Types of appeals and applications

You can make three types of appeals and applications to the FSC:

• Appeal from a decision and order of the Fire Marshal
• Application by an inspector for authorization to complete work required under an order
• Appeal of an order to pay costs issued by the Fire Marshal, a Fire Chief or Assistant Fire Marshal

Your right to appeal to the FSC should be clearly indicated in the decision or the order that you will receive from the fire inspector, Fire Marshal or other fire official.

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Appeal of inspection orders and Fire Marshal review orders

A fire inspector who has carried out an inspection of land or premises has broad authority under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act (FPPA) to order the owner or occupant to take any measure necessary to ensure fire safety.

The types of things that can be ordered by an inspector are listed under section 21(1) of the FPPA. They include the ability of an inspector to order the owner or occupant:

• to remove buildings or structures from the property
• to make structural and other repairs or alterations, including material alterations, to the buildings or structures
• to remove combustible or explosive material or anything that may constitute a fire hazard
• to install and use specified equipment or devices necessary to contain hazardous material on the land or premises and, in the event of a fire, to remove or transport the material
• to discontinue manufacturing, production or fabrication of any material, device or other thing that creates or poses an undue risk of fire or explosion
• to do anything respecting fire safety including anything relating to the containment of a possible fire, means of egress, fire alarms and detection, fire suppression and the preparation of a fire safety plan
• to remedy any contravention of the Ontario Fire Code

The Fire Marshal (or a delegate) can review the matter and confirm, amend, or rescind the order or make any orders it determines are appropriate in the circumstances, issuing a review decision and order. The Fire Marshal can also refuse to consider the substance of the request and refer the matter directly to the FSC for a hearing.

If you have received an inspection order or a review decision and order from the Fire Marshal, you can file an appeal with the FSC. Your right to appeal to the FSC should be clearly indicated in the inspection order or the review decision and order.

Under the FPPA, following a hearing the FSC can confirm, amend, or rescind an inspection order or a Fire Marshal’s review decision and order, or make such other order the FSC deems appropriate.

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Application for authorization to do work

An inspector can apply to the FSC for an order authorizing them to do the work required in an inspection order (s. 33 of the FPPA).

The FSC can authorize the inspector to do the work or have it done if:

• the person required to do the work refuses to comply or is not complying with the inspection order; is not likely to comply with the inspection order promptly; is not likely to carry out the order competently; or requests the assistance of the inspector in complying with the inspection order; and
• failure to do the work would seriously endanger the health or safety of any person or the quality of the natural environment

Under the FPPA, following a hearing, the FSC has the ability to authorize an inspector to the work required under an order, or rescind or amend the order, or make another order the FSC deems should be made and order the inspector to do the work in accordance with the amended order or the other order.

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Appeal of order to pay costs

The Fire Marshal, an assistant to the Fire Marshal or a Fire Chief can issue an order to pay the costs incurred by the province or a municipality:

• for doing work authorized by the FSC under s. 33, or
• taking measures under s. 15 to remove or reduce an immediate threat to life
• under the FPPA, following a hearing the FSC may Order costs, considering whether any of the costs specified in an order to pay costs are unreasonable having regard to what was done, or do not relate to a thing, and whether it was for work required under s. 21(1) or (2), or s. 25 or 26, or an appeal of any of those, or for work that was authorized under s. 15

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Language services

The FSC’s documents and forms are available in both French and English. FSC proceedings can be conducted in English, French or in both languages. If your appeal is filed in French, a bilingual adjudicator will be assigned to your hearing. If you filed in English but would prefer to continue in French, please advise the FSC as soon as possible.

Tribunals Ontario is committed to ensuring that French language services are clearly visible, easily accessible, publicized and of equivalent quality to services offered in English. Information is available in the Tribunals Ontario French Language Services Policy . All correspondence submitted to the FSC must be in English or French.

If a party or a witness requires an interpreter in a language other than English or French in order to effectively participate in a proceeding, the party shall notify the FSC not less than 14 days before the hearing or case conference, and the FSC will either arrange for an interpreter at the expense of the party or approve the use of an interpreter of the party’s choosing at the expense of the party.

Filing an appeal or application

To appeal or apply to the Fire Safety Commission (FSC), you must complete the appropriate forms. You should provide reasons for your appeal or application and the result or action you are seeking.

To avoid delays in processing your appeal/application, you should provide:

• your full name, address, email address and telephone number
• if you have chosen to have legal counsel or an agent to represent you, their full name, mailing address, email address, telephone and fax numbers

You can submit forms to the FSC by email, mail or courier.

