Canadian Safety Reporter

5 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 News | June 2015 | CSR 'They shouldn't be risking their lives during training' Deaths of 2 Ontario firefighting trainees raise questions around government regulation BY LIZ BERNIER BECOMING a firefighter was something Adam Brunt was passionate about — but it was a dream tragically cut short. Brunt, 30, was killed on Feb. 8, 2015, during an ice and water rescue training exercise pro- vided through a private training firm. He had been enrolled at the firefighting program at Durham College in Oshawa, Ont., and had signed up for the non-man- datory training course with Her- schel Rescue Training Systems. It was not part of his college cur- riculum. The tragedy comes five years after a similar incident in Point Edward, Ont., when volunteer firefighter Gary Kendall, 51, was killed during training — also during ice and water rescue training provided by Herschel Rescue. Because the training was pro- vided by a private firm, it was not subject to government regula- tion, said Jennifer French, NDP MPP for Oshawa, who is ad- vocating for more government oversight of these programs. "This is an important issue because what we have is a group of students — in this case, fire- fighter candidates — who are not protected by the Ministry of Labour or the Ministry of Train- ing, Colleges and Universities. They're in limbo," she said. Becoming a firefighter can be a competitive process, so many firefighting students and can- didates take these additional courses to improve their skills and get a leg up on the compe- tition, so to speak, when they're applying for jobs, said French. "They're very popular, they are optional courses, and they're very technical — they're very specific, whether it's high-angle rescue or, in this case, cold water and swift water (training)," she said. "Many students take them but because they're students and they're taking them through these private training compa- nies, they aren't covered under the Training, Colleges and Uni- versities Act. And they're not yet employees — they're not yet firefighters — so they aren't covered under the Ministry of Labour. "So, unfortunately, in both of these instances... these are under very similar circumstances, the same company, and there is no protection, there are no guaran- tees." Relatives of Brunt and Kend- all, along with other advocates, are calling for government regu- lation of these courses, which would effectively "close the loop- hole," said French. "The changes that we would like to see are that there are regulations in place, standards in place. We're calling on the government to consult and be informed by experts and stake- holders — the families of the victims, but also those that are in this industry or experts in the field of what those regulations should look like," she said. "We're encouraging the gov- ernment to ask those questions, to do the work, and then to take an action step to actually have those regulations in place so that everyone going forward is pro- tected." The families are also calling for coroner's inquests into the two deaths. Al Brunt, Adam's father, said Adam would want to make sure the same tragedy does not hap- pen to anyone else. "He would want to protect the next person... so we're going to take on that battle," he said at a press conference at Queen's Park. "We'll get through it and make the right thing happen, make (something) positive come of it." The provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universi- ties will be reviewing the Private Career Colleges Act in light of the tragedy, said Minister Reza Moridi. "I was very saddened by this incident and our thoughts con- tinue to be with Adam Brunt's family and friends during this difficult time," he said in a state- ment. "After incidents like this, it is important to take a hard look at any potential improvements that could help prevent future accidents in programs that are currently exempt from regula- tory oversight under the Private Career Colleges Act, like single- skill firefighting courses. "That's why I directed senior officials at the Ministry of Train- ing Colleges and Universities, including the deputy minister, to begin to review the Private Career Colleges Act and come forward with specific options that I can consider to better en- sure the safety of students taking programs that carry a reason- able level of risk. "We will be working closely with the office of the fire marshal and other relevant stakeholders to address throughout this pro- cess." Queen's Park has also an- nounced it will look at regulat- ing companies that provide such safety courses for firefighting trainees and first responders. These companies and trainers are surely well-intentioned but they need to follow basic safety standards and best practices, said French. "I'm sure everyone involved wants to teach safety skills but, as it stands right now, there is no regulation, there are no stan- dards and it shouldn't be 'buyer beware' when we're talking about health and safety." It's encouraging that the gov- ernment is considering regulat- ing the industry but, at the same time, it's important that it actu- ally takes the necessary actions, she said. "We are encouraged to see that they understand that there is a need for regulation in this industry. There was a review five years ago; we don't just want to see a review, we want to see that action," she said. "We're talking about our first responders here, the people who are willing to risk their lives for us. But they shouldn't be risking their lives during training. "They want to keep us safe, and I think it's our job to ensure that they are kept safe." Airport firefighters work at the crash site of an Air Canada flight that crashed on March 29 during a snowstorm at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield, N.S. Credit: Andrew Vaughan/Pool (Reuters)

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