b'Interview withSteve Smith,ESA,on Fire Alarm Industry TrendsMAINTAINING FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS REQUIRES STRONG INDUSTRY QUALIFICATIONSCathy Frederickson, ECAO Communications Specialist, recently met with Steve Smith, General Manager, ESA, to discuss the importance of understanding the history and the future of Fire Safety Systems to protect consumers and residents of Ontario.S Steves early passion for fire alarm safety and fire alarms systems lead Steve Smith has a long and impressive history in the Fire Alarm indus-try. Steve first started working extensively with fire alarm systems as ahim to be very involved in both the CFAA and Certi-Fire programs, 309A Construction, Maintenance Electrician with Buxton and Dawewhere he actually wrote many of the fire alarm training manuals and Ltd. where he stated, They lived and breathed fire alarm installation,course materials for both the Certi-Fire and CFAA training modules.maintenance and inspection. He gained his experience working on large government fire alarm installations in facilities like universitiesUnfortunately, Steve has also seen many fire casualties and significant and colleges all over Ontario. Steve is currently the General Managerproperty damage as a result of either poor fire alarm maintenance or for ESAs Central Region. Steve has been with the ESA for 33 yearslack of regular inspection and testing of systems. and held many roles during this time, including: Inspector, Senior Inspector, Technical Advisor, Project Manager, Director of AppealsOne of the earliest high profile fires was at The Inn on the Park. In and now as General Manager.January 1981, the second-floor meeting room in the tower suffered a fire, and although the fire was mostly confined to the source, smoke bil-Over the years, Steve has been recognized as an expert in Fire andlowed up the shafts into rooms. Six lives were lost to carbon monoxide Electrical Code safety matters and sits on numerous industry andpoisoning, including Canadian television producer and director Cecil governmentadvisorycommitteesprovidinghisexpertiseinthe"Cy" True. fireprotectionindustry.IninterviewingSteve,hestressedthat it is important to review the history in the fire alarm industry in order to better understand the intricacies and challenges facing the industry today.One of the main challenges is to understand what rules and regula-tions are in place during and after a fire alarm installation, including maintenance. To add to the complexity, there are three jurisdictional authorities responsible for fire safety; the Ontario Building Code, Source: Toronto Public Library ArchiveOntarioElectricalSafetyCodeandtheOntarioFireCode. The Ontario Fire Marshals Office, under the Ontario Fire Code, takes authority on the regular verification and inspection of fire alarm sys-tems. The Ontario Fire Code also requires that only qualified persons are allowed to perform regular inspections and testing. They have identified that individuals with certification as technicians with either the Canadian Fire Alarm Association (CFAA) or Certi-Fire Program are allowed to perform fire alarms inspections and testing annually.Inn on the Park Ontario Electrical Contractor11'