# Policy - Volunteer Members

> Fire Service Safety Management System, version 0.3.3 (2026-10-25). The Human Factor. Document FSSMS-POL-20.
>
> Canonical: https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-volunteer-members
>
> Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 with the Adopting Agency Grant (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
>
> 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.

> **Warning: Adoption without implementation increases legal exposure**
>
> Adopting this policy without the training, equipment, supervision, verification and resources to carry it out as written increases municipal and command liability in a regulatory investigation or a fatality inquiry. See [00a Copyright, Licence and Legal Notices](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/copyright-licence-and-legal-notices).

> **Warning: Review before adoption**
>
> This model policy needs review by the department’s counsel, against the municipality’s registration agreement or by-law for the department, against any volunteer association agreement, and against the provincial or territorial statutes that define a volunteer firefighter’s status for OHS, compensation and human rights purposes ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)). It is general information, not legal advice. Where it conflicts with a statute, regulation or agreement, the statute, regulation or agreement governs. Section numbers are cited as of 2026-10-22; confirm each one before signing.

## How to use this model

**Format.** Adopt as a department policy. In a department that is a registered society rather than a municipal division, the society’s board adopts it and the municipality’s registration agreement should reference it.

**Drafting conventions.** **Shall** means mandatory. **Should** means expected unless a documented reason exists. **May** means permitted. Placeholders in double curly braces, such as `{{Department}}`, are completed by the department. Drafting notes sit in callouts and are removed before adoption.

**Keep intact.** The position in 5.1 (volunteers are workers for every purpose of the safety management system), the coverage and records rules in 5.2, training access (5.3), medicals and PPE (5.4 and 5.5), JOHSC representation (5.6), and the four house principles. **Adapt.** The response-from-home rules to local geography; the recognition of time to local practice; any clause where the law of your province or territory differs (see the Jurisdiction requirements table at the end).

| Field | Entry |
|:---|:---|
| Policy title | Volunteer Members Policy |
| Policy number | FSSMS-POL-20 ({{Department}} number: {{Policy number}}) |
| Approved by | {{Fire Chief}}; {{Municipality}} where the registration agreement requires |
| Effective date | {{Effective date}} |
| Next review date | {{Review date}} (12 months after adoption, then every three years) |
| Policy owner | {{Deputy Chief}} (operations), with the Volunteer Operations program manager |
| Consulted | {{JOHSC}}; {{Volunteer Association}}; {{Union}}; municipal human resources and counsel; the workers’ compensation board where coverage is in question |

## 1. Purpose

1.1 To state {{Department}}’s position that volunteer and paid-on-call members are workers for every purpose of the safety management system, whatever the applicable statute says about their status, and to set out what follows from that: coverage, training access, medicals, protective equipment, committee representation, response from home, hours and fatigue, and recognition of time.

1.2 To make the department’s volunteer stations as safe as its career stations. The hazards do not know the difference. A program designed without volunteer stations in the room is work-as-imagined for half the department.

## 2. Scope and application

2.1 Applies to every volunteer, paid-on-call, auxiliary and probationary volunteer member, and to the officers who direct them.

2.2 Applies to every career officer and program whose decisions affect volunteer members.

2.3 Where this policy and another policy in the set differ, this policy states the volunteer position, and the topic pages linked from each policy’s Jurisdiction requirements table state the statutory variation for each province and territory ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)).

## 3. Definitions

**Composite department.** A department with both career and volunteer or paid-on-call members.

**Deemed worker.** A volunteer firefighter treated as a worker for workers’ compensation purposes by statute or regulation, with deemed earnings set by the compensation scheme.

**Paid-on-call member.** A member paid per call or per hour of response or training, who is otherwise not scheduled for duty.

**Participation record.** The per-member, per-year record of calls and training attended, used to show active status for presumptive compensation coverage.

**Presumptive coverage.** The statutory presumption that certain cancers, heart injury within a stated period after emergency response, and post-traumatic stress disorder are work-related for firefighters, subject to conditions.

**Response from home.** Attendance at a station or scene from a member’s home, workplace or elsewhere, often in a personal vehicle, on a pager or app alert.

