# 06 Glossary and Acronyms

> Fire Service Safety Management System, version 0.3.3 (2026-10-25). The Human Factor. Document FSSMS-FND-06.
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> Canonical: https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms
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> General information only, not legal, medical or other professional advice. Verify every requirement against the current official text of the law, standards and manufacturer instructions that apply to you. Obtain your own legal review and consult your joint health and safety committee before adopting anything. You adopt, adapt, implement and rely on this material entirely at your own risk and on your own responsibility. Full terms: Terms of Use, thehumanfactor.ca.

## How to use this glossary

This is the package glossary. Every program and policy note carries its own short Definitions section drawn from here; where a note’s definition and this one differ, this one governs and the note is corrected. Terms are grouped, then alphabetical within the group. Acronyms are expanded on first use and listed in section 6. Definitions of standards terms follow the standard cited; definitions of the package’s own terms are The Human Factor’s ([NFPA 1550, 2024](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-nfpa-1550); ISO 45001:2018; CSA Z1002:12; CSA Z1003-13; CSA Z1005:21; [CPSE, 2019](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019); [Hollnagel, 2014](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-hollnagel-2014); [Edmondson, 1999](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-edmondson-1999); [Dekker, 2014](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-dekker-2014)).

## 1. The package’s own terms

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **Accountability and closed feedback loop** | The mandatory five-row table in every program (owner, doer, verifier, feedback, closure) plus a loop test, scored by the audit as its own item. See also *closure rule*, *loop test*. |
| **Annual program appraisal** | The yearly written review by a Program Improvement Team of its program’s description, staffing, training, equipment, risks, indicators, accomplishments, corrective actions, lessons, next year’s milestones, five-year plan and budget, presented before the budget submission. |
| **Applicability test** | The Profile Worksheet question that switches a module to Required, Conditional or Not applicable, with a reason and a review date. |
| **Baseline** | The first measured value of an indicator, declared at the first management review and never moved, against which all later results are read. |
| **Capability list** | The ten capabilities a program needs from the people who carry it, against which every team member’s development plan is written: depth in the discipline; finding and weighing evidence; assessing risk; planning for the year and the next five; carrying work through to closure; building the budget case; writing for decision-makers; presenting and explaining change; working relationships with other teams, agencies and suppliers; and leading a team or a session. See [06 Program Improvement Teams](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-improvement-teams) section 9. |
| **Category** | One of the 20 top-level divisions of the safety management system used by both the Gap Assessment Tool and the audit checklists. |
| **Closure rule** | The written statement in each program of how a deficiency is logged, assigned, tracked to a due date, verified closed and reported, with the escalation rule when a date is missed. |
| **Concern-to-answer route** | The named path by which a concern raised by a member returns to that member with what was decided and why, and the time it takes; measured as an indicator. |
| **Conditional module** | A module the department has not formally adopted but may be called to under mutual aid or has responded to in the last three years; needs awareness-level controls and a written stand-off procedure. |
| **Corrective action** | A planned change that removes or reduces a deficiency found by an inspection, audit, investigation, JOHSC recommendation, near-miss report or assessment, with an owner, a due date, verification evidence and an effectiveness check. |
| **Corrective Action Register** | The single register in which every corrective action in the department is tracked to closure; its open-item age is a standing management review input. |
| **Critical element** | A Gap Assessment element that is a legal duty or a fireground life-safety control; weighted three times; must reach Implementation 2 to pass the Stage 1 gate. |
| **Dashboard** | The one-page monthly set of indicators the fire chief sees, the fuller monthly pack the JOHSC sees, and the four-page annual summary council sees. |
| **Effectiveness index** | The share of possible Effectiveness points scored in a gap assessment or audit (Σ E ÷ (3 × elements scored)), reported by category and overall; the number that shows a department is compliant but not yet effective. |
| **Element** | One scored statement in the Gap Assessment Tool, with its stage, weight, evidence code, evidence expected and crosswalk; 208 in all. |
| **Evidence code** | D (document), O (observation) or I (interview), marking what an assessor must see before scoring an element; D+O or D+I means both are required. |
| **Fabric element** | The one element in each Gap Assessment category that scores whether procedures were written with the crews, whether the learning firewall is in force, how speaking up is answered and whether concerns get answers. |
| **Gap assessment** | The scored measurement of the distance between the department’s safety management system today and the system the package describes, across 20 categories and three dimensions. |
| **Jurisdiction Index** | The hub of Part 10, [00 Jurisdiction Index](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/jurisdiction-index): every legal requirement topic by group, a topic-by-jurisdiction matrix, the jurisdiction packs and how to use them. Part 10 is the only part of the book that cites provincial and territorial statutes and regulations by section; the chapters state those duties generically and link the topic page. |
| **Jurisdiction pack** | A page that collects one jurisdiction’s section from every topic page, with a preface on what is distinctive there for fire departments, what departments commonly get wrong and a compliance checklist; generated from the topic pages, so the two views always agree. |
| **Jurisdiction requirements** | The table near the end of a chapter that lists each topic page the chapter relies on, with a one-line description of what the reader must confirm for their province or territory before adopting the chapter. |
| **Learning firewall** | The written, counsel-reviewed commitment that information gathered for learning (learning teams, after-action reviews, post-incident analyses, learning reviews, near-miss reports) is never used as the basis for discipline, and that conduct concerns go to a separate process run by different people. |
| **Learning team** | A short facilitated conversation with the people who do a task, held to understand how the work is really done, where it is hard, what people adapt to make it work and where the margins are thin; not an investigation; its output is understanding used to design the program, the procedure or the equipment. |
| **Legislated element** | A Gap Assessment element flagged L because it discharges a duty under the provincial statute or regulations; subject to the legislated-item floor. |
| **Legislated-item floor** | The rule that every legislated element must score Documentation 2 or more and Implementation 2 or more, or the category does not pass and the element is a Stage 1 critical item. |
| **Loop test** | The one-line test at the end of every accountability table: “A member reports X on Monday; by when and through whom does the fix reach the whole department?” |
| **Maturity band** | One of five descriptions (Reacting, Complying, Building, Learning, Generative) of how a department relates to its own safety system, derived from the gap assessment score, the effectiveness index and the weakest-category rule. |
| **Module** | A program, with its policy, procedures, forms and checklist, that the Profile Worksheet switches on or off. |
| **Priority (P1 to P4)** | The one scale on which every deficiency is rated and closed in the [Corrective Action Register](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/corrective-action-register), whatever its source (inspection, audit, investigation, near miss, JOHSC recommendation, program team or regulator order). P1 (Imminent): interim control the same shift, plan in 2 working days, closed in 7 days. P2 (Serious): interim control within 24 hours where practicable, plan in 7 days, closed in 30 days. P3 (Moderate): plan in 30 days, closed in 90 days. P4 (Improvement): plan at the next quarterly program update, closed within 365 days or by the next budget cycle, dated. Inspection ratings Immediate, High, Medium and Low are P1 to P4; extension and escalation rules are in the register. |
| **Program** | The written, auditable system for one hazard family or function: purpose, applicability, basis, roles, elements, training, equipment, procedures, records, indicators, accountability, audit, lessons, Stage 1 minimum and cost. |
| **Program Improvement Team (program team)** | A standing team for one program or specialty, led by a line officer as program manager, with a front-line team lead and members, a JOHSC standing consultant, a training officer and a clinician where needed, running the six-step improvement cycle and reporting quarterly. |
| **Program manager** | The line officer (district, battalion or deputy chief) accountable for a program through its team. |
| **Quarterly progress update** | The team lead’s report within 15 days of quarter end on indicators, trends, milestones, corrective actions, learning teams, training, research, equipment and JOHSC consultations. |
| **Required module** | A module the department performs or trains for; needs the full program. |
| **Safe work procedure (SWP)** | A short procedure a crew can use on the apparatus: task, hazards, controls, PPE, staffing, steps, emergency actions, records, training and review, with a speak-up callout. |
| **Seed hazard inventory** | The 167 generic hazards across 24 program areas in the Hazard Profile and Risk Register Method, from which a department builds its own register. |
| **Shell** | A customizable document with full content; never an empty outline. |
| **Speak-up callout** | The short callout near the top of every safe work procedure stating that anyone can stop the task, how to say it, what the officer does in reply and the one debrief question. |
| **Stage** | One of three implementation stages: Stage 1 Foundation (legal minimum plus the controls that stop people dying), Stage 2 Operating (full program running and measured), Stage 3 Learning (externally checked and improving on evidence). |
| **Stage gate test** | The gap assessment conditions a department must meet to be at a stage. |
| **Standing consultant** | A JOHSC member, safety officer, training officer, union or association representative, equity adviser or clinician designated to a Program Improvement Team. |
| **Team lead** | The front-line officer or senior member responsible for a program team’s day-to-day work and its quarterly update. |
| **Topic page** | A page in Part 10 that sets out one legal requirement topic (for example the joint committee or fall protection) for every province, territory and federal workplaces: what the topic covers, what every department must cover wherever it is, an at-a-glance table and a section for each jurisdiction. |
| **Weakest-category rule** | The rule that a department’s maturity band is capped at one band above its weakest category. |
| **Weight** | The multiplier on a Gap Assessment element: Critical ×3, Core ×2, Supporting ×1. |

