Nunavut Fire Watch Course: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Fire safety law in Nunavut

Nunavut's main fire law is the Fire Safety Act. It is run by the Nunavut Fire Marshal's Office (NFMO), which is part of the territorial Department of Community Services. The NFMO promotes and enforces fire and building safety, does Fire Code inspections, investigates fires and trains firefighters.

The Fire Safety Regulations adopt the National Fire Code of Canada. The 2019 consolidation of the regulations names the 2015 edition. Two rules matter most for a guard:

• Section 3(1): the National Fire Code applies to all buildings.
• Section 4: every owner of a building must make sure the building complies with the Fire Code.

New construction is different. Nunavut adopted the Building Code Act in September 2018. Since then, enforcing building safety codes has moved from the NFMO to the Office of the Chief Building Official.

The NFMO does Fire Code inspections on request, after a complaint or on a schedule. The owner gets a report that lists the problems that must be fixed.

Lesson 2: Who is who in your community

The Fire Marshal works with local assistants in each community. Under section 5(1) of the Fire Safety Act, these people are local assistants just because of their job:

Other people can also be appointed. An Assistant Fire Marshal may enter and inspect a building for fire safety. Entering a private home needs consent or a warrant. The Fire Marshal can also order an owner to fix a hazard, install a fire alarm where the code requires one, or prepare a fire safety plan (section 12).

Lesson 3: When a fire watch is needed

A fire watch is a person who patrols a building to look for fire and warn people. It is used when the normal fire protection, such as the fire alarm or sprinklers, is not working. Fire codes based on the National Fire Code expect alternative measures while a system is shut down. A fire watch is the most common one. Vancouver, for example, requires a fire watch the whole time a fire protection system is out of service.

A fire watch is a short-term measure. The owner must still get the system repaired.

Never interfere with fire equipment

Under section 20.2 of the Fire Safety Act, it is an offence to interfere with or remove, without lawful excuse, any device or safeguard required for detecting, containing or putting out fire. That includes detectors, alarms, sprinklers and fire doors. Never cover a detector, prop open a fire door or silence an alarm unless your supervisor has proper approval.

Who must be told

• The local fire department (or the local assistant)
• The company that monitors the fire alarm, if there is one
• The building owner or manager, who arranges the repair

The Fire Safety Act does not list who makes these calls during an impairment. Your post orders should say who does it.

Lesson 4: Patrols and the fire watch log

The Fire Safety Act does not set one patrol schedule for the whole territory. How often you patrol comes from the fire department, the Fire Marshal's office, the owner's plan or your post orders. Elsewhere in Canada, Medicine Hat asks for a tour of the whole building every hour, and Vancouver asks for rounds every 15 minutes overnight where people sleep.

On each round, check for

• Smoke, burning smells, heat or strange sounds
• Blocked or locked exits and fire doors wedged open
• Rubbish or fuel near heaters and other heat sources
• Hot work or smoking where it is not allowed

The log

Write in the fire watch log right after each round: the area, the time, what you saw and what you did, and your initials. Never fill in a round you did not do. The log shows the watch was done.

Lesson 5: Exits, doors and fire safety plans

Section 17.2 of the Fire Safety Act says every building the public can enter must have a fire safety plan posted in a place where people can easily see it. Learn your building's plan before your first round.

Doors in public buildings

Section 18(1) covers theatres, dance halls, skating rinks, churches, schools and other places of public resort or amusement with seating for more than 50 people. Their outside doors and main inside doors must open outwards. While the building is in public use, they must not be bolted, barred or locked except with standard panic hardware. Gates that do not swing outward must be fastened open.

Breaking section 18(1) is an offence (section 19). The fine can be up to $10,000, plus $500 for each day it continues after a conviction.

Lesson 6: If you find fire, and what happens after

1. Warn the occupants with your air horn or whistle, and the alarm if it works.
2. Call the fire department for your community from a safe place. Give the address, landmarks and what you see.
3. Use an extinguisher only if the fire is small, you are trained and you have an exit behind you.
4. Help people leave, then meet the firefighters and tell them what you know.

Hot work

Welding, cutting and grinding throw sparks that can smoulder in cracks long after the work stops. A hot work fire watch stays during the work and for the time set on the hot work permit after it ends. Winnipeg, for example, requires at least 60 minutes after the work ends. Keep an extinguisher close.

After the fire

• The local assistant must investigate every fire in their area (section 5.2(1)).
• If a fire looks deliberate, the local assistant must secure the scene right away and tell the Fire Marshal (section 5.2(2)). Do not move or clean up anything.
• The local assistant reports a fire death to the Fire Marshal right away and a fire injury within 24 hours (section 5.3).
• Fires are investigated by a local assistant, NFMO staff or RCMP members.