**Volunteer member.** A member who performs work for the department under its direction without regular wages, whether or not paid honoraria, points, stipends or per-call amounts.

**Worker (for this policy).** Any person who performs work under the department’s direction, paid or not.

## 4. Principles

1.  **People are the solution we build around, not the problem to fix.** Volunteer members bring the community’s knowledge, its daytime workforce and its night-time response; the program is designed around how they actually serve.

2.  **Procedures describe work as done, written with the people who do it.** Every procedure is tested at a volunteer station before it is adopted, at a time volunteers can attend.

3.  **Learning comes before blame, and learning information is never used for discipline.** Removal from a roster is discipline; it is never the response to a report, a refusal, a stop-work call or a disclosure.

4.  **Psychological safety is a condition of safety, so speaking up is expected and protected.** A volunteer who says “we are not trained for that” has protected the department.

5.  **Same standard, different delivery.** The outcome required of a volunteer station is the same as of a career station; the training, medical and inspection delivery is scheduled, bundled and funded so that volunteers can meet it.

6.  **Scope is declared.** The department says in writing what services its volunteer stations provide and what they do not, and does not deploy members to tasks outside trained scope (see [Policy - Risk Management and Hazard Assessment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-risk-management-and-hazard-assessment) 5.2.3). Tasks outside trained scope are a recurring theme in Canadian volunteer firefighter deaths (see [05 Design Principles and Lessons Learned](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/design-principles-and-lessons-learned)).

7.  **Records are protection.** For a volunteer, the attendance and training record is also the compensation record; the department keeps it as carefully as a payroll.

## 5. Policy statements

### 5.1 Volunteers are workers for every purpose of the safety management system

5.1.1 Every policy, program, procedure, standard, indicator, inspection, audit and learning process in the safety management system applies to volunteer and paid-on-call members in full, whatever the applicable statute says about their status. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.1.2 Where a statute gives volunteers less protection than employees, the department applies the employee standard as its own policy. Where a statute gives volunteers a different route (for example compensation coverage through deemed earnings), the department follows that route and says so when it adopts this policy ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)). Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.1.3 Every volunteer officer who directs work is a supervisor for the purposes of the safety management system and carries whatever duties the applicable statute gives a supervisor, or an employer, who directs the work of others ([J02 Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j02-duties-of-employers-supervisors-workers-and-contractors); [J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)). Accountable: each volunteer officer.

5.1.4 Every volunteer member carries the worker’s duties the applicable statute sets, such as reasonable precaution, cooperation, use of protective equipment and reporting hazards ([J02 Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j02-duties-of-employers-supervisors-workers-and-contractors); [J13 Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j13-firefighter-ppe-and-protective-equipment)). Accountable: each volunteer member.

5.1.5 The department counts volunteers as employees when it determines whether the statutory thresholds for a written policy, a written program and a JOHSC are met, and adopts all three whatever the count ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)). Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

### 5.2 Coverage, records and presumptive protection

5.2.1 The department shall ensure every volunteer member is covered by workers’ compensation, through the municipality’s coverage or the department’s own registration with the board, and shall confirm the coverage in writing annually. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}; municipal human resources.

5.2.2 The department shall keep a participation record per volunteer member per year (calls attended, training attended, other department activities), signed by the fire chief or deputy chief annually, in the form the compensation board requires, so that each member can prove active status where presumptive coverage for volunteers depends on it ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters); [J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j32-workers-compensation-and-firefighter-presumptions)). Where the presumption carries a participation condition, a department that cannot prove participation strips its volunteers of the presumption. Accountable: {{Deputy Chief}}; station officers for the data.

5.2.3 The department shall keep each volunteer member’s exposure record, training record and medical clearance status to the same standard as a career member’s, retained for the periods in [Policy - Records, Privacy and Health Information](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-records-privacy-and-health-information), and shall give each member a copy of their own records on leaving. Accountable: {{Health and Safety Officer}}.