## 2. Safety science, human factors and learning

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **After-action review (AAR)** | Tier 1 of the learning engine: a short, templated conversation by the crew after a qualifying call about what was expected, what happened, why, and what to keep or change. |
| **Chronic unease** | The habit, in a generative culture, of leaders continuing to look for what could go wrong even when nothing has. |
| **Crew resource management (CRM)** | The set of practices (communication, situational awareness, decision-making, teamwork, task allocation, assertiveness) adapted from aviation for crews working under stress. |
| **Drift** | The gradual movement of practice away from the written procedure, each step locally reasonable, until the margin is gone; the normalization of deviance is one form. |
| **Generative culture** | In the Westrum typology, an organization in which information flows freely, messengers are trained and rewarded, and failure leads to inquiry [(Westrum, 2004)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-westrum-2004). |
| **Good catch** | A hazard or error noticed and corrected before it could cause harm; reported through the near-miss route and counted as success. |
| **High reliability organization (HRO)** | An organization that operates in hazardous conditions with few failures through preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience and deference to expertise [(Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-weick-2015). |
| **Hindsight bias** | The tendency, once the outcome is known, to see it as having been predictable; a learning review guards against it by reconstructing how the situation looked to those in it. |
| **Human factors** | The study of how people perform within systems: perception, attention, decision-making, fatigue, communication, teamwork, equipment and environment design; in this package, the officer’s craft, not a bolt-on course. |
| **Independent learning review** | Tier 3 of the learning engine: a non-punitive, externally facilitated review of a serious event under the learning firewall, reconstructing local rationality and recommending system-level change. |
| **Just culture** | An agreed way of treating errors, adaptations and violations that distinguishes blameless error from reckless conduct, treats learning information as protected, and judges decisions by their quality rather than their outcome ([Reason, 1997](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-reason-1997); [Marx, 2001](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-marx-2001); [Dekker, 2014](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-dekker-2014)). |
| **Local rationality** | The principle that people’s actions made sense to them at the time given what they knew, saw and were trying to do; the question a review asks first. |
| **Normalization of deviance** | The process by which a departure from the standard, repeated without visible consequence, becomes the accepted way of working [(Vaughan, 1996)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-vaughan-1996). |
| **Organizational learning** | The capacity of the department, as distinct from its individuals, to turn events into changed procedures, training, equipment and expectations, and to keep the change. |
| **Post-incident analysis (PIA)** | Tier 2 of the learning engine: a department-level review of a working fire, mayday, rapid intervention deployment, injury or high-potential near miss, led by trained people with a systems method, using the incident safety officer’s report template [(NFPA 1550, 2024, Annex G)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-nfpa-1550). |
| **Psychological health** | The state of a person’s mental well-being, shaped at work by the 13 psychosocial factors (CSA Z1003-13); distinct from, and linked to, psychological safety. |
| **Psychological safety (organizational)** | The shared belief within a team that it is safe to speak up, ask a question, admit an error, or challenge a decision without being punished or humiliated; a condition created by leaders’ behaviour, meeting norms and the response to reports [(Edmondson, 1999)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-edmondson-1999). |
| **Psychosocial hazard** | A feature of work design, organization or management that can cause psychological harm: workload, lack of control, poor change management, lack of recognition, harassment and the other Z1003 factors. |
| **Recognition-primed decision-making** | The way experienced commanders decide under time pressure by recognizing a situation as typical and acting on the first workable option rather than comparing alternatives. |
| **Resilience** | The capacity of a crew or department to adjust its functioning before, during and after changes and disturbances so that it can keep operating under expected and unexpected conditions. |
| **Safety climate** | Members’ shared perceptions of how safety is valued and practised in the department at a point in time, measured by survey; the surface of culture. |
| **Safety culture** | The shared assumptions, values and behaviours about safety that members take for granted; made by what leaders do when someone speaks up. |
| **Safety Differently** | The practice position that people are the solution to build around, not the problem to control; that safety is the presence of capacity, not the absence of failure; and that procedures are written with the people who do the work ([Dekker, 2014](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-dekker-2014); [Conklin, 2017](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-conklin-2017)). |
| **Safety-I** | The view of safety as the absence of adverse outcomes, pursued by finding and removing causes of failure after the fact [(Hollnagel, 2014)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-hollnagel-2014). |
| **Safety-II** | The view of safety as the ability to succeed under varying conditions, pursued by understanding how work usually goes right and strengthening that capacity [(Hollnagel, 2014)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-hollnagel-2014). |
| **Situational awareness** | Perceiving what is happening, understanding what it means, and projecting what will happen next; the loss of it recurs in fatality investigations. |
| **Soak time** | The one-to-seven-day interval between a learning team’s learning session and its design session, in which the write-up is reviewed by participants. |
| **Speak up** | Any member saying the hazard and the action (“Stop, hold the ladder, the butt is on ice”); the officer acknowledges, acts and reviews later for learning. |
| **Stop-work authority** | The authority and duty of every member to stop an activity they believe presents an imminent danger and tell the supervisor; separate from the statutory right to refuse. |
| **Work-as-done** | How a task is actually performed under real conditions, including the adaptations people make to succeed. |
| **Work-as-imagined** | How a task is assumed to be performed by those who write procedures, plan or manage it at a distance from the work [(Hollnagel, 2014)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-hollnagel-2014). |
| **Workaround** | An adaptation members make when the written procedure does not fit the conditions; treated as information about the conditions, not as a violation. |

