Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee members, on behalf of the Fire Marshal of Ontario and myself, it's an honour and a privilege to sit here before the committee today.
My name is Doug Goodings. I'm the executive coordinator of certification and accreditation for the Office of the Fire Marshal, and I'm also a retired member of the Canadian Forces of over 25 years.
The fire service is very steeped in history and tradition. Many of these traditions and much of the history of the fire service are incorporated into our memorials and funeral services. An example of that would be the ringing of a bell. Many years ago, a bell would ring to signify that there's a fire in a town. The firefighters would respond. Once they got back to the station, the bell would ring three times to signify that the fire was out, everything had been completed, and everybody returned to the fire station. As part of our memorials and services, the tradition of the ringing of the bell, three rings, three times, signifies that the member has completed his task and he has come home.
Firefighting is an inherently dangerous occupation and firefighters face many hazards and risks in the performance of their duties. Firefighters die in the line of duty and at emergencies. Firefighters also get cancers and diseases as a result of the hazards involved in their work, and many provincial governments have passed presumptive legislation to address these risks and hazards.
Those resulting deaths are also classified as line-of-duty deaths under the provincial governments. The presumptive legislation recognizes active firefighters and some retired firefighters. The fire services history and tradition play a large part in all memorial ceremonies, from those recognizing active line-of-duty deaths and those for line-of-duty deaths under the presumptive legislation, to historic service from retired firefighters and national and provincial memorials.
I was able to bring to the committee members a copy of the protocol manual that was put out by the Ontario Fire Marshal's office for the fire departments in Ontario.
Thank you.