5.2.4 The department shall tell every volunteer member at recruitment and annually what presumptive coverage exists in the province or territory ([J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j32-workers-compensation-and-firefighter-presumptions)), what the conditions are, and how the department’s records support a claim. Accountable: Volunteer Operations program manager.

5.2.5 Injuries, exposures and near misses involving volunteers shall be reported through the same system, within the same times, as for career members; where a volunteer is not seen for days after a call, the officer shall follow up by phone within 24 hours of any call with a possible injury or exposure. Accountable: volunteer officers.

### 5.3 Training access

5.3.1 Every volunteer member shall receive the same orientation, the same safety competencies and the same program-specific training as a career member performing the same task, before being assigned to the task. Accountable: training division.

5.3.2 Training shall be delivered at times and places volunteers can attend (evenings, weekends, at the volunteer station), with e-learning and recorded sessions for the knowledge portions and hands-on sessions for skills, and shall be scheduled a quarter ahead. Accountable: training division.

5.3.3 Volunteer officers shall complete the supervisor safety competency in [01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) section 7 within six months of appointment and before acting as incident commander, delivered at times they can attend, and the record kept separately so the audit can see it. Accountable: {{Deputy Chief}}.

5.3.4 Training time shall be paid, credited or recognized on the same basis as response time under 5.8. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.3.5 A volunteer who has not completed the training for a declared service shall not be deployed to that service; the department’s capability matrix shall show, per station, which services it is trained and equipped for. Accountable: {{Deputy Chief}}; each incident commander.

### 5.4 Medical evaluations and fitness

5.4.1 Every volunteer member shall have a medical evaluation on joining, and periodically on the schedule in [Medical, Fitness and Wellness Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program), to the same standard as career members, with the department physician or occupational health provider determining fitness for duty and for respirator use [(NFPA 1580, 2025)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-volunteer-members#ref-nfpa-1580). Accountable: Health, Wellness and Rehab program manager.

5.4.2 The department shall bundle medicals at musters, training nights and weekend clinics, pool a provider across volunteer stations, and pay for the evaluation, so cost and travel are not barriers. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.4.3 Fitness standards for volunteers shall be validated against the essential tasks of the role actually assigned, applied individually, with accommodation considered and documented under the applicable human rights statute ([J33 Return to Work, Accommodation and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j33-return-to-work-accommodation-and-hours-of-work)) and the bona fide occupational requirement test (*British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU*, 1999). A member not cleared for interior or SCBA work may serve in exterior, support or driver roles where cleared. Accountable: Health, Wellness and Rehab program manager; human resources.

5.4.4 Medical results stay with the provider; the department receives only fit, unfit or fit with restrictions (see [Policy - Records, Privacy and Health Information](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-records-privacy-and-health-information)). Accountable: {{Division Chief, Safety}}.

### 5.5 Protective equipment

5.5.1 Every volunteer member shall be issued the same protective clothing and equipment as a career member performing the same task, fitted to the member, with a second hood and the particulate-blocking layers the program requires, and shall have access to the same inspection, cleaning, repair and retirement services (see [Protective Clothing and Equipment Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/protective-clothing-and-equipment-program)). Accountable: Protective Clothing program manager.

5.5.2 Fit testing, SCBA inspection and cleaning, and bunker gear advanced inspection and cleaning shall be scheduled at volunteer stations on the same intervals as career stations, by mobile service or by pick-up and return, and the completion rate reported per station. Accountable: Respiratory Protection and Protective Clothing program managers.

5.5.3 Post-call decontamination facilities (shower, laundry, gear storage out of living areas) shall be provided at every volunteer station or by arrangement with a nearby station, and the department shall not accept a volunteer station without them as a long-term condition. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}; facilities.

### 5.6 JOHSC representation

5.6.1 Volunteer members shall be represented on the JOHSC in proportion to their share of the department, selected by the volunteer members or their association, and shall receive the same training and paid or credited time as other members, at least as the applicable statute provides for committee members ([J05 Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j05-joint-committee-and-health-and-safety-representative)). Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.6.2 JOHSC meetings shall be scheduled so volunteer members can attend, with remote attendance available. Accountable: JOHSC co-chairs.

