04 Quick Start - First 90 Days | Fire Service Safety Management System

Purpose

The first 90 days decide whether the members believe it. This note is the week-by-week checklist for those days: what to do, who owns it, what it produces. It is the front end of 01 Implementation Roadmap 0-36 Months Stage 1 and it assumes nothing exists yet except a fire chief who has decided.

Definitions

Day one. The day the fire chief announces the program to the members; week 1 starts that day.

Profile Worksheet. The department profile and module applicability test that everything else keys off (01 Program Profile Worksheet).

Gap assessment. The scored assessment of the department against the package by category (02 Gap Assessment Tool).

Culture baseline. The anonymous survey of safety climate taken before any intervention, segmented by career and volunteer status (05 Safety Culture Baseline).

Corrective Action Register. The single register of deficiencies tracked to closure with owners and due dates (Corrective Action Register).

Program Improvement Team. A standing, line-led team that owns a program (06 Program Improvement Teams).

Near-miss path. The 60-second route by which a member reports an event that could have caused harm, and the feedback that follows (Incident Investigation and Learning Program).

Learning firewall. The rule that learning information is never used for discipline and that conduct concerns go to a separate process (Policy - Internal Responsibility and Accountability).

Capability matrix. The per-station statement of which services the department is trained and equipped to provide.

1. The ten things to do before anything else

In this order. None takes more than a week; together they take about three.

The chief decides, in writing, and tells the deputy chiefs first. One page: what, why, the four principles, the three stages, the first 90 days, and that the chief owns it. Owner: {{Fire Chief}}.
Appoint the senior officer responsible for health and safety and the health and safety officer, with written authority and a reporting line to the chief. If one person holds both, say so. The appointment letter states the authority to stop any activity presenting an imminent hazard and to report directly to the chief (NFPA 1550, 2024, ch. 6). Owner: {{Fire Chief}}.
Confirm the JOHSC exists as the statute requires, has co-chairs, meets monthly, and has volunteer seats; if it does not, fix that this month; the applicable statute sets when a committee is required, how it is composed and how often it meets (J05 Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative). Owner: {{Fire Chief}} with the worker co-chair.
Write to the union and the volunteer association: what is starting, the consultation plan with a month to answer each policy, the firewall, and an invitation to name representatives for the JOHSC and the Equipment Standards team. Owner: {{Fire Chief}}.
Pull the baseline facts from Part D of the Profile Worksheet: three years of injuries, near misses, exposures, vehicle incidents, training injuries, maydays, refusals, JOHSC recommendations and response times, regulator contacts, medical and fit-test currency, test completion rates, training currency. Owner: {{Health and Safety Officer}}.
Book the culture survey for month one, before anything changes, with a station-meeting window, a paper option and a 30-day results promise. Owner: {{Division Chief, Safety}}.
Stand up the Corrective Action Register as a shared spreadsheet or system, with every item logged within five working days and rated on the package’s one priority scale, P1 (Imminent), P2 (Serious), P3 (Moderate) or P4 (Improvement), with its clocks and escalation, and put every open inspection, audit and committee item into it. Owner: {{Health and Safety Officer}}.
Order the second hoods and the on-scene decontamination kits, and book a mobile fit tester for every station, volunteer stations first. These are the first things members will see. Owner: Protective Clothing and Respiratory Protection leads (interim: {{Health and Safety Officer}}).
Name the three program managers (line officers) for Respiratory Protection; Protective Clothing, Equipment and Decontamination; and Fire Suppression and Emergency Operations, and the two or three people who will train as learning-team facilitators. Owner: {{Deputy Chief}}.
Write the day-one message in the chief’s own words (section 2) and schedule the station visits to deliver it in person within four weeks. Owner: {{Fire Chief}}.

2. What to tell the members on day one

In the chief’s words, in person, at every station, in under five minutes. The written version goes on every notice board the same day.

We are going to run our safety the way we run a fire: with a plan, with someone in charge, with everyone accountable, and with a debrief afterward.

Four things are true from today. First, you are the solution we build around, not the problem we fix; when something goes wrong we will ask what made it hard, not who to blame. Second, our procedures will describe the job the way it is actually done, and they will be written with the people who do it, which means you. Third, we learn before we blame: what you tell us in a debrief, a learning team or a near-miss report will never be used to discipline you, and I will put that in writing to each of you this month. Fourth, speaking up is expected and protected: anyone here can stop a job they believe is dangerous, and your officer will thank you, make it safe, and ask questions later.

In the next 90 days you will see three things. A fit tester will come to your station. You will get a second hood and a decon kit on your apparatus, and we will write the decon procedure with your crew. And you will be able to report a near miss in 60 seconds and hear back within days.

I own this. If it is not working, tell your officer, tell the committee, or tell me.

Then the officer, at the next start of shift or training night, says it again in their own words and asks the crew what they think. That conversation is reported back to the platoon or district chief as a one-line note: what the crew asked, what worried them.

