Fire and Boat Drills Regulations (SOR/2010-83)

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

certificated person

certificated person has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Marine Personnel Regulations. (personne brevetée)

fire alarm signal

fire alarm signal means the continuous sounding of a vessel’s fire alarm. (signal d’alarme-incendie)

fishing vessel

fishing vessel has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Marine Personnel Regulations. (bâtiment de pêche)

general emergency alarm signal

general emergency alarm signal means a succession of seven or more short blasts followed by one long blast on the whistle or siren of a vessel. (signal d’alarme générale en cas d’urgence)

marine evacuation system

marine evacuation system means an appliance for the rapid transfer of persons from the embarkation deck of a vessel to a floating survival craft. (dispositif d’évacuation en mer)

near coastal voyage, Class 1

near coastal voyage, Class 1 has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Vessel Safety Certificates Regulations. (voyage à proximité du littoral, classe 1)

rescue boat

rescue boat means a boat designed to be used for rescuing persons in distress and marshalling survival craft and, for greater certainty, includes an emergency boat that performs the same functions. (canot de secours)

sheltered waters voyage

sheltered waters voyage has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Vessel Safety Certificates Regulations. (voyage en eaux abritées)

survival craft

survival craft means a lifeboat, rescue boat, emergency boat, suitable boat, buoyant apparatus, life raft, inflatable rescue platform or any other vessel capable of sustaining the lives of persons in distress from the time of abandoning the vessel on which those persons were carried. (bateau de sauvetage)

unlimited voyage

unlimited voyage has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Vessel Safety Certificates Regulations. (voyage illimité)

Application

Marginal note:Application

• 2 (1) These Regulations apply in respect of self-propelled Canadian vessels that

  • (a) are Safety Convention vessels; or

  • (b) are required to hold a safety certificate under section 12 of the Vessel Safety Certificates Regulations.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) These Regulations do not apply in respect of

  • (a) fishing vessels of 150 gross tonnage or less;

  • (b) cable ferries; and

  • (c) vessels of 15 gross tonnage or less that carry 12 or fewer passengers.

Emergency Information

General

Marginal note:Muster lists

• 3 (1) Subject to section 4, the master of a vessel shall ensure that, at all times, there is a muster list and, in the case of a vessel that is equipped with rescue boats, a rescue boat muster list.

• Marginal note:Posting

  (2) The master of the vessel shall ensure that the lists required under subsection (1)

  • (a) are drawn up in either or both official languages, according to the needs of the crew; and

  • (b) are conspicuously posted throughout the vessel, including the navigation bridge, the engine room and the crew accommodations.

• Marginal note:Separate document

  (3) The rescue boat muster list may be a document separate from the muster list or an addendum to it.

Marginal note:Exception

4 The master of a vessel who has a means of informing crew members of the essential actions to be taken during an emergency is not required to ensure that there is a muster list or a rescue boat muster list if the vessel

• (a) has a crew of fewer than three members and carries passengers; or

• (b) has a crew of fewer than five members and does not carry passengers.

Marginal note:Illustrations and instructions

• 5 (1) The master of a vessel shall, before the vessel embarks on a voyage, prepare and post illustrations and instructions that inform passengers of

  • (a) the alarm signals used to indicate emergencies;

  • (b) the essential actions to be taken during an emergency;

  • (c) the location of their designated muster stations; and

  • (d) the method of correctly donning a lifejacket.

• Marginal note:Posting

  (2) The master of the vessel shall ensure that the illustrations and instructions required under subsection (1)

  • (a) are drawn up in both official languages; and

  • (b) are conspicuously posted in passenger staterooms, at muster stations and in other passenger spaces.

Marginal note:Updated information

6 The master of a vessel shall

• (a) ensure that any information that is posted on board the vessel in accordance with these Regulations is kept up to date and is legible; and

• (b) revise or replace the muster list or rescue boat muster list if there is a change in the crew of the vessel.