5.6.3 Every Program Improvement Team shall include at least one member from a volunteer or composite station where the department has them, and learning-team sessions shall be held where volunteers can attend ([06 Program Improvement Teams](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-improvement-teams) section 9). Accountable: program managers.

5.6.4 JOHSC inspections shall cover every volunteer station on the same cycle as career stations. Accountable: JOHSC co-chairs.

### 5.7 Response from home and personal vehicles

5.7.1 Volunteers responding from home, work or elsewhere are on duty from the moment they begin to respond and are covered accordingly; the department shall confirm this with the compensation board and record the confirmation. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.7.2 Response in a personal vehicle shall follow [SWP - Personal Vehicle Response (Volunteers)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-personal-vehicle-response-volunteers): obey all traffic law; no emergency driving privileges unless the traffic statute grants them ([J30 Emergency Vehicles, Drivers and Licensing](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j30-emergency-vehicles-drivers-and-licensing)) and the department authorizes them in writing; seat belts; no response when impaired or fatigued; park so as not to obstruct apparatus; identification. Accountable: each volunteer member; volunteer officers.

5.7.3 Members shall not respond directly to a scene unless the department’s procedure permits it for that incident type and the member is accounted for on arrival. Accountable: each incident commander.

5.7.4 The department shall assess response from home as a hazard in the risk register, including fatigue, weather, personal vehicle condition and distraction, and shall review personal vehicle incidents through the learning system. Accountable: {{Division Chief, Safety}}.

### 5.8 Hours, fatigue and recognition of time

5.8.1 Volunteer fatigue after night calls and before day jobs is a hazard the department creates and shall manage under [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work) section 5.5: no expectation to respond when fatigued, pager-silence windows without penalty, self-assessment before driving, night-call load tracked per member. Accountable: volunteer officers; Volunteer Operations program manager.

5.8.2 Time spent on calls, training, JOHSC and team work, inspections, medicals, fit tests and learning sessions shall be recognized on the same basis (pay, points, honoraria or credit) and recorded in the participation record. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.8.3 A volunteer who stands down from a call for fatigue, impairment, a safety concern or a refusal loses no standing, credit or point beyond the call not attended. Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.8.4 Volunteers’ time to participate in learning reviews and investigations shall be paid or credited, and interviews scheduled to suit them. Accountable: {{Division Chief, Safety}}.

### 5.9 Reporting, learning and reprisal

5.9.1 Every protection in [Policy - Internal Responsibility and Accountability](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-internal-responsibility-and-accountability) applies to volunteers: the learning firewall, stop-work authority, no reprisal. Removal from the roster, reduction of calls assigned, or loss of standing for exercising a right is reprisal, and the department treats it as reprisal whether or not the applicable statute’s protection reaches volunteers ([J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j07-right-to-refuse-and-reprisal-protection); [J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)). Accountable: {{Fire Chief}}.

5.9.2 The department shall offer paper and spoken reporting routes for volunteers, so a report can be made to an officer by phone or at the station without a login, and shall enter it in the system within 24 hours. Accountable: volunteer officers.

5.9.3 Feedback on reports, near misses and changes shall reach volunteer stations within the same time as career stations, by the station meeting, the notice board and the app or e-mail the station uses. Accountable: Volunteer Operations program manager.

## 6. Roles and responsibilities

Only the differences from [01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) are stated here.

6.1 **Fire chief.** Owns the position in 5.1; signs the annual participation confirmations; confirms coverage; funds volunteer-accessible delivery.

6.2 **Volunteer Operations program manager.** Owns this policy’s implementation across stations; tracks completion rates per station; carries the recruitment and annual briefings.

6.3 **Volunteer officers.** Supervisors under this policy for the work they direct (whether they are supervisors in law depends on the jurisdiction, [J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)); carry the follow-up after calls; the fatigue and night-call conversation.

6.4 **Volunteer association.** Selects JOHSC and team representatives; consulted on this policy; partner in wellness and recognition.

6.5 **Training division.** Delivers to volunteer schedules; keeps volunteer officer competency records separately.