## 3. Occupational health and safety, law and management systems

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **Accreditation** | Formal recognition by an external body that an organization meets a published model; for fire services in North America, granted by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International after self-assessment, a peer team site visit and a Commission hearing, for five years [(CPSE, 2019)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019). |
| **Annual compliance report** | The report an accredited agency files with the Commission each year between site visits, showing continued compliance and progress on recommendations [(CPSE, 2019)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019). |
| **Audit** | A systematic, independent, documented process for obtaining evidence (documents, observations, interviews) and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which criteria are fulfilled (ISO 19011:2026; [CFCSA, 2021](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cfcsa-2021)). |
| **Audit criteria** | The policies, procedures, standards and legal requirements against which audit evidence is compared. |
| **Audit finding** | The result of evaluating evidence against criteria: conformity, nonconformity, or an opportunity for improvement. |
| **Certificate of Recognition (COR)** | A Canadian safety certification awarded by a certifying partner after an audit of 14 national elements plus a provincial supplement, requiring 80 percent overall and 50 percent per element [(CFCSA, 2021)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cfcsa-2021). |
| **Competent person** | A person who is qualified by knowledge, training and experience to do the work safely and to recognize its hazards; the regulation often requires one for inspections and tests. |
| **Compliance evaluation** | The periodic check of the organization’s conformity with its register of legal and other requirements (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 9.1.2). |
| **Continual improvement** | The recurring activity of enhancing performance through the management system (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 10.3). |
| **Core competency (CC)** | A CFAI performance indicator that an agency must meet to be accredited; non-core indicators may be unmet with a plan [(CPSE, 2019)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019). |
| **Criterion (CFAI)** | A lettered statement within a CFAI category (for example 11A) under which performance indicators sit. |
| **Due diligence** | The defence that an employer, supervisor or officer took every precaution reasonable in the circumstances; shown by records of hazard assessment, procedures, training, supervision, inspection, enforcement and corrective action. |
| **Duty to accommodate** | The employer’s obligation to adjust work for a member with a disability or protected need up to the point of undue hardship. |
| **Effective response force (ERF)** | The number and type of personnel and apparatus that must arrive within a target time to perform the critical tasks for a risk class; the critical task analysis is CFAI CC 2C.4 [(CPSE, 2019)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019). |
| **Employer** | The person or body that employs or engages members; for a municipal department usually the municipality, acting through the fire chief. |
| **Hazard** | A source with the potential to cause injury or ill health. |
| **Hazard identification** | The process of recognizing that a hazard exists and defining its characteristics (CSA Z1002:12). |
| **Hierarchy of controls** | The order in which controls are considered: elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, personal protective equipment (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 8.1.2). |
| **Incident** | An occurrence arising out of or in the course of work that could or does result in injury or ill health; includes near misses (ISO 45001:2018). |
| **Incident investigation** | The systematic process of establishing what happened, why, and what will prevent recurrence, with a systems-based analysis of causal and contributing factors (CSA Z1005:21). |
| **Internal responsibility system (IRS)** | The principle that everyone in the workplace shares responsibility for health and safety in proportion to their authority, with the employer carrying the most. |
| **Joint occupational health and safety committee (JOHSC)** | The statutory committee of worker and employer members that identifies hazards, inspects, receives concerns, participates in investigations, advises on policies and programs and makes recommendations the employer must answer. |
| **Lagging indicator** | A measure of outcomes that have already happened: injuries, exposures with treatment, collisions, claims. |
| **Leading indicator** | A measure of whether a control is in place and used: currency, completion, documentation, response time. |
| **Legal and other requirements** | The statutes, regulations, adopted standards, agreements and collective agreement clauses the organization must or chooses to comply with (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 6.1.3). |
| **Lost-time injury** | A work injury that results in time away from work beyond the day of injury. |
| **Major nonconformity** | The absence or total breakdown of a required process, or a condition likely to cause serious injury or a legal breach; rated P1 (Imminent) or P2 (Serious) by risk, so the plan is due in 2 working days or 7 days and closure in 7 days or 30 days (see *priority*). |
| **Management of change** | The procedure that requires a hazard assessment, consultation and training before a new apparatus, equipment, substance, procedure or service enters use (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 8.1.3). |
| **Management review** | The fire chief’s annual review of the management system against the inputs ISO 45001 sets for management review (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 9.3), producing decisions, resources and objectives that are communicated to members. |
| **Medical aid injury** | A work injury treated by a health professional beyond first aid, without lost time. |
| **Minor nonconformity** | An isolated lapse that does not undermine the system; rated P3 (Moderate), so the plan is due in 30 days and closure in 90 days (see *priority*). |
| **Near miss** | An event that did not cause harm but could have; reported through the 60-second route and counted as success. |
| **Nonconformity** | Non-fulfilment of a requirement (ISO 45001:2018). |
| **Objective** | A measurable result the organization sets out to achieve, with an owner, a measure and a date (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 6.2). |
| **Occupational disease** | A disease arising from exposure at work, including the cancers, heart injury and post-traumatic stress disorder covered presumptively for firefighters in most provinces. |
| **Opportunity for improvement (OFI)** | An audit finding that the organization conforms but could be more effective; rated P4 (Improvement), planned at the next quarterly program update and closed, or cancelled with a written reason, within 365 days or by the next budget cycle. |
| **Performance indicator (CFAI)** | A numbered statement under a CFAI criterion (for example 11A.6) that an agency answers with a description, appraisal, plan and references, rated met or not met [(CPSE, 2019)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019). |
| **Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA)** | The cycle on which ISO 45001 and this package are built: plan the system, operate it, check performance, act on the results. |
| **Presumptive coverage** | A workers’ compensation provision that presumes a listed disease or injury in a firefighter is work-related unless the contrary is proved. |
| **Program appraisal** | A formal, documented annual review of a program’s impacts, outcomes and effectiveness, required by CFAI for each operational and support program [(CPSE, 2019)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019); in this package, the Program Improvement Team’s annual appraisal. |
| **Right to refuse** | The statutory right of a worker to refuse work they have reasonable grounds to believe is dangerous, with protection from reprisal and a defined investigation route. |
| **Risk** | The combination of the likelihood of harm and its severity. |
| **Risk assessment** | The process of estimating and evaluating risk so that controls can be chosen and residual risk accepted or rejected (CSA Z1002:12). |
| **Residual risk** | The risk remaining after controls are in place and verified. |
| **Serious injury** | An injury the applicable OHS law defines for regulator notification (typically including fatality, loss of consciousness, amputation, fracture, burns requiring treatment and hospital admission); each jurisdiction’s list and reporting deadline are on [J08 Incident Reporting and Investigation](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j08-incident-reporting-and-investigation). |
| **Supervisor** | A person who directs the work of others and is responsible in law for the safety of that work; every company officer, career or volunteer, when directing a crew. |
| **Worker** | Any person who performs work for the employer, including volunteers for the purposes of this package whatever the statute says. |
| **Workers’ compensation** | The provincial no-fault insurance scheme that compensates work injury and disease; volunteer coverage and presumptions differ by province. |

