by SUSAN MANN
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office plans to send a communiqué to all provincial municipalities telling them it has become aware barns and other structures not designed to hold large gatherings are being used for parties.
It will be up to the municipalities’ fire services to inspect buildings if they become aware of potential Ontario Fire Code violations and take steps to stop functions if necessary.
The direction from the Fire Marshal’s Office isn’t sitting well with one rural municipality. Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn says it’s a generally accepted practice in rural Ontario for people to have parties in barns and the province should “leave us alone.”
Ginn says last month he attended his neighbour’s 25th wedding anniversary celebration held in the drive shed. “We see members of parliament making announcements in drive sheds.”
“If a farm building isn’t suitable for a public gathering, why is a farm house suitable?” he asks.
The municipality is circulating a resolution to all Ontario municipalities, all MPPs and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office saying it “strongly objects to the direction from the Fire Marshal’s Office restricting” the use of farm buildings for parties.
Parties and family functions held in barns are an important part of rural culture, it says in the resolution. Private buildings and property should be the responsibility of the owners.
In addition, the direction from the Fire Marshal’s Office infringes on property rights.
Jeffrey Dick, acting operations manager for the southwest region of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office, says he will take a look at the resolution. But “if we become aware of a potential public safety issue we’re going let the authority having jurisdiction know about it.”
Dick says barns are designed to be used as barns. But the Fire Marshal’s Office became aware in August that barns are being used as public assembly buildings to hold parties like wedding receptions and family reunions. “That’s not what a barn is intended for,” he explains, noting that using a barn as an assembly occupancy structure is not the correct use of the building.
Assembly buildings, including structures that look like barns, that are designed to be used for parties, meetings, dances and other functions must have the proper fire and life safety systems in place, such as fire alarms, sprinklers, fire separations, proper exiting requirements and emergency lighting. “Barns don’t have that,” he says, noting they should never be used as assembly buildings.
Dick says the Fire Marshal’s Office is working on a communiqué to tell all Ontario municipalities’ fire services that it has become aware of barns being used as assembly occupancy buildings.
Once the fire service becomes aware of potential violations of the Ontario Fire Code, it must inspect those buildings, he explains. The Ontario Fire Code is the regulation under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act that governs fire safety standards for equipment, systems, buildings, structures, and premises in Ontario. The Fire Code is in place to protect the occupants of a building.
If a building that’s not designed for use as an assembly building, such as a barn, is being used to hold a get together, the fire service has a number of options, including putting orders on the building or using other provisions of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, he explains.
Dick says its up to the local municipality as the authority having jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the Ontario Fire Code and the act.
This isn’t a new regulation, he says. In the past, parties may have been held in barns and drive sheds, but “now that we’re aware of it that’s an incorrect use of the building.”
Dick says he isn’t aware of any deaths or injuries that have occurred in farm building gatherings.
The Fire Marshal’s Office is a branch of the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Service’s community safety division. The office is the principal adviser to government on fire prevention policy and fire safety matters. BF
Comments
This regulation effectively puts an end to 4-H club meetings, seed corn dealer meetings, open-houses to show off new barns, and all that sort of stuff.
This regulation will force gatherings in the farm community to become "bush and/or gravel pit parties" for all ages, not just for young people.
More to the point, since the Fire Marshall's office isn't aware of any deaths or injuries resulting from gatherings in farm buildings, I challenge them to produce evidence there's ever been a fire at one of these gatherings.
I thought the recent Provincial election was the ultimate in demonstrating the urban/rural divide - I stand corrected.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
It is time to elect a rural Ontario premier and give the boot to the urban GTA premier we had up to this provincial election.
Ontario is getting 13 more seats in the next election. Do you really think those seats will go to population deprived rural Ontario?
Farmers are a minority in this province with no voice or clout and its about to get worse.
Farmers are a minority in this province with no voice or clout and its about to get worse.
You are correct and big question is why OFA and GFO and all farm organizations dont realize this They all cow tow to government as witnessed by The failure and slowness of RMP etc etc
We have poor preparation for another economic bust cycle in short years to come
Guest what,
our present farm leaders will be retired and walked away and the new leaders wont have a clue and repeat the same old same old
The only winners is OMAFRA civil servants and farm organization paid staff who will get continued income increase
I wonder how they will define the assembling of persons for farm auction sales in the future? Often the drive-shed/barn is the only protection from inclement weather. Even when event tents are provided they do not afford fire escapes emergency lighting sprinklers or alarms.
With no deaths or loss of property to base this epiphany of "new awareness" on, maybe the fire marshals office needs the same type of job loss housecleaning the vehicle pollution police (MTO)received when 70 some odd were perm innately not needed last spring.
This is a fine example of a bureaucratic witch hunt by over paid power hungry government people presently being protested throughout the world.
It may not be long before an overdue very justified rural community food producer revolt joins this mounting world wide protest.
alot of truth in this story but people use some common sense!
It is time to tell these torontoGTA people to take their thoughts and form a new province, we dont need Tonto Toronto!