Muster List

Marginal note:Contents

• 7 (1) The master of a vessel shall ensure that a muster list contains the following information:

  • (a) a description of the general emergency alarm signal, the fire alarm signal and, if the vessel has one, the public address system;

  • (b) a description of how the order to abandon ship is given;

  • (c) an indication of the station at which each crew member is to report when the general emergency alarm signal or the fire alarm signal is sounded;

  • (d) a description of the specific duties assigned to each crew member and to be performed by the crew member when the general emergency alarm signal or the fire alarm signal is sounded, including

    • (i) closing the watertight doors, fire doors, valves, scuppers, side scuttles, skylights, portholes and other similar openings in the vessel,

    • (ii) equipping the survival craft and the other life saving appliances,

    • (iii) ensuring that the radio life saving equipment is placed on board the appropriate survival craft,

    • (iv) preparing and launching the survival craft,

    • (v) generally preparing the other life saving appliances,

    • (vi) mustering the passengers,

    • (vii) using the radiocommunication equipment,

    • (viii) performing the duties of fire parties, and

    • (ix) performing any special duties assigned in respect of the use of the fire fighting equipment and installations;

  • (e) the substitutes for key persons who may become disabled;

  • (f) the crew member responsible for each survival craft and, if applicable, that member’s second-in-command;

  • (g) the crew member assigned as principal communicator in accordance with section 267 of the Marine Personnel Regulations; and

  • (h) the crew members who are assigned to ensure that the life saving appliances and fire fighting equipment and installations are maintained in good condition and are ready for immediate use.

• Marginal note:Additional contents

  (2) The master of a vessel that carries passengers shall ensure that, in addition to the information set out in subsection (1), the muster list contains the following information:

  • (a) a list of the actions to be taken by the passengers when the general emergency alarm signal or the fire alarm signal is sounded; and

  • (b) a description of the duties assigned to crew members and to be performed by them in relation to the passengers during an emergency, including

    • (i) warning the passengers of the emergency,

    • (ii) ensuring that the passengers are adequately dressed for protection against exposure and have donned their lifejackets correctly,

    • (iii) assembling the passengers at their designated muster stations,

    • (iv) locating and rescuing passengers who are trapped in their staterooms or who are otherwise unaccounted for during an emergency,

    • (v) keeping order in the passageways and on the stairways and generally controlling the movements of passengers, and

    • (vi) ensuring that a supply of blankets is taken to the survival craft.

Marginal note:Additional requirements

8 In preparing a muster list, the master of a vessel shall

• (a) ensure that the number of certificated persons required to be on board and employed for each survival craft under Division 2 of Part 2 of the Marine Personnel Regulations are assigned to that survival craft;

• (b) ensure that each available certificated person is assigned duties in connection with the preparation and launching of survival craft;

• (c) in assigning members of the vessel’s crew to the crews of the survival craft, ensure an equitable distribution of certificated persons, deck officers and persons trained to assist others;

• (d) if the vessel carries motorized survival craft, ensure that a person capable of operating the motor and carrying out minor adjustments to it is assigned to each motorized survival craft; and

• (e) in selecting substitutes for key persons in case those persons become disabled, take into account that different emergencies may call for different actions.

Rescue Boat Muster List

Marginal note:Contents

• 9 (1) The master of a vessel shall ensure that a rescue boat muster list contains the following information:

  • (a) a description of the signal that will be sounded to muster the rescue boat crew to its designated position;

  • (b) the members of the rescue boat crew who are to report to the designated position; and

  • (c) the duties to be performed by each member of the rescue boat crew when that signal is sounded.

• Marginal note:Certificated persons

  (2) In preparing a rescue boat muster list, the master of the vessel shall ensure that the number of certificated persons required to be on board and employed for each rescue boat under section 209 of the Marine Personnel Regulations are assigned to that rescue boat.

Measures Respecting Vessels that Carry Passengers

Passenger Count and Details

Marginal note:Passenger count

10 The master of a vessel that carries passengers shall, before the vessel embarks on a voyage, ensure that the following information is both communicated to him or her and recorded:

• (a) the number of persons on board; and

• (b) details respecting all persons who have declared a need for special care or assistance during an emergency.

