Checklist - Water, Ice and Marine Operations

This checklist audits Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program (FSSMS-PRG-18) and the procedures it owns: SWP - Ice Rescue, SWP - Swiftwater Rescue and SWP - Boat Operations. It covers service levels and partners, flotation and water PPE, cold water, shore-based, ice and swiftwater operations, drafting at the water’s edge, the department’s vessels and their operators, the dive program where one exists, training, learning, psychological safety and the accountability loop. It is one of three sub-notes of audit category 14, Technical Rescue: Heights, Confined Space and Water (02 Audit Checklist Master Index), and rolls up with Checklist - Working at Heights and Fall Protection and Checklist - Confined Space, Trench and Rope Rescue.

Fireboat firefighting and shipboard fire response are audited in Checklist - RPAS, Marine and ARFF (Conditional Modules) under Marine Firefighting Program; this checklist audits the rescue, flotation and operator elements that apply to every department vessel, fireboats included. Where diving is not provided, section E is scored on item 29 only and the rest is marked not applicable with the reason.

Sampling follows 01 Audit Program section 8: every vessel; the flotation and suit inventory of three apparatus; ten pre-launch logs; every dive plan from the last 12 months where diving is provided; interviews with the water team lead, a vessel operator and two members; and one observation of a refresher, a drill, a launch or a drafting operation.

The CFAI column crosswalks each item to the 10th edition performance indicator it answers (CPSE, 2019); the 11th edition will be mapped when it applies.

1. Score D, I and E for each item 0 to 3, then derive the item score (01 Audit Program section 5).
2. Both-required evidence codes (D+I, D+O, O+I) need each type before I can exceed 1.
3. Weights C3, K2, S1; L items must score at least 2 or the category fails its legislated floor. Federal vessel duties carry L here because they are law wherever the department operates a vessel.
4. Category score = sum(weight x item score) / sum(weight x 3); the effectiveness index uses E.
5. Record a finding, owner and due date for every item below 3, and give each finding its grade and priority (01 Audit Program section 6): a major nonconformity is P1 (Imminent) or P2 (Serious) by risk, a minor nonconformity P3 (Moderate), an opportunity for improvement P4 (Improvement). Every finding enters the Corrective Action Register within five working days (a P1 the day it is found), with the due dates its priority sets.

Loop test. Walk the program’s loop test (Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program section 12) with the owner on a real event from the last year. If none exists, use this one: a member reports after a drill that two flotation devices on an engine have faded fabric and one inflatable is past its service date. Both should be removed that day; the item should be in the register within five working days with the water team lead as owner; the member should have an answer within 15 days; and within 30 days every apparatus and vessel should have been checked against the inspection record, with the change notice and the quarterly update showing the closure.

Answer from observation or interview only; record the evidence.

1. Watch the water’s edge. At a refresher, a drill or a drafting operation, watch who is within the water’s-edge distance and when their flotation goes on; at a launch, watch whether the kill cord is fitted before the engine starts and whether each go criterion is read against the written limit. The program is working when flotation goes on before members reach the edge and the limits are read, not recalled.
2. Ask a vessel operator and a crew member separately: “What are this vessel’s go and no-go limits, and when did you last not launch because of them?” The program is working when both state the same limits, name a real no-go, and the record exists.
3. Ask three members separately, one of them a volunteer: “Have you said no to going in, onto the ice or aboard, or seen someone do it? What happened? Did a concern you raised about water gear or vessels get an answer?” The program is working when they describe a real call that the officer backed and a concern that was answered.

1. (Program manager) Show me the declarations by discipline and the dispatch route for each level you do not provide.
2. (Company officer) Show me the flotation devices on this apparatus, their last inspection, and where the crew puts them on.
3. (Vessel master or operator) Show me this vessel’s registration, inventory, last pre-launch log and your certificates.
4. (Ice team member) Walk me through the plan for a rescuer who goes through the ice.
5. (Swiftwater team member) When did you last pull your quick release under load?
6. (Dive supervisor, where diving is provided) Show me the last dive plan, the briefing record, the divers’ medical dates and the last air test.
7. (Pump operator) Show me how you set up at a draft site in winter.
8. (Fleet services) Show me the outboard service record and what covers a vessel out of service.
9. (Observe) A pre-launch using the form, including the go or no-go check.
10. (Observe) A throw-bag drill or an ice or swiftwater refresher.
11. (Everyone) Who would you tell if you saw someone near the water without flotation tomorrow, and what would happen?
12. (Everyone) What one thing about water, ice or boat work would you fix first?

This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.

Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development [MLITSD]. (n.d.). Firefighter guidance notes (Section 21 Advisory Committee; individual notes revised to 2026). https://www.ontario.ca/document/firefighter-guidance-notes

Transport Canada. (n.d.-d). Small commercial vessel safety guide (TP 14070). https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/publications/tp-14070-small-commercial-vessel-safety-guide-2010