1993 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING


The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.


HONOURABLE ROBIN BLENCOE
MINISTER OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS,
RECREATION AND HOUSING

BILL 11 - 1993

FIRE SERVICES AMENDMENT ACT, 1993

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the Fire Services Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 133, is amended by repealing the definition of "local assistant" and substituting the following:

"local assistant" means a local assistant to the fire commissioner as described in section 6; .

2 Section 6 is repealed and the following substituted:

Local assistants

6 (1) The local assistants to the fire commissioner are as follows:

(a) in a municipality that maintains a fire department, the fire chief and persons authorized in writing by the fire chief to exercise the powers of a local assistant;

(b) in a municipality that does not maintain a fire department, the mayor of the municipality or another person appointed as a local assistant by the fire commissioner;

(c) in any other part of the Province, a person appointed as a local assistant by the fire commissioner.

(2) The fire commissioner may appoint local assistants for the purposes of this Act.

(3) If no local assistant has been appointed in an area of the Province not in a municipality or the appointed local assistant has ceased to act, the members of the police force stationed in the area are local assistants until another local assistant is appointed by the fire commissioner.

3 Section 9 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) Immediately after an investigation under subsection (1), the local assistant shall submit to the fire commissioner a report containing

(a) all facts ascertained about the cause, origin and circumstances of the fire, and

(b) any further information required by the fire commissioner.

(3) The report required under subsection (2) shall be submitted in a format and by the means approved by the fire commissioner.

4 Section 20 is repealed and the following substituted:

Record of reported fires

20 (1) The fire commissioner must keep a statistical record of all fires reported to the fire commissioner.

(2) The record referred to in subsection (1) must be available at the office of the fire commissioner for inspection by the public.

(3) The fire commissioner may allow a person to inspect a document in the office of the fire commissioner relating to a reported fire and may supply a person with a copy of a document on payment of the prescribed fee.

(4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe fees for the purposes of subsection (3).

 
Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: Consequential to moving the substance of the definition to the new section 6 of the Act.

SECTION 2: grants to the fire commissioner authority to appoint local assistants and moves the substance of the definition of "local assistant" from section 1 to section 6 of the Act.

SECTION 3: eliminates the requirement that the report be written on a particular form supplied by the fire commissioner, and clarifies that the fire commissioner may require additional information.

SECTION 4: replaces an outdated set fee with flexibility for the setting of fees.


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