Marginal note:Passenger details

• 11 (1) The master of a vessel that carries passengers shall, before the vessel embarks on one of the following voyages, ensure that the name and gender of each person on board the vessel are recorded in a way that distinguishes between adults, children and infants:

  • (a) an unlimited voyage or a near coastal voyage, Class 1;

  • (b) a voyage longer than 12 hours; or

  • (c) a voyage on which there is at least one assigned passenger berth.

• Marginal note:Records

  (2) The master of the vessel shall ensure that information recorded under this section is

  • (a) kept on shore in a manner that makes it readily available to search and rescue services; and

  • (b) updated if any passengers embark or disembark during the voyage.

• Marginal note:Information privacy

  (3) Personal information recorded under this section may be used or disclosed only for search and rescue purposes.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (4) The following definitions apply in subsection (1).

  adult

  adult means a person who is 12 years of age or older. (adulte)

  child

  child means a person who is five years of age or older but under 12 years of age. (enfant)

  infant

  infant means a person who is under five years of age. (enfant en bas âge)

Marginal note:Missing passengers

12 The master of a vessel that carries passengers shall ensure that procedures are in place for locating and rescuing passengers who are trapped in their staterooms or who are otherwise unaccounted for during an emergency.

Practice Musters and Safety Briefings

Marginal note:Practice muster

• 13 (1) If passengers are scheduled to be on board a vessel for more than 24 hours, the master of the vessel shall ensure that a practice muster of the passengers and crew is held as soon as practicable but not later than 24 hours after the passengers embark.

• Marginal note:Safety briefing

  (2) If passengers are scheduled to be on board a vessel for 24 hours or less and a practice muster is not held, the master of the vessel shall ensure that, immediately before or after the vessel embarks on a voyage, a safety briefing is given to the passengers informing them of the safety and emergency procedures that are relevant to the type and size of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Requirements

  (3) The master of a vessel referred to in subsection (2) shall ensure that the safety briefing

  • (a) informs the passengers of the essential actions they must take during an emergency;

  • (b) specifies the location of lifejackets, survival craft and muster stations;

  • (c) informs the passengers in each area of the vessel of the location of the lifejackets and survival craft that are closest to them;

  • (d) instructs the passengers in the donning and use of their lifejackets;

  • (e) is given in either or both official languages, according to the needs of the passengers;

  • (f) is given on the vessel’s public address system if the vessel has one; and

  • (g) is given in a way that is likely to be understood by the passengers.

• Marginal note:New passengers

  (4) If new passengers embark after a practice muster has been held on a vessel, the master of the vessel is not required to hold another practice muster if a safety briefing that meets the requirements of subsection (3) is given to the new passengers before the vessel continues on its voyage.

Marginal note:Duties of crew

14 During a practice muster of passengers and crew, the crew members shall perform the duties assigned to them, including

• (a) summoning the passengers to their designated muster stations;

• (b) keeping order in passageways and on stairways and generally controlling the movements of the passengers as they proceed to their designated muster stations;

• (c) assembling the passengers at their designated muster stations and ensuring that they are all accounted for;

• (d) locating and rescuing passengers who are trapped in their staterooms or who are otherwise unaccounted for;

• (e) instructing the passengers in dressing adequately for protection against exposure and in the donning and use of their lifejackets;

• (f) ensuring that the passengers have donned their lifejackets correctly;

• (g) ensuring that the passengers are made aware of how the order to abandon ship is given; and

• (h) instructing the passengers in the actions that they must take during an emergency, including how to enter marine evacuation systems at the embarkation stations and board survival craft.

Means of Exit

Marginal note:Means of exit

• 15 (1) The master of a vessel that carries passengers and is made fast at a dock for a purpose other than embarking or disembarking passengers shall, if there are passengers on board, ensure that the vessel is provided with more than one means of exit from the vessel.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (2) The means of exit shall be

  • (a) gangways with means of access from the various decks in the vessel; or

  • (b) other means of escape that allow the passengers to reach places of safety during an emergency if the vessel’s conditions of operation do not permit the use of more than one gangway.