6.6 **Program managers (every program).** Report completion and compliance per station, volunteer and career separately.

6.7 **Municipal human resources.** Coverage confirmation; accommodation; the participation record format the board requires.

## 7. Program and procedures this policy requires

[Medical, Fitness and Wellness Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/medical-fitness-and-wellness-program); [Protective Clothing and Equipment Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/protective-clothing-and-equipment-program); [Respiratory Protection Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/respiratory-protection-program); [Decontamination and Contamination Control Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/decontamination-and-contamination-control-program); [Apparatus, Driving and Roadway Operations Program](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/apparatus-driving-and-roadway-operations-program); [SWP - Personal Vehicle Response (Volunteers)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-personal-vehicle-response-volunteers); [Policy - Fatigue and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-fatigue-and-hours-of-work); [02 JOHSC Integration](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/johsc-integration); [06 Program Improvement Teams](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/program-improvement-teams).

## 8. Records, confidentiality and disclosure

8.1 Records: coverage confirmations; participation records per member per year with the chief’s annual confirmation; volunteer officer competency records; per-station completion rates for medicals, fit tests, gear inspections and training; personal vehicle response incidents.

8.2 Participation records are compensation evidence and are retained for the member’s service plus the period in [Policy - Records, Privacy and Health Information](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-records-privacy-and-health-information), and a copy is given to the member on leaving. Medical results stay with the provider.

8.3 All records are written for disclosure under municipal freedom-of-information law and identify people by role in any report.

## 9. Reporting

| Report | From | To | When |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| Completion rates per volunteer station: medicals, fit tests, gear inspection, mandatory training, inspections | Program managers | Volunteer Operations team; JOHSC | Quarterly |
| Participation records signed | {{Fire Chief}} | Compensation board on request; members | Annually |
| Volunteer night-call load; personal vehicle incidents | Volunteer Operations program manager | Health, Wellness and Rehab team; Apparatus and Driving team; JOHSC | Quarterly |
| Volunteer representation on JOHSC and teams | JOHSC co-chairs | Management review | Annually |
| Services declared per volunteer station and training gaps | {{Deputy Chief}} | Management review; council | Annually |

## 10. Training requirements

| Role | Minimum training | Refresh |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Every volunteer member | Orientation identical to career orientation, plus this policy: coverage, records, presumptive protection, response from home, fatigue and standing down (three hours) | Annually, one hour |
| Volunteer officers | Supervisor safety competency ([01 Roles and Responsibilities](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/roles-and-responsibilities) section 7), 16 hours, delivered on volunteer schedules | Every three years |
| Career officers who direct volunteers | This policy and the volunteer provisions of the fatigue and driving policies (one hour) | Every three years |
| Volunteer Operations program manager | Program manager course ([03 Communication, Training and Rollout Plan](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/communication-training-and-rollout-plan)) | Every three years |