## 4. Fire service operations, equipment and health

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **Accountability system** | The system that tracks the identity, assignment, location and entry time of every member at an incident. |
| **Advanced cleaning** | Cleaning of structural PPE by a trained member or verified provider using specified equipment and methods, at least annually and after exposure to products of combustion. |
| **Advanced inspection** | A detailed inspection of structural PPE by a trained member or verified provider, at least annually and after exposure. |
| **Air management** | The practice of managing SCBA air so that members exit the hazard area before the low-air alarm, with work cycles planned by cylinder. |
| **Apparatus** | A fire service vehicle: engine, tanker or tender, aerial, rescue, support unit. |
| **Clean cab** | An apparatus design and practice in which contaminated PPE and equipment never ride in the crew compartment. |
| **Collapse zone** | The area around a structure in which members may not operate because of the risk of collapse; at least the height of the wall. |
| **Company officer** | The captain, lieutenant or station officer who supervises a crew; the unit of change in safety culture. |
| **Decontamination (decon)** | The removal of contaminants from members, PPE, equipment and apparatus; preliminary (on scene), routine (after every use) and advanced. |
| **Defensive operations** | Firefighting from outside the structure’s collapse zone with no interior entry. |
| **Emergency vehicle operations** | Driving apparatus under emergency conditions with warning devices, subject to the department’s response policy and the applicable highway law. |
| **Flow path** | The route air and fire gases take between an inlet and an outlet in a structure fire; members in the flow path face rapid fire progression. |
| **Hazard control zones** | The hot, warm and cold zones established at an incident to control who may be where and with what protection. |
| **Hot debrief** | The company officer’s immediate conversation with the crew after a significant call, before the after-action review. |
| **Immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH)** | An atmosphere that poses an immediate threat to life, would cause irreversible health effects, or would impair escape; SCBA is required. |
| **Incident commander (IC)** | The person with overall authority for the incident under the incident management system. |
| **Incident management system (IMS)** | The standard organizational structure for command, control and coordination of an incident. |
| **Incident safety officer (ISO)** | The officer assigned at an incident to monitor conditions and operations, advise the incident commander, and alter, suspend or terminate imminently dangerous activity [(NFPA 1550, 2024, ch. 5)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-nfpa-1550). |
| **Interface (wildland-urban)** | The area where structures and wildland fuels meet. |
| **LCES** | Lookouts, communications, escape routes, safety zones: the wildland safety system that must be in place before engaging. |
| **Live fire training** | A training evolution with real fire, governed by NFPA 1400, which consolidated NFPA 1403 from 2026 [(NFPA 1400, 2026)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-nfpa-1400). |
| **Mayday** | The radio call by a member in distress that triggers the rapid intervention response. |
| **Particulate-blocking hood** | A protective hood with a layer that blocks fireground particulate from the neck and head. |
| **Personal accountability report (PAR)** | The roll call of every crew at defined benchmarks and after any significant event at an incident. |
| **Personal protective equipment (PPE)** | Clothing and equipment worn to protect the member: structural ensemble, SCBA, helmet, hood, gloves, boots, eye and hearing protection, specialty ensembles. |
| **Preliminary exposure reduction** | The on-scene steps after a fire that remove gross contamination before members leave the scene: gross decontamination on air, hood exchange, wipes, bagging. |
| **Rapid intervention team (RIT, RIC)** | A crew of at least one officer and three members, outside the hazard area, equipped and assigned to rescue members; an initial RIT of two is in place before interior entry (two-in/two-out). |
| **Rehabilitation (rehab)** | The incident or training function that provides rest, hydration, cooling or warming, medical monitoring and return-to-duty decisions for members. |
| **Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)** | The respirator that supplies breathing air from a cylinder carried by the member. |
| **Size-up** | The initial and continuing assessment of an incident, including the 360-degree walk-around of a structure. |
| **Standard operating guideline (SOG)** | A department-level written guideline for how operations are conducted; in this package, a safe work procedure’s operational sibling. |
| **Standards of cover (SOC)** | The document that sets the department’s response coverage strategy for each risk class, derived from the community risk assessment. |
| **Structural ensemble** | The coat, trousers, helmet, hood, gloves and boots certified for structural firefighting. |
| **Transitional attack** | An initial exterior application of water on the fire before entry where conditions indicate. |
| **Two-in/two-out** | The rule that two members enter an IDLH atmosphere together while two remain outside, trained and equipped to rescue them. |
| **Ventilation-limited fire** | A fire whose growth is limited by available air; opening the structure can cause rapid fire progression. |
| **Working fire** | An incident at which fire suppression operations with hose lines and SCBA take place; the denominator for exposure measures. |

## 5. Standards bodies, standards and programs

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **After the Call** | The Human Factor’s manual and tier model for fire service event learning: Tier 1 After-Action Review, Tier 2 Post-Incident Analysis, Tier 3 Independent Learning Review [(The Human Factor, 2026a)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-the-human-factor-2026a). |
| **CFAI** | Commission on Fire Accreditation International, the accrediting body administered by the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE); publishes the Fire and Emergency Service Self-Assessment Manual, 10th edition in force to 2026, 11th edition from 2027 [(CPSE, 2019, 2025)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cpse-2019). |
| **CFCSA** | Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations, publisher of the National COR Accreditation Standard [(CFCSA, 2021)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/glossary-and-acronyms#ref-cfcsa-2021). |
| **CSA Group** | The Canadian standards body; publishes the Z-series occupational health and safety standards, among them Z45001 (management systems), Z1002 (hazard and risk), Z1003 (psychological health and safety), Z1005 (incident investigation), Z1006 (confined spaces), Z94.4 (respirators) and Z180.1 (breathing air). |
| **FESSAM** | The CFAI Fire and Emergency Service Self-Assessment Manual: 11 categories, lettered criteria, numbered performance indicators, some marked core competencies. |
| **IAFC** | International Association of Fire Chiefs; with its Volunteer and Combination Officers Section publishes the Yellow Ribbon (behavioural health) and, with the NVFC, the Lavender Ribbon (cancer prevention) reports. |
| **IAFF** | International Association of Fire Fighters; co-publisher with the IAFC of the Wellness-Fitness Initiative. |
| **ISO** | International Organization for Standardization; ISO 45001 (OHS management systems), ISO 45003 (psychosocial risk), ISO 19011 (auditing). |
| **NFPA** | National Fire Protection Association; publishes the fire service standards, consolidated since 2022 into fewer documents: NFPA 1550 (emergency responder health and safety, 2024, replacing 1500, 1521 and 1561), NFPA 1580 (medical, fitness, rehab and infection control, 2025, replacing 1581 to 1584), NFPA 1585 (exposure and contamination control, 2025), NFPA 1850 (SCBA and PPE care), NFPA 1970 (structural PPE and SCBA, 2025), NFPA 1990 (hazmat ensembles), NFPA 1910 (apparatus in service), NFPA 1900 (apparatus), NFPA 2500 (technical rescue), NFPA 470 (hazmat competencies), NFPA 1400 (training safety and live fire, 2026) and NFPA 1010 (firefighter and driver qualifications). |
| **NFFF** | National Fallen Firefighters Foundation; publisher of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. |
| **NIOSH** | The United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; its Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) is the largest open record of fire service fatality analysis. |
| **NVFC** | National Volunteer Fire Council (United States). |
| **Section 21 guidance notes** | The firefighter guidance notes published in Ontario on the advice of its fire-service health and safety advisory committee, more than 90 topic notes used in this package as the hazard-specific topic map (MLITSD, n.d.). Whether a jurisdiction has fire-specific guidance of its own is on [J12 Fire Service OHS Rules and Fireground Operations](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j12-fire-service-ohs-rules-and-fireground-operations). |
| **UL FSRI** | The Fire Safety Research Institute of UL Research Institutes; source of the fire dynamics, ventilation and energy storage research the programs cite. |
| **USFA** | United States Fire Administration; publishes the annual firefighter fatality report. |
| **WCB** | Workers’ compensation board: in this package, whichever body administers workers’ compensation in the department’s province or territory (some are called a commission). It decides claims and firefighter presumptions and, in some jurisdictions, runs an injury-prevention certification or incentive program ([J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j32-workers-compensation-and-firefighter-presumptions); [J36 External Verification and Funding](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j36-external-verification-and-funding)). |
| **WFI** | The IAFF and IAFC Joint Labor-Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative. |