Drills

General

Marginal note:Notification

16 Before sounding a signal for the commencement of a drill, the master of a vessel shall ensure that all passengers are notified, in either or both official languages, according to their needs, that a drill will be held and that there is no actual emergency.

Marginal note:Manner of carrying out

17 The master of a vessel shall ensure that drills, in so far as is feasible, are carried out as if there were an actual emergency.

Marginal note:Equipment and installations

18 The master of a vessel shall ensure that any equipment or installations used during a drill are immediately returned to their full operational condition and are ready for immediate reuse, and that any faults or defects discovered in equipment or installations during a drill are remedied as soon as practicable.

Marginal note:Reporting to stations

19 Unless otherwise instructed in a notification referred to in section 16, if the general emergency alarm signal or the fire alarm signal is sounded, the passengers, if any, shall proceed to their designated muster stations and the crew members shall report to their designated muster stations and prepare to perform their assigned duties as described in the muster list.

Obligation to Hold and to Participate in Drills

Marginal note:Intervals

• 20 (1) The master of a vessel described in column 1 of the schedule that is on a voyage described in column 2 shall ensure that a fire drill and a survival craft drill are held on board the vessel at least once during each period set out in column 3.

• Marginal note:Fire drills

  (2) The master of the vessel shall ensure that a fire drill for the crew of the vessel is held within 24 hours after the vessel embarks on a voyage if more than 25% of the crew did not participate in a fire drill on board the vessel during the month before the vessel embarks.

• Marginal note:Survival craft drills

  (3) The master of the vessel shall ensure that a survival craft drill for the crew of the vessel is held within 24 hours after the vessel embarks on a voyage if more than 25% of the crew did not participate in a survival craft drill on board the vessel during the month before the vessel embarks.

Marginal note:Crew participation

21 Every member of the crew of a vessel shall participate in at least one fire drill and one survival craft drill every month.

Marginal note:Additional drills

22 In addition to the drills required under section 20, the master of a vessel shall ensure that enough fire drills and survival craft drills for the crew of the vessel are held to ensure that the entire crew is at all times competent and operationally ready to respond to the emergencies addressed by the drills.

Fire Drills

Marginal note:Considerations

23 The master of a vessel shall ensure that fire drills are planned in such a way that due consideration is given to the practice followed in the various emergencies that could occur, depending on the type of vessel and its cargo.

Marginal note:Crew duties

24 During a fire drill, the master of a vessel shall ensure that the crew members perform the duties assigned to them in connection with the fire drill, including

• (a) mustering the passengers, if any;

• (b) locating and rescuing passengers, if any, who are trapped in their staterooms or who are otherwise unaccounted for;

• (c) locating and rescuing crew members who are trapped in their accommodations or who are otherwise unaccounted for;

• (d) checking the operation of the fire doors, fire dampers and main inlets and outlets of the ventilation systems;

• (e) closing the fire doors, valves, scuppers, side scuttles, skylights, portholes and other similar openings in the vessel;

• (f) inspecting and operating the fire pump or, if the vessel has one, the emergency fire pump using at least two jets of water in order to ensure that the system is in proper working order;

• (g) inspecting the fire fighting equipment that is fitted or carried on the vessel, other than the fire fighting equipment referred to in paragraph (f), including

  • (i) fire fighters’ outfits and other personal rescue equipment,

  • (ii) the sprinkler systems,

  • (iii) the fire alarm systems,

  • (iv) the fire detection system, and

  • (v) the fire hoses and hydrants;

• (h) inspecting and testing the relevant communications equipment, including the public address systems, alarm systems and klaxons;

• (i) inspecting and testing the emergency lighting and power systems;

• (j) preparing the survival craft and their equipment; and

• (k) checking the necessary arrangements for a subsequent abandonment of the vessel.