## 11. Legal and standards basis

- The applicable OHS statute, which differs by province and territory: whether volunteer firefighters are workers and count toward the thresholds for a written policy, a written program and a committee where the municipality directs their work ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)); employer, supervisor and worker duties ([J02 Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j02-duties-of-employers-supervisors-workers-and-contractors)); the committee provisions ([J05 Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j05-joint-committee-and-health-and-safety-representative)); and reprisal protection ([J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j07-right-to-refuse-and-reprisal-protection)).
- Workers’ compensation coverage of volunteer firefighters and how their earnings are set; presumptive coverage for listed cancers, heart injury and post-traumatic stress disorder; and any participation condition or written confirmation of active status the volunteer presumption requires ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters); [J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j32-workers-compensation-and-firefighter-presumptions)).
- The fire services or municipal statute: how volunteer and composite departments are established or registered, the chief’s powers at an emergency, liability protection and mutual aid; and whether any law prescribes firefighter training or certification ([J34 Fire Services Legislation and Firefighter Certification](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j34-fire-services-legislation-and-firefighter-certification)).
- The traffic statute’s rules on emergency vehicles and on any lights or privileges for volunteers’ personal vehicles ([J30 Emergency Vehicles, Drivers and Licensing](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j30-emergency-vehicles-drivers-and-licensing)).
- The duty to accommodate under the applicable human rights statute ([J33 Return to Work, Accommodation and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j33-return-to-work-accommodation-and-hours-of-work)) and the bona fide occupational requirement test (*British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU*, 1999). The Jurisdiction requirements table at the end of this policy lists what to confirm for your province or territory.
- Worker participation including non-managerial workers (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 5.4); the Canadian deviations on worker representatives’ participation and the right to remove oneself from danger (CSA Z45001:19).
- Medical evaluations for candidates and members across a career [(NFPA 1580, 2025)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-volunteer-members#ref-nfpa-1580); the fire service health and safety standard’s application to all members [(NFPA 1550, 2024)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-volunteer-members#ref-nfpa-1550).
- The volunteer cost problem and the design responses: bundled medicals, pooled physicians, e-learning, paper and spoken reporting ([NVFC, 2024a](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-volunteer-members#ref-nvfc-2024a); [NZFS, 2016a](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-volunteer-members#ref-nzfs-2016a)).
- The CPSE/CFAI accreditation path: the human resources criteria apply to members as worded, including orientation [(CPSE, 2019, criterion 7B.5)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/policy-volunteer-members#ref-cpse-2019), recognition (7B.7), and working conditions that retain a workforce reflective of the community (7B.8); wellness and fitness evaluations for all members (11B.1).

## 12. Review and approval

12.1 Reviewed 12 months after adoption, then every three years; after any change in the statutes or regulations governing volunteer status, coverage or presumption; after any volunteer death or critical injury; and on JOHSC or volunteer association request.

## 13. Adoption checklist

| Step | Lead | Done |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Confirm volunteer OHS status, compensation coverage and the participation rule with counsel and the board; check each row of the Jurisdiction requirements table against your province’s or territory’s topic pages | {{Fire Chief}} with counsel |  |
| Set up the participation record and the annual confirmation form | {{Deputy Chief}}; human resources |  |
| Publish the per-station capability matrix (services declared, training in place) | {{Deputy Chief}} |  |
| Schedule medicals, fit tests and gear inspections at volunteer stations for the year | Program managers |  |
| Confirm volunteer seats on the JOHSC and on each Program Improvement Team | JOHSC co-chairs; program managers |  |
| Issue [SWP - Personal Vehicle Response (Volunteers)](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/swp-personal-vehicle-response-volunteers) | Apparatus and Driving program manager |  |
| Consult the {{Volunteer Association}}, the JOHSC and {{Union}} | {{Fire Chief}} |  |
| Counsel review; adoption by the chief and, where required, the municipality or society board | {{Fire Chief}} |  |
| Brief every volunteer station in person | Volunteer Operations program manager |  |
| Enter in document control with review date | Policy owner |  |

## 14. Consulting the JOHSC and bargaining agents

| They will ask | Honest answer |
|:---|:---|
| (Volunteer association) Does “worker for every purpose” mean more paperwork for volunteers? | It means the same protection. The department carries the paperwork: it schedules the medicals, brings the fit tester to the station, and keeps the records. Volunteers report by phone or on paper if they prefer. |
| (Volunteer association) Will members lose standing for turning off the pager? | No. 5.8.3 says so. Standing down when tired or after a drink is expected. |
| (Union) Does this blur the line between career and volunteer work? | No. It sets the same safety standard for the same task. Deployment, staffing and job content stay with the collective agreement and the department’s service model. |
| (Union) Are volunteers on the JOHSC voting on career issues? | Volunteers sit in proportion to their share of the department, as the statute allows; the committee’s recommendations are advisory to the employer either way. |
| (Both) What happens if a volunteer station cannot meet the standard? | The gap is recorded, the service it affects is not declared until it is met, and the chief escalates the resourcing to council in writing. |

Put the consultation in writing. Record disagreement, adopt what can be adopted, revisit at 12 months.

