N.S. fire marshal's office failing to manage fire and building safety: auditor

Nova Scotia's auditor general says the provincial fire marshal's office is putting the public at risk in failing to manage fire and building safety, despite repeated warnings in a series of audits.

Kim Adair says her report is the third since 2001 that has made similar findings and has also determined that the fire marshal's office is not performing appropriate oversight of its operations.

"It is very concerning that there have been three audits and over two decades with similar findings and shortcomings," Adair told reporters. "We are saying loud and clear that there's a public safety issue here."

The report, released Tuesday, focuses on buildings serving vulnerable people such as hospitals, schools and long-term care facilities. Auditors found that 40 per cent of those fire inspections were completed late.

The audit, which covers the period from Jan.1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2021, notes that inspections involving 12 of 30 buildings sampled, including long-term care facilities and a hospital, were conducted between five and 445 business days past deadline.

Adair said the fire marshal's office, which has 19 employees across the province, explained that the missed deadlines were due to staff vacancies and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We could not verify that was a justifiable explanation because there is so little data and management information to support it," Adair said.

"You can't say it's a resource problem unless you have the data to prove it."

The fire marshal's office doesn't keep a complete list of buildings that require inspections, she said, nor does it have an archive of reviews of inspections or complaints. There is also no way to determine the performance of inspectors, she said.

The report says that 100 per cent of the inspection files audited by Adair's office did not have appropriate supporting evidence and that the policy on inspections had not been reviewed or updated since 2016.

A good part of the blame falls on the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Adair said, which is responsible for the fire marshal's office. The department was aware of the office's shortcomings, she added.

"We hope there is not a serious fire event," Adair said. "But if that does happen and this function is not fixed and carried out properly, questions are going to be asked as to was there an inspection done and right now they cannot demonstrate that it was."

The report calls for a comprehensive review of the office's organizational structure. The fire marshal's office, meanwhile, says a plan is in place to implement the recommendations, the report notes.

Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr said in a statement, "We recognize we can improve on some of our administrative processes, and I assure you that work is underway. It's our commitment to the auditor general and all Nova Scotians."

Other recommendations in the report say the fire marshal's office should introduce performance standards, implement a fire safety complaint tracking and resolution process, as well as update the fire inspection policy and the list of buildings that require inspections.