Survival Craft Drills

Marginal note:Crew lists and duties

• 25 (1) Before a survival craft drill is held, the person in charge of a survival craft and his or her second-in-command shall each have a list of the survival craft crew members, and the person in charge shall ensure that the crew members know what their duties are.

• Marginal note:Crew duties

  (2) During a survival craft drill, the master of a vessel shall ensure that the crew members perform the duties assigned to them in connection with the survival craft drill, including

  • (a) mustering the passengers, if any;

  • (b) locating and rescuing passengers, if any, who are trapped in their staterooms or who are otherwise unaccounted for;

  • (c) locating and rescuing crew members who are trapped in their accommodations or who are otherwise unaccounted for;

  • (d) preparing for the launching of the survival craft and ensuring that the equipment and supplies, including a supply of blankets, that are required to be carried in the survival craft are in place and properly stowed;

  • (e) inspecting and, if practicable, testing the radio life saving equipment that is required to be carried in the survival craft;

  • (f) operating the davits used for launching life rafts;

  • (g) if the vessel carries motor lifeboats, starting and operating the lifeboat motors and verifying that the fuel tanks are filled to capacity;

  • (h) if the vessel carries survival craft other than lifeboats, participating in instruction in the operation and deployment of those survival craft;

  • (i) if the vessel is fitted with a marine evacuation system, carrying out the procedures required for the deployment of the system up to the point immediately preceding its actual deployment;

  • (j) testing the emergency lighting for the mustering of passengers and crew and for the abandonment of the vessel; and

  • (k) inspecting and testing the life saving appliances that are fitted or carried on the vessel, other than those referred to in paragraph (e) or (j) or in section 30.

Marginal note:Donning of suits

26 The master of a vessel shall ensure that the crew members are capable of donning the immersion suits or marine anti-exposure suits that are carried on the vessel.

Marginal note:Lifeboats

• 27 (1) The master of a vessel that carries more than one lifeboat shall ensure that a different lifeboat is launched by the assigned crew during each survival craft drill. However, subject to subsection (2) and sections 28 and 29, the master shall also ensure that each lifeboat on the vessel — including a lifeboat that is a rescue boat — is launched and manoeuvred in the water, by the assigned crew, at least once every three months during a survival craft drill.

• Marginal note:Vessel at sea

  (2) When the vessel is at sea, the launching and manoeuvring of a lifeboat during a drill referred to in subsection (1) may be replaced by the clearing and swinging out of one or more lifeboats if

  • (a) each lifeboat is cleared and swung out at least once every month; and

  • (b) each lifeboat is launched and manoeuvred in the water, by the assigned crew, at least once every three months.

• Marginal note:Vessel under way

  (3) When the vessel is under way, the master of the vessel shall ensure that the launching and manoeuvring referred to in paragraph (2)(b) are carried out in sheltered waters and under the supervision of an officer experienced in launchings and manoeuvrings while a vessel is under way.

Marginal note:Free-fall lifeboats — every three months

• 28 (1) The master of a vessel that carries free-fall lifeboats shall ensure that at least once every three months, during a survival craft drill, the crew members

  • (a) board the lifeboats;

  • (b) secure themselves properly in their seats; and

  • (c) carry out the launch procedure up to but not including the actual release of the lifeboats.

• Marginal note:Additional steps

  (2) Once the crew members have commenced the launch procedure referred to in paragraph (1)(c), the master of the vessel shall ensure that

  • (a) the lifeboats are either

    • (i) free-fall launched with only the operating crew on board, or

    • (ii) lowered into the water by means of the secondary means of launching with or without the operating crew on board; and

  • (b) the lifeboats are manoeuvred in the water by the operating crew.

