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Natural Resources committee Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I appreciate your taking the time and the opportunity to hear from the IAFF today. As you heard, my name is Fred LeBlanc, I'm the 13th district vice-president for the IAFF. I'm a recently retired Kingston firefighter. I spen
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee Thank you for the question. I think I heard it all through the translation and I apologize. In my full disclosure, I should have said that the only French I know is my last name, so I apologize if I've missed any of this. I don't think it's fair to try to compare what happened
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee My knowledge is very limited to media reports of what happened at the Grenfell Tower, but what happened, and why we're referencing it, is that it's an example of a building that was built to code many years ago but then it got renovated. They put on an exterior cladding that was
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee I'll refer to Greg, if I can, on this one.
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee That is an ongoing concern when we get into what we refer to as “lightweight construction”, when it remains in an exposed situation. That's what we're talking about. We need to maybe not go so quickly here with being so permissive of tall wood buildings, given our concerns that w
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee Just based on my experience up to today—and I don't want to disparage timber construction because I don't know enough about it—my comfort level is with, again, the cement structure because it keeps the fire compartmentalized. That's been my experience as a firefighter running in
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee Is that directed to me?
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee I really don't know. I'm assuming it's the advent and inclusion of sprinkler systems and other fire suppression systems, but those are mechanical devices. Unless they're very well maintained on scheduled maintenance, mechanical devices have been known, and we rely on them, to fai
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee I'm not.
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee A lot less.
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee You wanted short answers, sorry.
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee The codes usually do if it qualifies as a vulnerable occupancy. I don't want to stray into, or even attempt to stray into what falls under vulnerable occupancies and what doesn't, but when you're talking about seniors with mobility issues a lot of those factors are taken into con
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee Obviously a recommendation to the codes commission to include firefighter safety as one of the core objectives would be very much appreciated. That sends a very strong signal. Also, there should be some way to set up something like a panel to bring stakeholders together, because
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee I know there has been some consultation in Ontario, but I'll have to refer to Greg on some of the other provinces.
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc
Natural Resources committee It's the products that are in them. Everything—from the chairs we're sitting on, to carpets, to curtains—is made of new, synthetic, chemically developed materials. When they come together, those toxins burn hotter and faster, and that creates a whole other issue for us.
December 4th, 2017Committee meeting
Fred LeBlanc