For all FSC forms and information about how to file, see Forms and filing.

Timelines

If you are appealing an inspection order of the Fire Marshal, or a review decision and order, or an order to pay costs, you must appeal to the FSC within 15 calendar days of receiving the order or review decision and order.

Except for appeals of an order to pay costs, the FSC has the discretion to extend the time for appealing beyond the 15-day timeline if you file a written request for an extension of time and if the FSC is satisfied that there are apparent grounds to grant the appeal and reasonable grounds for applying for the extension. The application for an extension of time to appeal may be made at any time within 30 calendar days after the inspection order is served. However, if the FSC is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to accept the application, the application for an extension of time to appeal may be made at any time following the 30-day time limit.

There are no timelines for an application authorizing work.

Filing Fee

There is no fee to file an appeal or application with the FSC.

Documents

Your appeal or application must include whatever orders the matter is about. Once you have submitted your appeal or application, a Case Management Officer will review the documents to ensure they are complete.

A Case Management Officer may contact you if additional information is needed.

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How to withdraw an appeal or application

If you decide to withdraw your appeal or application before the hearing, you will need to provide written notice to the FSC and copy the other parties to the appeal before the scheduled hearing date(s). A Notice of Withdrawal form should be completed and submitted to the FSC. For all FSC forms and information about how to file, see Forms and filing.

If you are at a case conference or hearing and wish to withdraw your appeal, you can inform the adjudicator of your decision to withdraw your appeal at that time.

Case conferences

The first step of the Fire Safety Commission (FSC) appeal/application process is a case conference with all parties in attendance (generally, the owner or occupant of the land or premises and the fire department, and/or the representatives of any of the parties). The case conference is usually conducted by telephone and facilitated by an FSC adjudicator.

The case conference is an opportunity for the adjudicator to provide information about the appeal/application process, and for parties to discuss, clarify, and narrow the issues. In some cases, the parties may be able to settle or resolve the issues without the need for a hearing.

If the parties are unable to resolve the issues, the adjudicator takes steps to move the matter forward to hearing, including setting the date and format of the hearing, and setting dates by which the parties must provide documents and other information to the other party and the FSC.

Timelines

The FSC will send a Notice of Case Conference to the parties within five business days from the date the FSC received the Notice of Appeal or Application.

The Notice of Case Conference will confirm the date, time, and dial-in information for the Case Conference.

Case conference outcomes

Possible outcomes of a case conference include:

• issues are clarified
• some or all of the issues are resolved
• the appeal is withdrawn
• a further inspection is necessary
• the inspection order is withdrawn
• a hearing is scheduled and procedural directions or orders are made

How to prepare for a case conference

Parties should come to the case conference prepared to discuss settlement and attempt to narrow or resolve the issues in dispute. If the matter is not resolved at the case conference, then the adjudicator will take steps to move the matter forward to a hearing. This may include discussing hearing dates and witnesses, so parties should have this information prepared in advance.

A party or their representative must participate in the case conference.

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Hearings

A hearing is only held if the parties are unable to resolve the matter at the case conference, and the parties are unable to settle the matter before the scheduled hearing.

The hearing dates are set by the case conference adjudicator in consultation with the parties.

Hearings can be conducted in writing, by teleconference, videoconference, in-person, or by any combination of these formats. The hearing format is determined on a case-by-case basis by the facilitator at the case conference with input from the parties. The most common format is by videoconference. In-person hearings are by exception.

Hearings are conducted by a panel consisting of one or more FSC adjudicators.

At a hearing, each party gets a chance to present their case. The members of the panel may ask each party to begin with an opening statement to summarize their position. A party presents their evidence by calling their witnesses to testify and referring to documents or exhibits.

When a witness is called to testify, they are asked questions by the person who called the witness. After the examination of the witness, the other party has the chance to cross-examine the witness by asking them more questions. The panel may then ask questions, after which the party calling the witness may ask follow-up questions of the witness.

After all evidence has been presented and all witnesses have testified, the members of the hearing panel will ask each party (or their representative) to make closing submissions, which is a summary of each party’s argument about why the appeal should be granted or dismissed.

The hearing panel may make some closing comments and then the hearing will be finished.

How to prepare for a hearing

Evidence

If the matter goes forward to a hearing, the parties must prepare to present their case through evidence.

Evidence includes oral testimony, or any documents or things (e.g., photographs) that are relevant to the subject matter of the hearing and support your position. The FSC considers the evidence presented and applies the relevant provisions of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act (FPPA) and the Ontario Fire Code to reach its decision.