## 6. Acronyms

| Acronym | Expansion |
|:---|:---|
| AAR | After-action review |
| AED | Automated external defibrillator |
| AGP | Aerosol-generating procedure |
| ARFF | Airport (aviation) rescue and firefighting |
| CAO | Chief administrative officer |
| CARs | Canadian Aviation Regulations |
| CBRN | Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear |
| CC | Core competency (CFAI) |
| CFAI | Commission on Fire Accreditation International |
| COR | Certificate of Recognition |
| CPSE | Center for Public Safety Excellence |
| CRA | Community risk assessment |
| CRM | Crew resource management |
| CSA | CSA Group (Canadian Standards Association) |
| D/O/I | Document, observation, interview (evidence codes) |
| EFAP | Employee and family assistance program |
| ERF | Effective response force |
| ESS | Energy storage system |
| EV | Electric vehicle |
| EVT | Emergency vehicle technician |
| FFFIPP | Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (NIOSH) |
| FSSMS | Fire Service Safety Management System (working name of this package) |
| HSO | Health and safety officer |
| IC | Incident commander |
| IDLH | Immediately dangerous to life or health |
| IMS | Incident management system |
| IRS | Internal responsibility system |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization; also incident safety officer, by context |
| ISP | Independent service provider (PPE cleaning and repair) |
| JOHSC | Joint occupational health and safety committee |
| LCES | Lookouts, communications, escape routes, safety zones |
| LODD | Line-of-duty death |
| LTI | Lost-time injury |
| OFI | Opportunity for improvement |
| OHS | Occupational health and safety |
| PAR | Personal accountability report |
| PDCA | Plan, Do, Check, Act |
| PEP | Post-exposure prophylaxis |
| PFD | Personal flotation device |
| PIA | Post-incident analysis |
| POV | Privately owned vehicle |
| PPE | Personal protective equipment |
| PTE | Potentially traumatic event |
| PTSD, PTSI | Post-traumatic stress disorder; post-traumatic stress injury |
| PV | Photovoltaic (solar) |
| RACI | Responsible, accountable, consulted, informed |
| RIT, RIC | Rapid intervention team (crew) |
| RPAS | Remotely piloted aircraft system |
| SCBA | Self-contained breathing apparatus |
| SDS | Safety data sheet |
| SOC | Standards of cover |
| SOG | Standard operating guideline |
| SWP | Safe work procedure |
| TIC | Thermal imaging camera |
| WCB | Workers’ compensation board (or commission) |
| WHMIS | Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System |
| WUI | Wildland-urban interface |

## 7. Placeholders

Every placeholder in the package uses double curly braces and Title Case. A note that introduces a new one adds it here.

