THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL ICI ROOFING CONTRACTORS IN ONTARIO ORN 16  ONTARIO ROOFING NEWS – WINTER 2018/19 Inside the OIRCA OIRCA Submits Ontario Fire Code Changes to the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal By Don Marks, Executive Director, OIRCA The following was released as an OIRCA Members’Bulletin in December of 2018. T he OIRCA Board of Direc- tors made a decision earlier this year that our Associa- tion would take an industry lead- ership position on addressing roofing fires that involve the torch application of modified bi- tumen roofing membranes. This province, the entire coun- try for that matter, has recently witnessed very serious fires that originated from reroofing opera- tions utilizing open flame torch applications. In Ontario the Lak- eridge Health Port Perry Hospital had been closed for over a year as a result of a fire which took place on August 25, 2017. This past June, due to a major rooftop fire, Dalhousie University’s Fac- ulty of Agriculture, Cox Institute in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia is still closed. In July in Montreal, two roofers ended up in hospital as a result of a rooftop fire that in- volved over 200 firefighters fight- ing a blaze which shut down a skyscraper in the downtown core. Thirty floors of businesses and hundreds of employees have yet to return to the building. In 2012 through 2014, the OIRCA assisted the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal with estab- lishing changes to the Ontario Fire Code that ultimately became law on January 1, 2015. Those re- visions were designed to help re- duce rooftop fires utilizing open flame torches and kettles. This effort followed the death of two firefighters in Listowel, Ontario in 2011 resulting from a torch- related fire. Those changes to the Fire Code have had little impact on the number of roofing-related fires. Fire Marshal-compiled statistics indicate no improve- ment in the number or sever- ity of these fires. This fact has prompted the OIRCA to suggest further changes, and to that end we made a submission to the Fire Marshal this fall. Those changes were endorsed by the Associa- tion’s Technical and Risk Man- agement Committees, the Board of Directors and the member- ship through this past summer’s membership survey. Those Committees became aware of torching policies being adopted by a few of our mem- bers. Specifically, they became mindful that most torch fires originate at flashings and roof penetrations. Much fewer start in the field of the roof. This fact alone encouraged us to consider recommending code language that would restrict where torching can be used on a roof. The current Fire Code could be interpreted as restricting torching away from flashings, as it states in part that “open flame torches… shall not directly expose… com- bustible material such as… cant strips, insulation and flashing, voids, holes and skylights…”. We feel that this language is not spe- cific or clear enough. We therefore have submitted the following lan- guage change for consideration by the Fire Marshal: “Open flame torches shall not be used to apply roof- ing materials at roof flashings and roof penetrations.” We have also recommended another related change to clarify the requirements to monitor a fire watch. When the Fire Code was revised in 2015, the new fire watch clause provided an option to reduce the timeframe from three hours to two hours, pro- vided a “thermal scanner” was employed. Our recommenda- tion in that regard was to use a “thermal imaging camera,” but the code writers chose the former wording, which isn’t clear and does not accurately describe an imaging camera. To clean up that section of the Code, we have proposed the following language: “a handheld thermal imaging camera is employed and operated by a competent and trained person who maintains a fire watch log.” The OIRCA Board of Direc- tors strongly believe that an ag- gressive position must be taken to reduce the potential for future roof fires when torch-applied roofing membranes and systems are specified. Awareness of these fires is spreading, as municipal fire departments, the Fire Marshal and the insurance industry are taking notice. Rather than having those groups dictate our future, we have been seeking a roofing industry solution and we believe we have found it with the Fire Code changes we are proposing. We have already witnessed insur- ance premiums spike in Western Canada and Quebec, and expect Ontario to follow suit next year. The modified bitumen in- dustry has made great strides in recent years developing alterna- tives to torch applications. Their cold products, adhesives and self- adhering membranes are better than ever. Cold weather applica- tions are still their Achilles heel, though. That industry must make further progress in developing membranes and products that can be installed in Canada dur- ing the winter without the use of an open flame tool. Failure to do so will pressure specifiers to consider other systems. Hot asphalt, of course, is still a vi- able option when adhering these types of membranes. Everyone associated with the ICI industry in this province, whether you are a roof consul- tant, architect, engineer, build- ing owner or roofing contractor, must think long and hard about the risk associated with these types of roofing systems. None of us want to be associated with that next catastrophe. Let’s work together to clean up this blemish distressing our industry. Serving Southwestern Ontario Since 1972 • Commercial • Industrial • Maintenance Specialists Free Estimates / Inspection 152 Thames Rd. W., Exeter, Ont. N0M 1S3 Tel: (519) 235-2802 • Fax: (519) 235-1532 Email: speat@hay.net Commercial and Residential Roofing Trinity Roofing Ltd. specializes in a variety of roofing applications and waterproofing for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. Phone: 416-630-9213 Fax: 416-630-1722 URL: www.trinitycanada.com Email: info@trinitycanada.com