3. Week-by-week checklist

Week	Actions	Owner	Output
1	The ten things in section 1 started; the chief’s written decision issued to the senior team; appointment letters signed; the union and association letters sent; day-one message delivered at the first stations	{{Fire Chief}}	Decision memo; appointment letters; letters; station visit log
1	Council and CAO briefed: the law, the plan, the Stage 1 ask, the gate at month nine (02 Business Case and Cost Model)	{{Fire Chief}}	Council report; CAO note on service levels
2	Station visits continue; officers briefed per platoon and district; the volunteer officers’ meeting held	{{Fire Chief}}; platoon and district chiefs	Station visit log; officer briefing notes
2	JOHSC meeting: the program, the committee’s role, the standing consultant designations for the first three teams, the register	{{Division Chief, Safety}}; co-chairs	Minutes; designations
2	Profile Worksheet Parts A to C completed in one two-hour session with the chief, the safety officer and both co-chairs; module list decided (01 Program Profile Worksheet)	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Completed worksheet
2 to 3	Baseline facts (Part D) compiled; the Corrective Action Register live with every open item	{{Health and Safety Officer}}	Baseline table; register
3	Station visits complete; every member has heard the message in person or a dated plan exists for those on leave	{{Fire Chief}}	Visit log at 100 percent
3 to 4	Culture survey open for two weeks with station-meeting windows and paper; volunteer stations surveyed at training nights (05 Safety Culture Baseline)	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Response rate by station
4	The three program managers named and briefed; facilitator course booked; charters drafted from Form - Program Team Charter	{{Deputy Chief}}	Draft charters
4	Hoods and decon kits ordered; fit tester booked by station; the occupational health provider asked for the medical clearance status of every SCBA user and a plan for the gaps	{{Health and Safety Officer}}	Orders; booking schedule; clearance gap list
5 to 6	Gap assessment run on every category over two weeks: documents, a station walk at a sample of career and volunteer stations, and one-on-one interviews (02 Gap Assessment Tool)	{{Health and Safety Officer}} with an officer from another division	Gap report with category scores
5 to 6	The OHS policy statement drafted (Part A of Policy - Occupational Health and Safety) and sent to the JOHSC, the union and the association with the consultation booklet and a four-week return date	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Draft; consultation letters
6	Culture survey closes; results compiled	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Report
7	Survey results to every station within 30 days of the survey opening, read at station meetings; the gap assessment headline scores with them; the first thing the department will change because of the survey named	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Station results sheets; officers’ bulletin
7	The learning firewall notice issued in writing to every member; the one-page “how to report in 60 seconds” on every notice board; the triage group named (Incident Investigation and Learning Program)	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Notice; reporting page; triage group names
7 to 8	The three teams chartered: charters signed by the chief, JOHSC consulted; first meeting of each held; the first learning-team session scheduled for weeks 9 to 10	Program managers	Signed charters; meeting minutes
8	Fit testing starts at the first volunteer station; clearance status confirmed for every member tested before the test	Respiratory Protection program manager	Fit test records; currency by station
8	Learning-team facilitators trained (two days)	Training division	Course records
9 to 10	First learning-team sessions: SCBA use and air management as done; post-call decontamination as done; accountability and mayday as done; six to ten members who do the task, no rating supervisors in the room, write-ups without names	Team leads with facilitators	Three write-ups
9 to 10	Hoods and decon kits delivered to every apparatus; the interim on-scene decon steps (hood swap, wipes, bagging, clean cab) read at start of shift and at training nights pending the written procedure	Protective Clothing program manager	Issue records; read-out log
10	Supervisor safety competency course scheduled for every officer over the next five months, with volunteer dates first; module 1 (law and due diligence) delivered to the senior team	Training division	Schedule; attendance
10	The policy consultation returns received; dispositions recorded; the statement finalized	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Consultation record
11	The OHS policy statement signed by the fire chief and by council or the CAO; posted at every workplace with the posting log (Form - OHS Policy Statement (Signature Page))	{{Fire Chief}}	Signed statement; posting log
11	First near-miss reports answered: the median days to feedback measured for the first time; the first “what changed” line in the officers’ bulletin	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Learning system data; bulletin
11 to 12	Design sessions for the three teams: the procedures drafted from the learning-team write-ups; the drafts go to the JOHSC standing consultants	Team leads	Draft procedures
12	Hazard profile and risk register seeded from the Profile Worksheet and the three sessions; owners named (03 Hazard Profile and Risk Register Method)	{{Division Chief, Safety}}	Register v1
12	Monthly station inspection started at every station by a management and worker pair; findings into the register (Workplace Inspections Program)	{{Health and Safety Officer}}	Inspection records
13	Day-90 check (section 4) at a senior team meeting with both co-chairs; the first quarterly indicator page drafted for the JOHSC and the operations meeting; the report back to the members on what the 90 days produced	{{Fire Chief}}	Day-90 record; indicator page; members’ note