If a barn party is for farm use, then the municipality cannot trespass on farm property without a warrant to inspect the use of the barn.
The oldest form of barn parties was in the day of barn-raising. The community would help build a barn and when the barn was finished, the farmer would have a barn party to celebrate. Those were the days before municipalities were even formed.
The "nanny state" encroachment for farm use was not included in the letters patent the King awarded to my ancestors.
This is nothing but a tax grab.
The government will be short on transfer money to municipalities and the municipalities will need to find alternate financial sources.
Voile.
Create a problem.
Make a simple occasion into an offense when transferred urban regulations are not observed.
Dictate enforced liability responsibility to underfunded corporations.
Municipalities need to find solution.
Let the offenders pay by requiring permits to host events in barns on farm property.
New source of income found. Less money transferred from province to municipality.
Municipality now on the hook for more liability issues when erring in permit issuance.
As long as the building is in compliance with the the Ontario Fire Code there should not be a problem with holding a public function in the building. The original design for most barns is for livestock and machinery not people.I would not want to be the one to tell my insurance company after an incident in which someone got hurt or killed during an event if proper insurance was not secured.
The assistant's to the fire marshal in ontario are there to serve the public and to make sure that thier community is safe from fire.
There are far to many problems that could happen if the building is not safe from fire and you add alcohol and a party and alot of people.
Bob Machan, Deputy Fire Chief
Mississippi Mills Fire Department
I guess the barn that I grew up playing in, with all new wiring and two 30 foot, wide open doors is more hazardous than the row of 8 townhouses I currently live in. Eight dwellings, eight families, three stories, lights in the bathroom that surge every time I blow dry my hair, with only "fire code" drywall between every fourth and fifth house. I feel safer in the barn any day!
And I will find a way to have my wedding in a barn. No 40,000 dollar money front banquet hall wedding for me! It will be on a farm, with family, just like people have safely been doing for 200 years!
If getting married in a barn is the biggest thing in your life, why do you think you're mature enough to be getting married in the first place? It's like this, I have a 25-year old daughter, and if getting married in a barn was this important to her, I'd be having a long talk with her about how long, and/or why, she expects her marriage to last.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
This comment - titled "FARM USE" - contains statements that are incorrect and should not be considered factual.
``If a barn party is for farm use, then the municipality cannot trespass on farm property without a warrant to inspect the use of the barn.``
The above statement is incorrect - A fire prevention official may enter onto any property at any reasonable time to inspect and enforce with respect to Fire Code or applicable regulation without obtaining a warrant
the Kings patent letters are not applicable to rights and priviledges of the individual executed in malfeasance or in wrong-doing that may directly the safety of the others - this derives from a higher form of Common Law - Civil Rights Duties - it is the responsibility of every citizen beholden to or by a Commonwealth to protect the Commonwealth.
... There is no cherry-picking in common law, sir - if you poke the legal Lion (ie. common law) you get the claw as well as the purr...
It seems that Mr. Dick must live in a cave as barns have been used for decades for places of gathering but he says that barns are not meant to have people in them. Barn gatherings include weddings (especially in the Amish community), barn dances every week, community meetings, Christmas Eve church services, and a place for our politicians to make announcements regarding agriculture just to name a few....talk about an oppressive place in which we live...we are now turning into a Nanny State.
It seems from his comments that it's only recently that barns are being used for places of gathering. How naive can someone be? Barns have been used in this country for the last couple of centuries and there are no incidents of anyone dying as a result of a barn party or gathering....they are going after something that doesn't exist...but that's our tax dollars hard at work!
A barn is one of most safest of places to hold a function as with bank barns, the whole end of the barn opens which then can be emptied in less than a minute.
To our politicians and bureaucrats: Stop meddling in our personal lives and do something of value for the people instead of trying to make something out of nothing where a problem does not even exist. But I hope you all feel good about creating the demise of many heritage buildings across our Country as for the old barns that are not used for agriculture any longer, they won't be able to be used for anything.
Can Mr. Dick tell us what barn use is then? How many farmers over the last decade lodged migrant workers in barns with the government blessings?
Dick is looking more fees to support fire departments. Tax grab!
First of all this ruling only applies to one situation and one barn. I am an architect and have been dealing with municipalities and the building code for a few years on agritourism projects. There is a certain amount of safety that is required for hosting an assembly in a barn for a one off event. Normally municipalities have worked with farmers to establish protocols, a fire watch, etc. to allow these events to happen. Talk with the municipality first and they are likely to be more co-operative. Most municipalities operate in a reasonable way. But if you try to sneak around the municipality don't expect them to be very generous in their requirements. However if you intend to commercialize your barn for assembly use, and regularly host events, you are required to comply with the law like everyone else out there. There are creative ways to manipulate the building code, so get a professional involved to help you avoid onerous costs, and find safety measure that are appropriate to your building. check out this blog post for some of the regulations you might encounter when attempting this type of project. http://veldarchitect.com/index.php?245=checked
VELD architect
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