| Placeholder | Means | First set in |
|:---|:---|:---|
| {{Department}} | The adopting fire department’s legal name | [01 Program Profile Worksheet](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-profile-worksheet) Part A |
| {{Municipality}} | The municipality or authority that is the employer of record | [01 Program Profile Worksheet](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-profile-worksheet) Part A |
| {{Province}} | The province or territory whose statute applies | [01 Program Profile Worksheet](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-profile-worksheet) Part A |
| {{Fire Chief}} | The department’s chief officer (role) | [01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) section 6 |
| {{Deputy Chief}} | The deputy chief accountable for the program area (role) | [01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) section 6 |
| {{Division Chief, Safety}} | The senior officer responsible for health and safety (role) | [01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) section 6 |
| {{Health and Safety Officer}} | The program-level health and safety officer (role) | [01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) section 6 |
| {{Incident Safety Officer}} | The incident-level safety officer function (role or pool) | [01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) section 6 |
| {{JOHSC}} | The department’s joint occupational health and safety committee, as named locally | [02 JOHSC Integration](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/johsc-integration) |
| {{Union}} | The bargaining agent for career members | [01 Program Profile Worksheet](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-profile-worksheet) Part A |
| {{Volunteer Association}} | The association representing volunteer members | [01 Program Profile Worksheet](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-profile-worksheet) Part A |
| {{Effective date}} | The date a document takes effect | Each document’s header |
| {{Review date}} | The date by which a document must be reviewed | Each document’s header |
| {{Records system}} | The system in which the department keeps its OHS records | [05 Document Control and Records](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/document-control-and-records) |
| {{Learning system}} | The system in which near-miss reports, reviews and lessons are held | [Incident Investigation and Learning Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/incident-investigation-and-learning-program) |
| {{Team}} | A Program Improvement Team’s name in a terms-of-reference shell | [06 Program Improvement Teams](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-improvement-teams) section 12 |
| {{Department number}} | The department’s own document or policy numbering prefix, where it keeps one | Each policy’s header table |
| {{Policy number}} | The number the department assigns to a policy under its own numbering scheme | Each policy’s header table |
| {{Occupational Health Provider}} | The physician, clinic or occupational health service that delivers medical evaluations, clearances and exposure follow-up (role or organization type, never a name) | [Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program) |
| {{Medical Director}} | The physician who provides medical direction for medical first response and infection control (role) | [Infection Control and Medical Response Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/infection-control-and-medical-response-safety-program) |
| {{Infection Control Officer}} | The member designated to run the infection control program and the post-exposure route (role) | [Infection Control and Medical Response Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/infection-control-and-medical-response-safety-program) |
| {{Post-Exposure Clinic}} | The emergency department or clinic that provides post-exposure assessment and prophylaxis around the clock | [Infection Control and Medical Response Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/infection-control-and-medical-response-safety-program) |
| {{EHS Provider}} | The provincial or regional emergency health services (ambulance) provider the department works beside | [Infection Control and Medical Response Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/infection-control-and-medical-response-safety-program); [Workplace Violence](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-violence-and-harassment-program) |
| {{Program Manager, Respiratory Protection}} | The line officer accountable for the respiratory protection program (role) | [Respiratory Protection](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/respiratory-protection-program) |
| {{PPE Program Manager}} | The line officer accountable for the protective clothing and equipment program (role) | [Protective Clothing and Equipment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/protective-clothing-and-equipment-program) |
| {{PPE Coordinator}} | The member who runs day-to-day PPE issue, inspection scheduling, cleaning and records (role) | [Protective Clothing and Equipment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/protective-clothing-and-equipment-program) |
| {{Decon Lead}} | The member who leads post-call decontamination at a station or on scene (role) | [Decontamination and Contamination Control](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/decontamination-and-contamination-control-program) |
| {{Verified ISP}} | The independent service provider verified to the PPE care standard that the department uses for advanced cleaning, inspection and repair | [Protective Clothing and Equipment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/protective-clothing-and-equipment-program) |
| {{Second set date}} | The date by which every interior-qualified member has a second structural ensemble or pool access | [Protective Clothing and Equipment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/protective-clothing-and-equipment-program) |
| {{Provincial Wildfire Agency}} | The provincial department or agency responsible for wildland fire suppression (organization type) | [Wildland and Interface](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/wildland-and-interface-program) |
| {{Deployment Minimum}} | The shortest deployment the department accepts for a wildland or campaign assignment (days) | [Wildland and Interface](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/wildland-and-interface-program) |
| {{Deployment Maximum}} | The longest deployment the department allows before mandatory rotation (days) | [Wildland and Interface](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/wildland-and-interface-program) |
| {{Shift Cap}} | The maximum continuous hours a member may work before mandatory rest | [Wildland and Interface](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/wildland-and-interface-program); Fatigue and Hours of Work policy |
| {{Minimum Hours}} | The minimum annual hours of practice or currency a program sets for a declared capability | The program that uses it (for example RPAS flight hours or rescue drill hours) |
| {{Thread Patterns}} | The hose coupling and breathing-air fitting thread standards the department uses, recorded for compatibility with mutual aid partners | [Contractor and Mutual Aid Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/contractor-and-mutual-aid-safety-program); Equipment Standards team records |
| {{Aerial Wind Limit}} | The wind speed above which aerial devices are not raised or are lowered, per the manufacturer and the department’s rule | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program); [Aerial Device Operations](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-aerial-device-operations) |
| {{Human Resources}} | The municipality’s human resources function that receives harassment complaints and manages compensation claims (organization type) | [Workplace Violence](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-violence-and-harassment-program) |
| {{Police Service}} | The police service of jurisdiction that secures violent scenes (organization type) | [Workplace Violence](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-violence-and-harassment-program); [Violent Scene Staging](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-violent-scene-staging) |
| {{External reporting channel}} | The route outside the chain of command (for example a municipal ombudsperson or third-party line) for harassment and violence reports | [Workplace Violence](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-violence-and-harassment-program) |
| {{Staging phrase}} | The radio phrase that tells crews to stage away from a scene until it is secured | [Violent Scene Staging](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-violent-scene-staging) |
| {{Scene safe phrase}} | The radio phrase that tells staged crews the scene is secured | [Violent Scene Staging](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-violent-scene-staging) |
| {{Exit word}} | The agreed word or phrase a crew uses to signal an immediate withdrawal from a scene without alarming others | [Violent Scene Staging](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-violent-scene-staging) |
| {{Port Authority}} | The port or harbour authority the department coordinates with for marine incidents (organization type) | [Marine Firefighting](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/marine-firefighting-program) |
| {{Airport Operator}} | The certified aerodrome operator the department serves under the federal aviation regulations (organization type) | [Airport Rescue and Firefighting](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/airport-rescue-and-firefighting-program) |
| {{Conduct policy}} | The department’s conduct or discipline policy, the route for conduct concerns outside the learning firewall | [Policy - Incident, Injury, Exposure and Near-Miss Reporting and Investigation](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-incident-injury-exposure-and-near-miss-reporting-and-investigation) section 2 |
| {{Workplace Violence and Harassment policy}} | The department’s violence and harassment policy, as named locally | [Policy - Incident, Injury, Exposure and Near-Miss Reporting and Investigation](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-incident-injury-exposure-and-near-miss-reporting-and-investigation) section 2 |
| {{Date}} | A date the department enters where the text shows it: adoption, approval, appointment, consultation or review | [02 JOHSC Integration](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/johsc-integration) section 5; [Infection Control and Medical Response Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/infection-control-and-medical-response-safety-program); [Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program) |
| {{Number}} | A number the department sets or enters where the text shows it, such as committee seats, consecutive tours, cones per unit or peer supporters | [02 JOHSC Integration](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/johsc-integration) section 5; [Roadway Incident Scene Blocking](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-roadway-incident-scene-blocking); [Psychological Health and Safety and Peer Support](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/psychological-health-and-safety-and-peer-support-program) |
| {{Days}} | A number of days the department sets where the text shows it, such as a repair or determination turnaround | [Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program); [Hearing Conservation](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/hearing-conservation-program); [Contractor and Mutual Aid Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/contractor-and-mutual-aid-safety-program) |
| {{Hours}} | A number of hours the department sets where the text shows it, such as supervised driving hours (default 20), duty and rest limits, or an RPAS pilot’s duty limit | [Policy - Apparatus and Driving](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-apparatus-and-driving); [Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program); [RPAS](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/rpas-program) |
| {{Weeks}} | The number of weeks by which the management review must precede the budget submission | [04 Annual Program Cycle and Calendar](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/annual-program-cycle-and-calendar) section 3 |
| {{Years}} | A number of years the department sets where the text shows it, such as the minimum service for a peer supporter | [Psychological Health and Safety and Peer Support](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/psychological-health-and-safety-and-peer-support-program) |
| {{Time}} | A clock time the department sets where the text shows it, such as the hour after which no routine station duties are scheduled | [Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program) |
| {{Role}} | A role title the department enters where the text shows it, such as a program manager, team lead, alternate or reviewer; never a person’s name | [06 Program Improvement Teams](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-improvement-teams) section 12; [Facilities and Station Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program) |
| {{Profession}} | The regulated profession of the clinician who advises the peer support team | [Psychological Health and Safety and Peer Support](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/psychological-health-and-safety-and-peer-support-program) |
| {{Chief Administrative Officer}} | The municipality’s chief administrative officer, who signs the OHS policy for the employer of record where council delegates it (role) | [Policy - Occupational Health and Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-occupational-health-and-safety) |
| {{Resolution number}} | The number of the council resolution that adopts the OHS policy | [Policy - Occupational Health and Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-occupational-health-and-safety) |
| {{Council or CAO}} | The council (or a fire district’s board) or the chief administrative officer that approves or endorses a policy where the municipality requires more than the fire chief’s approval | Each policy’s header table, for example [Policy - Occupational Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-occupational-medical-fitness-and-wellness) |
| {{Regulator}} | The short name of the OHS regulator for the department’s jurisdiction, used in references to its orders ([J01 OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j01-ohs-legislation-regulator-and-enforcement)) | [Corrective Action Register](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/corrective-action-register) |
| {{Department prefix}} | The department’s prefix at the start of its own document numbers | [05 Document Control and Records](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/document-control-and-records) section 4 |
| {{Budget submission date}} | The date the department’s budget submission goes to the municipality | [04 Annual Program Cycle and Calendar](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/annual-program-cycle-and-calendar) |