## 15. Customization and sector variants

> **Note: Customize**
>
> Decide: the recognition basis for time (points, honoraria, per-call pay, credit); whether personal vehicle emergency response is permitted at all (many departments prohibit it); the per-station capability matrix; the format of the participation record the compensation board accepts. Check the Jurisdiction requirements table with counsel against your province’s or territory’s topic pages; the volunteer rules differ more by jurisdiction than any other part of this policy set ([J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters)).

> **Tip: Volunteer and composite departments**
>
> A fully volunteer department adopts this policy as its statement of equal standard and uses the Jurisdiction requirements table, with its jurisdiction’s sections of the topic pages, to show the regulator and the board how it meets the statute. A composite department uses it to prevent two-tier safety: report every completion rate career and volunteer separately, and publish both.

**Closing disclaimer.** This model policy is general information prepared by The Human Factor for licensed use by {{Department}}. It is not legal advice. Confirm every statutory reference with counsel before adoption.

## 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 |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors | The duties the statute gives supervisors and workers, and whether a volunteer officer who directs work carries a supervisor’s or an employer’s duties | [J02 Duties of Employers, Supervisors, Workers and Contractors](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j02-duties-of-employers-supervisors-workers-and-contractors) |
| Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative | Whether volunteers may sit on the committee, and the training and paid or credited time committee members are entitled to | [J05 Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j05-joint-committee-and-health-and-safety-representative) |
| Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection | Whether the right to refuse and the reprisal protection reach unpaid volunteers | [J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j07-right-to-refuse-and-reprisal-protection) |
| Volunteer Firefighters | Whether volunteers are workers under the OHS statute and count toward the policy, program and committee thresholds; how they are covered for compensation; and any participation condition for presumptive coverage | [J11 Volunteer Firefighters](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j11-volunteer-firefighters) |
| Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment | The duty of workers, volunteers included, to use the protective equipment provided, and the standards it must meet | [J13 Firefighter PPE and Protective Equipment](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j13-firefighter-ppe-and-protective-equipment) |
| Emergency Vehicles, Drivers and Licensing | Whether volunteers’ personal vehicles may carry emergency lights or have driving privileges, and on what authorization | [J30 Emergency Vehicles, Drivers and Licensing](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j30-emergency-vehicles-drivers-and-licensing) |
| Workers’ Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions | The presumptions for cancers, heart injury and PTSD, their service minimums, and whether volunteers qualify on the same terms | [J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j32-workers-compensation-and-firefighter-presumptions) |
| Return to Work, Accommodation and Hours of Work | The duty to accommodate, and whether the human rights statute covers volunteer relationships | [J33 Return to Work, Accommodation and Hours of Work](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j33-return-to-work-accommodation-and-hours-of-work) |
| Fire Services Legislation and Firefighter Certification | How volunteer and composite departments are established or registered, the chief’s powers and liability protection, and whether any firefighter training or certification standard is mandatory | [J34 Fire Services Legislation and Firefighter Certification](https://thehumanfactor.ca/library/fire-service-safety/j34-fire-services-legislation-and-firefighter-certification) |

## References

*British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU*, \[1999\] 3 S.C.R. 3 (Supreme Court of Canada).

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>

CSA Group. (2019). *CSA Z45001:19 (R2023), Occupational health and safety management systems: Requirements with guidance for use* (adopts ISO 45001:2018 with Canadian deviations). <https://www.csagroup.org/store/product/CSA%20Z45001:19/>

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>

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. (2025). *NFPA 1580, Standard for emergency responder occupational health and wellness* (consolidates NFPA 1581, 1582, 1583 and 1584). <https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1580-standard-development/1580>

National Volunteer Fire Council \[NVFC\]. (2024a). *Comments to OSHA on the proposed emergency response standard*. <https://nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NVFC-OSHA-Comments-071624.pdf>

New Zealand Fire Service \[NZFS\]. (2016a). *Report 153: International good practice in safety, health and wellbeing in fire and emergency services* (prepared by Litmus; case studies). Hosted by Fire and Emergency New Zealand. <https://www.fireandemergency.nz/assets/Documents/Files/Report-153-international-good-practice-in-safety-health-and-wellbeing-in-fire-and-emergency-services.pdf>