Disclosure

You must copy the other party when corresponding with the FSC regarding matters that relate to the appeal or hearing.

If you want the FSC to consider any documents or other things at the hearing, you must provide copies of them to the other party and the FSC.

The exchange of documents will also be discussed at the case conference. The adjudicator will consider input from both parties before setting dates by which you must disclose any documents or things that you intend to rely on at the hearing.

Witnesses

You may want a witness to attend the hearing to testify. At the case conference, the facilitator will discuss matters relating to witnesses. You may be asked to provide a list of witnesses who you may call to give evidence at the hearing, and a brief description of each witness’ anticipated testimony.

If your witness does not want to attend the hearing, you may request a summons from the FSC that, if served properly on the witness, would require them to attend the hearing.

To request a summons, you must complete the Summons to a Witness form and submit it to the FSC Registrar at FSC.Registrar@ontario.ca for approval.

Service of a summons and payment of attendance money is the responsibility of the party that requested and obtained the summons. Attendance money is to be calculated in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Superior Court of Justice.

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If you cannot attend the case conference or hearing

You are expected to be prepared and ready to proceed on the date scheduled. If you cannot attend a scheduled case conference or hearing, you must notify the FSC and the other party as soon as possible that you are requesting an adjournment by submitting a completed Adjournment Request form to the FSC. For all FSC forms and information on how to file, see Forms and filing.

The adjournment request must include:

• the reason for the request
• written agreement to the adjournment from the other party or their representatives, if the parties have agreed to the request
• at least three alternative dates, within 30 days of the case conference date or hearing date to be adjourned, that are agreeable to all parties

Adjournments are generally only granted for very specific and exceptional reasons (e.g., illness, parties are close to settling the matter, etc.). Note that an adjournment is not guaranteed, despite a request having been filed.

For more information about adjournments, see the FSC Rules of Practice .

Orders

Fire Safety Commission (FSC) adjudicators can make orders during the case conference, the hearing, or as part of the decision.

The adjudicator’s orders are legally binding. They have to be followed.

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Decisions

After the hearing, the adjudicator(s) hearing the appeal or application will deliberate and issue a decision with written reasons that explain why the FSC reached its decision.

The FSC sends a copy of the decision to both parties.

The decision takes effect on the date it is released to the parties unless stated otherwise in the decision.

Past decisions are also posted on the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) website. CanLII is an online platform that offers free public access to tribunal and court decisions.

The names of the parties are included in the decisions unless publication is prohibited by any applicable laws or unless the FSC has made an order restricting access to the proceedings or limiting access to any documents or records.

Reconsiderations

Under the Rules of Practice and Procedure , a party can ask the Fire Safety Commission (FSC) to reconsider its decision within 21 calendar days of the date of decision.

A request for reconsideration from a party must be served on all other parties and must include:

• reasons for the request, specifying applicable criteria under Rule 18.2
• notification if the party is seeking judicial review or pursuing an appeal in relation to the decision
• remedy or relief sought

Requests will not be granted without first giving the other side an opportunity to respond.

A request for reconsideration will not be granted unless the FSC is satisfied that one or more of the following criteria are met:

• the FSC acted outside its jurisdiction or violated the rules of natural justice or procedural fairness
• the FSC made a significant error of law or fact such that the FSC would likely have reached a different decision had the error not been made
• the FSC heard false or misleading evidence from a party or witness, which was discovered only after the hearing and would have affected the result
• there is new evidence that could not have reasonably been obtained earlier and would likely have affected the result

For information about how to file the Request for Reconsideration form , see Forms and filing.

Reconsiderations are published on the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) website. CanLII is an online platform that offers free public access to tribunal and court decisions.

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Appealing an FSC decision

Any party to a hearing before the FSC about an order of the Fire Marshal or an order to pay costs can appeal to the Divisional Court on a question that is not purely a question of fact (see sections 27 and 36(4) under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997).

There is no appeal of a decision relating to an authorization to do work.

• Calling Evidence Information Sheet
  This information sheet describes what it means to call evidence at an FSC hearing and will help you prepare your case for the hearing.
• Disclosure Information Sheet
  This information sheet describes the disclosure process, meaning how to disclose the documents or things (physical evidence), witness information and expert reports that you intend to present as evidence at a hearing before the FSC.
• Motions Information Sheet
  This information sheet explains what a motion is and how to make a motion at the FSC.
• Presenting Your Case Information Sheet
  This information sheet describes what happens in a hearing when you present your case to the FSC, including information about witnesses, documents, and things (physical evidence) you need to support your case.