Marginal note:Free-fall lifeboats — every six months

29 Despite subsection 28(2), the master of a vessel that carries free-fall lifeboats shall ensure that at least once every six months, during a survival craft drill, either

• (a) the lifeboats are free-fall launched with only the operating crew on board; or

• (b) a simulated launching of the lifeboats is carried out in accordance with the Guidelines for Simulated Launching of Free-Fall Lifeboats, the Appendix to Annex 2 of MSC.1/Circ. 1206, Measures to Prevent Accidents with Lifeboats, published by the International Maritime Organization on May 26, 2006, as amended from time to time.

Marginal note:Fire-protected lifeboats

30 The master of a vessel that carries fire-protected lifeboats shall ensure that the water spray system and the self-contained air supply for those lifeboats are tested at least once every six months during a survival craft drill.

Rescue Boat Drills

Marginal note:Intervals

• 31 (1) The master of a vessel that is equipped with rescue boats that are not lifeboats shall ensure that a rescue boat drill is held, separately from any other drill, at least once every month.

• Marginal note:Crew on board

  (2) During a rescue boat drill, the members of the crew of each rescue boat shall launch and manoeuvre the rescue boat in the water.

• Marginal note:Vessel under way

  (3) When the vessel is under way, the master of the vessel shall ensure that, during a rescue boat drill, the launching and manoeuvring of a rescue boat are carried out in sheltered waters and under the supervision of an officer experienced in launchings and manoeuvrings while a vessel is under way.

Watertight Doors

Marginal note:Intervals

32 The master of a vessel shall ensure that a drill for the operation of watertight doors is held at the same time as each fire drill and each survival craft drill.

Marginal note:Inspections

33 The master of a vessel shall ensure that the following, if fitted, are inspected at least once a week:

• (a) the watertight doors and all of the mechanisms and indicators of those doors; and

• (b) all of the valves

  • (i) the closing of which is necessary to make a compartment watertight, and

  • (ii) the operation of which is necessary for damage control cross-connections.

Marginal note:Voyage that exceeds one week

34 The master of a vessel referred to in item 1, 2 or 3 of the schedule that is to embark on a voyage of more than one week in duration shall ensure that a drill referred to in section 32 is also held before the vessel embarks on the voyage.

Marginal note:Daily operation

35 The master of a vessel referred to in item 1, 2 or 3 of the schedule shall ensure that all of the watertight doors, whether hinged or power-operated, in the main transverse bulkheads, in use at sea, are operated daily.

Marginal note:Other requirements

36 Nothing in sections 32 to 35 authorizes the opening of a watertight door or any other appliance that is required by any regulation to be kept closed.

Records

Marginal note:Required information

• 37 (1) The master of a vessel shall record and keep the following information:

  • (a) the date of each muster of passengers and crew;

  • (b) a detailed report of each fire drill, including the inspection and testing of any fire-fighting equipment;

  • (c) a detailed report of each survival craft drill, including the inspection and testing of any life saving appliances;

  • (d) a detailed report of each rescue boat drill;

  • (e) the time of the opening or closing of any watertight door that may be required to be opened at sea for the working of the vessel;

  • (f) a detailed report of each drill for the operation of watertight doors, of each inspection of watertight doors or any other appliances referred to in section 33, and of any defects discovered;

  • (g) if a muster or drill required by these Regulations is not held, or is held only in part, a report of the circumstances and the extent of the muster or drill, and the reason why the muster or drill was not held or was held only in part; and

  • (h) an evaluation of the competency and operational readiness of the entire crew of the vessel in responding to the emergency addressed by each drill.

• Marginal note:Entering records

  (2) The information referred to in subsection (1) shall be entered in writing

  • (a) in the official log book, if an official log book is required by Division 7 of Part 3 of the Marine Personnel Regulations; or

  • (b) in a deck log book or another document, in any other case.

• Marginal note:Other documents

  (3) If the information referred to in subsection (1) is entered in a document referred to in paragraph (2)(b), the master of the vessel shall ensure that the document

  • (a) is kept on board the vessel for a period of five years after the day on which the last entry was made; and

  • (b) is made available to the Minister for inspection during that period at the request of the Minister.

Repeal and Coming into Force

38 [Repeal]

Marginal note:Registration

39 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.