Item - 2019.EC2.4

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:  

1.  City Council authorize the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services, to negotiate and enter into agreements with the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) for the establishment, operation of, and funding support for specialized response teams including Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive (CBRNE) teams ("HUSAR/CBRNE teams") in Toronto and throughout the Province of Ontario, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

2.  City Council authorize the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services to execute and submit on behalf of the City any documents related to Provincial funding support for the City's HUSAR/CBRNE teams, required by the agreement with the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM).

This report requests City Council authorize the Fire Chief and General Manager, Toronto Fire Services, to negotiate and enter into agreements with the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) for the continued funding support of Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive (CBRNE) teams.

Since 2002, the City of Toronto has been in receipt of funding provided by the OFMEM on an annual basis for the provision of both HUSAR and CBRNE teams. These teams are comprised of specially trained emergency responders, all of whom are employed by or contracted to provide services to the City. The City's HUSAR and CBRNE teams are also available to respond to large-scale or complex natural or human-caused incidents anywhere in Ontario in support of the Provincial Mutual Aid Plan on a cost-recovery basis.