Key Questions to ask in High-Rise Condominium Board Governance Emergency Preparedness Week - 2021
This year, Emergency Preparedness Week (EP Week) is May 2-8, 2021. A national awareness initiative that has taken place annually since 1996. It is a Canada-wide, joint public and private sector initiative to help both people and organizations become better aware of individual, family and corporate preparedness.
Being knee-deep in a pandemic that is uprooting everything, it’s important to know what to focus on from a preparedness and risk management perspective.
As a condo director, you are tasked, amongst other things, to oversee, control and administer the common elements. Most condo Boards fulfill this task, in part, with the assistance of a professional property management firm who looks after the day to day operations at the building. These day-to-day operations include the vital role of risk management and compliance. Remember, the role of the Board and Directors is to govern, not “manage”.
As part of that governance, the Board should, at least once a year, ask several key questions of the individual they have placed in charge of day to day risk management practices. In this article I will tackle three of the first questions you should ask at your first board meeting of a high-rise condo.
Is the building’s Fire Safety Plan up to date and maintained as required by the Ontario Fire Code?
Fire safety plans are required for almost all condominiums, and a copy of that plan is required to be provided to the arriving fire services when they arrive at your building – typically through a fire safety plan box. That plan, also provides the building Owner and Manager with a detailed list of their roles and responsibilities to maintain, test and inspect the buildings life safety systems.
It is this fire safety plan, that provides a detailed list of current code requirements for your specific building – hence, why it must be properly updated every 12 months. It will list the daily, weekly, monthly and additional requirements for checks, test and inspections required by the building Owner. If this plan is outdated, so will your code compliance. A fire safety plan is a tool for your building Manager to use to achieve code compliance, but it must be up to date.
As an owner, or a director of a condo and a volunteer representative of the residents of your building, most would agree, that the simple question should be asked; “Is our building up to date with the fire code requirements?” Document the answer in the meeting minutes. You should ask this basic due diligence question every 12 months.
Now, with a current and updated fire safety plan for the calendar year, has the updated roles, responsibilities and emergency procedures been shared with staff and each resident?
The Corporation, through its board, is ultimately responsible for ensuring their Fire Safety Plan has been implemented, reviewed and updated at least every 12 months. The Fire Safety Plan is one of the most basic foundations of your condo risk management program.
The Ontario Fire Code is a provincial regulation under Section 12 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act. The Fire Code requires that the owner be responsible for carrying out the provisions for fire safety and defines “owner” as any “person, firm or corporation controlling the property under consideration”. In the condominium world, this refers to the corporation through its board of directors.
The Fire Protection and Prevention Act states that
“Every person who contravenes any provision of the Fire Code and every director or officer of a corporation who knowingly concurs in such contravention is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $50,000 (first offence) and $100,000 (subsequent offence) for an individual or $500,000 (first offence) and $1,500,000 (subsequent offence) for a corporation or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year or both”.
The corporation’s responsibilities under the Ontario Fire Code do not end with training of the building staff on the property’s fire safety plan. The occupants must also be engaged and informed on their own roles and responsibilities under that same plan which is often overlooked despite it being an integral component of implementing a high-rise fire safety plan.
Historically, a significant challenge for residential high-rise property managers is the engagement of residents to participate in fire and emergency preparedness initiatives.
The corporation should, at minimum, confirm that this vital requirement to review and update the plan has been completed, and that the Fire Safety Plan is signed off for the current calendar year. Finally, it’s vitally important for the Board to confirm that the emergency procedures were shared with all residents, and that all staff at the building, have received training on how t implement the fire safety plan – before being given any responsibilities at the building. This is a fire code requirement.
Here’s a link to an article focusing on five areas of information every resident should understand, and a unique way to educate, and document your fire safety plan implementation with building residents - virtually.
Has a written safety plan been developed and implemented regarding COVID 19 in our building?
You didn’t think we would write a piece on emergency preparedness week without tackling the risks associated with the current COVID pandemic, did you?
It’s important that employers have a plan for how they will protect their employees against COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. Under Ontario’s labour laws, employers must take every reasonable precaution to protect the health and safety of workers. This includes protecting workers from hazards posed by infectious diseases.
While your building Manager likely already has a COVID Safety plan completed and in place, it is important for the Condo Board, to simply verify that this plan is in fact, implemented, reviewed and updated as needed and as Provincial and local requirement changes.
Directors of the Corporation are simply looking for confirmation that this vital step has been completed as part of governing a vertical community during a worldwide Pandemic.
The appropriate response to the Board from any Property Manager would be” Yes, we have a plan implemented addressing the OSHA requirements and we are monitoring Public Health Guidelines should measures or advise change.”
Your COVID Safety Plan should describe the measures and procedures which have been implemented in the building to reduce the transmission risk of COVID-19. This safety plan will be used to protect both – employees as required, and residents.
The COVID Safety Plan should describe how the requirements of both OHSA and the Provincial Emergency Orders will be implemented in your workplace. It should include such precautions as screening, physical distancing, masks or face coverings, cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and objects, and the wearing of personal protective equipment.
The COVID safety plan shall be in writing, not a verbal plan. In fact, some proactive building Managers in Ontario are even posting this plan for all employees and residents to see. If you need guidance as to what to include in your COVID Safety Plan, don’t hesitate to visit the Provincial website that provides links to download templates for your use – free of charge.
Here’s a fourth question to pose to your Condominium Management team.
Has an Emergency Response Plan has been developed and implemented at this building?
As a member of the board, you want to ensure that your corporation has developed and implemented an emergency procedure plan to protect employees and residents against common risks in the building. Identifying what your staff will do in response to different types of emergencies, will assist you and your teams in all phases on an emergency; How to prevent them, prepare for them, and even eliminate, or mitigate the impacts of those emergencies.
The cornerstone of an effective risk management program for condominiums is the identification of common risks and site-specific hazards and providing a standardized and consistent approach to those risks and impacts.
I would suggest that a series of questions to a building manager on behalf of the board would be to confirm that:
· the condo has a plan;
· that the staff are all aware of the plan; and
· that the plan is current.
An Emergency Response Plan provides core guidance on actions necessary in emergency situations that could cause hazard to life or property. This plan must identify what actions employee and resident must take in the event of an emergency such as: elevator entrapment, fire, fire alarm, injuries and fatalities, COVID Outbreak, criminal acts & security incidents, refrigerant detection system alarms, underground parking Carbon Monoxide Detection system activations, floods, extreme weather, shelter in place orders, and more.
The immediate actions of staff, and subsequent follow-up actions of the property management team, will directly impact the safety of residents and may very well save lives.
Inadequate preparation for emergency situations such as the ones identified above can have serious effects on the viability of building operations, costs, expenses, quality of service, convenience, and can pose a serious threat to the safety of employees, residents and building guests.
Conclusion
While leadership throughout the property management industry in Ontario is systematically strong, significant praise should be given to the front line Professional Building Managers and their teams, working to ensure the safety of our communities – especially during this third wave.
It is vital from a basic due diligence perspective, that corporations don’t let their guards down, and verify these important risk management practices at least annually. It is also critical that Boards provide additional resources needed to support those who protect both your corporation and home - on a day to day basis. While it is important to continue to request verification of all major risk management and compliance responsibilities, please reach out to the Management teams, see if they need anything, and more importantly, thank them for their ongoing leadership and dedication during this time.
About NLS Group
NLS Group is a team of facility fire safety and risk management experts established to ensure greater public safety.
We uniquely achieve this by utilizing leadership and experience from both the private and public sectors while utilizing the principles of emergency management in everyday business and facility operations.
https://www.nationallifesafetygroup.ca