Department's Procedures for Fire Safety Planning point to Section 2.8.2 of the National Fire Code, which requires a fire safety plan. The plan is prepared in co-operation with the fire department. It covers:

• Emergency procedures: sounding the alarm, calling the fire department, evacuation, and confining the fire
• The appointment and training of supervisory staff
• Diagrams of the fire systems, fire drills, and control of fire hazards
• Inspection and maintenance of fire safety equipment
• Alternative measures for occupants' safety when systems are shut down

The plan must be reviewed at least every 12 months, and a copy should be posted on each floor. The procedures describe a fire emergency organization led by a building Fire Marshal, with deputy fire marshals who act when the fire marshal is absent, and floor wardens who check their floors and supervise evacuation.

If you find fire or smoke

1. Warn people nearby. The procedures say anyone who sees fire or smoke, or smells gas, must warn people close by.
2. Operate the nearest manual alarm, if it works. If the alarm is out of service, use the signal in your post orders, such as an air horn.
3. Call 911 from a safe place to confirm the alarm with the fire department.
4. Leave the fire area at once and close all doors behind you.
5. Help people leave and meet the firefighters to tell them what you know.

Lesson 5: Hot work on Newfoundland and Labrador sites

Hot work is welding, cutting, burning and other work that makes sparks or flame. In Newfoundland and Labrador, workplace rules for it are in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012. The National Fire Code adopted by the province also has hot work rules, and many sites use a hot work permit that says how long the fire watch lasts after the work ends.

If you are posted as the hot work fire watch, stay with the work, watch where sparks land, and keep watching after the work stops for the time on the permit. Sparks can smoulder in cracks and gaps before a fire starts.