4. The day-90 check: what should be true

Test	Evidence	Done
Every member heard the day-one message in person, and every officer has repeated it to their crew	Station visit log; officers’ one-line notes
The senior officer responsible for health and safety and the health and safety officer are appointed in writing with authority	Appointment letters
The JOHSC meets monthly, has co-chairs and volunteer seats, and has designated standing consultants to the three teams	Minutes
The union and the association were written to in week 1 and consulted on the policy statement with a month to answer	Letters; consultation record
The Profile Worksheet is complete with the module list and the Part D baseline	Worksheet
The culture baseline is done, response rate 60 percent or more, results published to every station within 30 days	Survey report; station sheets
The gap assessment is scored by category	Gap report
The OHS policy statement is signed and posted everywhere	Signed statement; posting log
The Corrective Action Register is live, every item has an owner, a priority and the scale’s due dates, the first monthly summary went to the JOHSC	Register; minutes
The firewall notice went to every member in writing; the 60-second reporting page is on every notice board; the triage group is named	Notice; page; names
The three teams are chartered, met, and each ran a learning-team session with a write-up	Charters; minutes; write-ups
Every member has a second hood; every apparatus has a decon kit; the interim decon steps have been read to every crew	Issue records; read-out log
Fit testing has started at the volunteer stations and clearance status is confirmed for every member tested	Fit test records
The supervisor course is scheduled for every officer with volunteer dates first, and module 1 has been delivered to the senior team	Schedule; attendance
At least one near-miss report has been answered and the median days to feedback is measured	Learning system
Monthly inspections have started at every station	Inspection records
The risk register exists with owners	Register
Members have been told what the 90 days produced and what comes next	Members’ note

A test that fails is logged in the Corrective Action Register with an owner, a priority and the scale’s dates, and the department says so to the members. The point of the check is honesty, not a clean sheet.

5. Volunteer department notes

Tip Volunteer and composite departments

In a volunteer department the 90 days are the same with a lighter hand: the chief’s message at a members’ meeting and at every station’s next training night; the Profile Worksheet in one evening; the survey on paper at a training night; the register as a spreadsheet; one named officer per program instead of a team, with one learning-team session each on a training night; a shared facilitator with a neighbouring department; a mobile fit tester and a pooled clinic for clearance status; hoods and decon kits from the first budget or a grant; the policy statement signed by the chief and the municipality’s CAO or the society’s board. The capability matrix (what the department will and will not do) is written in week 2 and posted, because tasks outside trained scope are where volunteer departments lose people (see 05 Design Principles and Lessons Learned).

6. Accountability and closed feedback loop for the first 90 days

Element	Who	How
Owner	{{Fire Chief}}	Delivers the day-one message; signs the statement; chairs the day-90 check
Doer	{{Division Chief, Safety}}; {{Health and Safety Officer}}; the three program managers; training division	The week-by-week table
Verifier	Both JOHSC co-chairs at the day-90 check; the Stage 1 audit at month 7 to 8	The day-90 tests with evidence
Feedback	The officers’ bulletin from week 7; the members’ note at day 90; the first indicator page	Days to feedback measured from week 11
Closure	Corrective Action Register	Every failed day-90 test logged with owner, priority and the scale’s dates

Loop test. In week 9 a learning-team session on post-call decontamination finds that two volunteer stations have no washer-extractor and members take gear home. The team lead logs it that day as a P2; the facilities lead is the owner; an interim arrangement with the nearest career station is in place within days, re-verified monthly, and in the procedure draft by week 11; the washer-extractors keep the P2 priority, flagged Capital, with a dated plan in the Stage 1 ask approved by the fire chief and reviewed quarterly by the JOHSC; and the two stations are told in writing what will happen and when. The item is on the first monthly register summary to the JOHSC.

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 Policy and Program	The employee count at which a written OHS policy is required, whether it must be prepared in consultation with the committee or representative, and how it must be posted and reviewed (weeks 5 to 11)	J03 OHS Policy and Program
Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative	The employee count at which a committee is required, its composition and co-chairs, its meeting frequency, and the deadline for the employer’s written response to a recommendation (section 1 item 3)	J05 Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative
Written Procedures and Committee Consultation	The duty to consult the committee when establishing or reviewing written policies and procedures, and when written procedures are required (weeks 5 to 6 and 11 to 12)	J06 Written Procedures and Committee Consultation
Incident Reporting and Investigation	Which deaths, injuries and dangerous occurrences must be reported to the regulator, how fast, and who else must be told, so officers know the reporting duty from the first weeks	J08 Incident Reporting and Investigation
Volunteer Firefighters	Whether volunteers are workers under the OHS statute and may sit on the committee (section 1 item 3)	J11 Volunteer Firefighters
Respiratory Protection, Fit Testing and Breathing Air	The fit-test interval and method for every SCBA user, including volunteers (week 8)	J14 Respiratory Protection, Fit Testing and Breathing Air

References

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