| {{Program Manager, Apparatus, Driving and Roadway}} | The line officer accountable for the apparatus, driving and roadway program (role) | [Policy - Apparatus and Driving](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-apparatus-and-driving) |
| {{Program Manager, Facilities and Stations}} | The line officer accountable for the facilities and stations program (role) | [Policy - Facilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-facilities) |
| {{Dive Supervisor}} | The person designated in writing to supervise each dive under the applicable diving regulation (role) | [Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/water-ice-and-swiftwater-rescue-program) |
| {{Structural Engineer (on call)}} | The structural or geotechnical engineer on call to the technical rescue team under a written arrangement (role or firm type, never a name) | [Trench and Structural Collapse Rescue](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/trench-and-structural-collapse-rescue-program) |
| {{Maximum consecutive hours}} | The most consecutive hours of duty, including overtime and call-backs, before a rest period (default 24 on a 24-hour pattern; 16 on a 10/14 or 12-hour pattern) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Maximum hours in seven days}} | The most hours of duty in any seven-day period, including overtime (default 72) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Maximum consecutive shifts}} | The most consecutive 24-hour shifts scheduled without a rest of at least 24 hours (default two) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Minimum rest hours}} | The shortest rest period between duty periods (default 10 hours, eight of them available for sleep) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Night rest window}} | The night hours in which no routine station duties are scheduled (default 2200 to 0600) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Protracted incident threshold}} | The work that makes an incident protracted for the rest rules (default more than four hours of arduous work, an incident or training lasting beyond 12 hours, or an overnight deployment) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Post-incident rest}} | The minimum relief from duty after a protracted incident (default eight hours, or the balance of the shift if longer) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Awake limit}} | The hours awake after which a member may not drive a department vehicle, or a personal vehicle on department business (default 18) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Volunteer night threshold}} | The night call time after which a volunteer should not respond to further non-life-threatening calls (default four hours between 2200 and 0600) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Volunteer rest end}} | The time before which that volunteer should not respond to further non-life-threatening calls (default 0800 the next day) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Alcohol abstinence period}} | The time before duty within which a member may not drink alcohol (default eight hours) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Cannabis abstinence period}} | The time before scheduled duty within which a member may not use cannabis (default 24 hours) | [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) |
| {{Minimum cell size}} | The smallest count any cell of a published table may show, so that no member can be identified (default seven) | [Policy - Records, Privacy and Health Information](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-records-privacy-and-health-information) |
| {{Peer support log retention}} | How long the peer support contact log is kept before it is destroyed (default two years) | [Policy - Records, Privacy and Health Information](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-records-privacy-and-health-information) |
| {{Humidex Green Limit}} | The humidex value below which normal heat controls apply (green) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Humidex Yellow Band}} | The humidex range in which work-rest cycles follow the TLV allocation (yellow) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Humidex Orange Band}} | The humidex range in which work-rest cycles are shortened and rehab follows every cylinder (orange) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Humidex Red Limit}} | The humidex value at or above which only emergency operations proceed, with continuous rehab rotation (red) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Wind Chill Green Limit}} | The wind chill value above which normal cold controls apply (green) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Wind Chill Yellow Band}} | The wind chill range in which warm-up breaks follow the TLV schedule (yellow) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Wind Chill Orange Band}} | The wind chill range in which exposed skin is covered, rotation is shortened and non-emergency outdoor work stops (orange) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Wind Chill Red Limit}} | The wind chill value at or below which only emergency operations proceed, with continuous rotation (red) | [Heat, Cold and Weather](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/heat-cold-and-weather-program) |
| {{Margin}} | The speed above the posted limit, in km/h, at which apparatus may travel in emergency mode on clear, dry roads | [Policy - Apparatus and Driving](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-apparatus-and-driving); [Apparatus, Driving and Roadway Operations](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/apparatus-driving-and-roadway-operations-program) |
| {{Minimum electrical clearance}} | The distance the department keeps between aerial devices, ladders or members and energized lines; never less than the applicable regulation and the utility require | [Policy - Working at Heights](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-working-at-heights); [Aerial Device Operations](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-aerial-device-operations) |
| {{Training tower inspection interval}} | How often an engineer structurally inspects training towers and elevated props | [Policy - Working at Heights](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-working-at-heights); [Working at Heights and Fall Protection](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/working-at-heights-and-fall-protection-program) |
| {{Flight hours}} | The most flight time an RPAS pilot may fly in a duty period before standing down | [RPAS](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/rpas-program) |
| {{Station}} | A station’s name or number, one per row or plan, in station plans and the inspection schedule | [Facilities and Station Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program); [Workplace Inspections](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-inspections-program); [Workplace Violence](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-violence-and-harassment-program) |
| {{Shop}} | A shop or maintenance facility, one per row, in the inspection schedule | [Workplace Inspections](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-inspections-program) |
| {{Training ground}} | The training ground or training facility, in the inspection schedule | [Workplace Inspections](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-inspections-program) |
| {{Administration office}} | The administration office, in the inspection schedule | [Workplace Inspections](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-inspections-program) |
| {{Machine or system}} | The machine or system a lockout procedure covers, one procedure each | [Facilities and Station Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program) |
| {{Station or shop}} | Where the machine or system in a lockout procedure is located | [Facilities and Station Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/facilities-and-station-safety-program) |
| {{Unit}} | An apparatus unit, one per row, in the apparatus testing and certification schedule | [Apparatus, Driving and Roadway Operations](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/apparatus-driving-and-roadway-operations-program) |
| {{Add local task}} | A task at height specific to the department, added as a row to the task inventory | [Working at Heights and Fall Protection](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/working-at-heights-and-fall-protection-program) |
| {{Add call types from dispatch data}} | Further call types that the department’s dispatch data shows carry a violence risk, added as rows to the call-type assessment | [Workplace Violence](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/workplace-violence-and-harassment-program) |
| {{Department-specific task, for example water or ice rescue, wildland deployment}} | An essential job task specific to the department, added as a row to the task list | [Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program) |
| {{Modality}} | A screening method the department is piloting, one per row, in the screening indicator table | [Occupational Cancer Prevention, Exposure Tracking and Screening](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/occupational-cancer-prevention-exposure-tracking-and-screening-program) |
| {{QR code / phone}} | The QR code or telephone number members use to report a near miss or good catch, printed on the learning bulletin | [Incident Investigation and Learning Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/incident-investigation-and-learning-program) |
| {{Stage 2 date}} | The date from which participation in the fitness assessment becomes mandatory, by agreement with the union and the association | [Policy - Occupational Medical, Fitness and Wellness](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-occupational-medical-fitness-and-wellness) |
| {{Stage 2 completion threshold}} | The completion rate that neither career nor volunteer results may fall below in the Stage 2 test (default 90 percent) | [01 Implementation Roadmap 0-36 Months](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/implementation-roadmap-0-36-months) |
| {{Volunteer parity threshold}} | The largest gap allowed between volunteer and career station completion rates (default 10 percentage points) | [01 Implementation Roadmap 0-36 Months](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/implementation-roadmap-0-36-months) |
| {{Lost-time claims cost}} | The department’s cost of lost-time injury claims over the last three years: wage loss, medical aid and rehabilitation | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Premium and experience rating}} | The department’s compensation premium and experience-rating effect over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Cancer claims cost}} | The cost of presumptive cancer claims over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Cardiac claims cost}} | The cost of heart injury claims within 24 hours of a response over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Psychological claims cost}} | The cost of psychological injury claims and assistance program use over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Backfill cost}} | The backfill, overtime and acting pay to cover injured members over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Damage cost}} | The cost of apparatus and equipment damage over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Enforcement cost}} | The cost of regulator orders, penalties and stop-work orders, and the staff time to answer them, over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Litigation cost}} | The cost of litigation and settlements over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Turnover cost}} | The cost of recruiting, onboarding and training replacements for members who left over the last three years | [02 Business Case and Cost Model](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/business-case-and-cost-model) |
| {{Action}} | The improvement action a program commits to in its annual appraisal, written as a verb phrase | [Form - Annual Program Appraisal](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-annual-program-appraisal) |
| {{Quarter}} | The quarter of the fiscal year, Q1 to Q4 | [Form - Quarterly Program Progress Update](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-quarterly-program-progress-update); [Form - Annual Program Appraisal](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-annual-program-appraisal) |
| {{Year}} | A four-digit year, as in a register, audit or recommendation number or a reporting period | [Corrective Action Register](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/corrective-action-register) section 3; [01 Audit Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/audit-program) |
| {{Sequence}} | The running number within the year in a register, audit or recommendation identifier; never reused | [Corrective Action Register](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/corrective-action-register) section 3; [01 Audit Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/audit-program) |
| {{Audit reference}} | The audit’s reference number, which prefixes each of its finding numbers | [Form - Audit Plan and Report Template](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-audit-plan-and-report-template) |
| {{Finding number}} | The two-digit running number of a finding within one audit | [Form - Audit Plan and Report Template](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-audit-plan-and-report-template) |
| {{Category number}} | An audit category’s number in [02 Audit Checklist Master Index](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/audit-checklist-master-index) | [Form - Audit Plan and Report Template](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-audit-plan-and-report-template) |
| {{Category name}} | An audit category’s name in [02 Audit Checklist Master Index](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/audit-checklist-master-index) | [Form - Audit Plan and Report Template](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/form-audit-plan-and-report-template) |
| {{Bulletin number}} | The running number of a learning bulletin | [Incident Investigation and Learning Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/incident-investigation-and-learning-program) |
| {{Phone number}} | A telephone number the department sets up for a service, such as the 24/7 exposure reporting line or the peer support duty phone | [Infection Control and Medical Response Safety](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/infection-control-and-medical-response-safety-program); [Psychological Health and Safety and Peer Support](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/psychological-health-and-safety-and-peer-support-program) |
| {{Location}} | The launch site a pilot names on the incident channel before an RPAS flight | [RPAS Flight Operations](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-rpas-flight-operations) |
| {{Subscription price}} | The annual price of the optional update subscription, in Canadian dollars | [00a Copyright, Licence and Legal Notices](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/copyright-licence-and-legal-notices) |

## Jurisdiction requirements

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.

| Topic | What to check in your jurisdiction | Page |
|:---|:---|:---|
| OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement | Which OHS statute and regulations govern a municipal fire department, which regulator enforces them, and whether federal law applies instead | [J01 OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j01-ohs-legislation-regulator-and-enforcement) |
| Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative | The deadline for the employer’s written response to a committee recommendation | [J05 Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j05-joint-committee-and-health-and-safety-representative) |
| Incident Reporting and Investigation | How the law defines a serious injury and a dangerous occurrence that must be reported to the regulator, and how quickly and by what means each must be reported | [J08 Incident Reporting and Investigation](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j08-incident-reporting-and-investigation) |
| Fire Service OHS Rules and Fireground Operations | Whether the jurisdiction has a fire-service OHS regulation, fire-specific guidance notes or a fire-service OHS advisory committee | [J12 Fire Service OHS Rules and Fireground Operations](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j12-fire-service-ohs-rules-and-fireground-operations) |
| Workers’ Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions | Which body administers workers’ compensation, and which cancers, heart conditions and psychological injuries the law presumes work-related for firefighters | [J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j32-workers-compensation-and-firefighter-presumptions) |
| External Verification and Funding | Which external verification is open to the department: a COR certifying partner, compensation board certification or incentive programs, and accreditation | [J36 External Verification and Funding](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j36-external-verification-and-funding) |

## References

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Center for Public Safety Excellence \[CPSE\]. (2019). *Fire and emergency service self-assessment manual* (10th ed.). Commission on Fire Accreditation International. <https://cpse.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/10th-Edition-FESSAM-Strikethrough-Underline-v.4.pdf>

Center for Public Safety Excellence \[CPSE\]. (2025). *Board approval of Fire and Emergency Service Accreditation Model updates (11th edition)* \[Web page\]. <https://www.cpse.org/accreditation/cfai10/>

Conklin, T. (2017). *Workplace fatalities: Failure to predict*. Pre-Accident Media.

CSA Group. (2012). *CSA Z1002:12 (R2022), Occupational health and safety: Hazard identification and elimination and risk assessment and control*. <https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CAN-CSA-Z1002-12/>

CSA Group. (2013). *CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 (R2022), Psychological health and safety in the workplace: Prevention, promotion, and guidance to staged implementation* (free to read from CSA Group and the Mental Health Commission of Canada). <https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CAN-CSA-Z1003-13-BNQ%209700-803-2013/>

CSA Group. (2021). *CSA Z1005:21 (R2026), Workplace incident investigation*. <https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CSA%20Z1005:21/>

Dekker, S. (2014). *The field guide to understanding “human error”* (3rd ed.). Ashgate.

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. *Administrative Science Quarterly, 44*(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999

Hollnagel, E. (2014). *Safety-I and Safety-II: The past and future of safety management*. Ashgate.

International Organization for Standardization. (2018). *ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems: Requirements with guidance for use*. <https://www.iso.org/standard/63787.html>

International Organization for Standardization. (2026). *ISO 19011:2026, Guidelines for auditing management systems* (4th ed.). <https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/iso/602c3cef-1d84-4d52-8d97-48d35b8d824e/iso-19011-2026>

Marx, D. (2001). *Patient safety and the “just culture”: A primer for health care executives*. Columbia University.

National Fire Protection Association. (2024). *NFPA 1550, Standard for emergency responder health and safety* (consolidates NFPA 1500, 1521 and 1561). <https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1550-standard-development/1550>

National Fire Protection Association. (2026). *NFPA 1400, Standard on fire service training* (consolidates NFPA 1402, 1403, 1404, 1407, 1408, 1410 and 1451). <https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1400-standard-development/1400>

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>

Reason, J. (1997). *Managing the risks of organizational accidents*. Ashgate.

The Human Factor. (2026a). *After the Call, Manual 02: The three tiers and event triage* \[Unpublished manuscript\].

Vaughan, D. (1996). *The Challenger launch decision: Risky technology, culture, and deviance at NASA*. University of Chicago Press.

Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2015). *Managing the unexpected: Sustained performance in a complex world* (3rd ed.). Wiley.

Westrum, R. (2004). A typology of organisational cultures. *Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13*(Suppl. 2), ii22–ii27. https://doi.org/10.1136/qshc.2003.009522