Guidelines for the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements - Interpretation Bulletin 10: Interface Fire Disasters

* Note the following references in the Guidelines: "province" always refers to provinces and territories.

Interpretation Bulletin 10 PDF (683KB) (as of June, 2023)

Issue

Guidance on the application of the DFAA as it pertains to fire disasters, including:

Definitions

Defensible Space
The area around a building in which vegetation, debris, and other types of combustible fuels have been treated, cleared, or reduced to slow the spread of fire to and from the building.
Evacuation Alert
A situation where proper authorities notify individuals that they may be in danger and should be prepared to evacuate the area should it become necessary.
Evacuation Order
A situation where proper authorities require individuals to leave at risk areas.
Evacuation Rescind
Evacuees are allowed to return to the area previously evacuated, having been advised that the danger has passed.
Essential services
A service, facility or activity that is or will be, at any time, necessary for the safety or security of the public.
Essential goods and supplies:
Any goods and supplies that are necessary for the health, safety and welfare of people, including, without limitation, the following:
  1. food, water and other beverages;
  2. fuel and gasoline;
  3. health care goods, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies;
  4. personal hygiene, sanitation and cleaning goods.
Interface fire
A fire that poses a threat to built-up areas (e.g., a threat to human life, private property, public infrastructure, critical infrastructure, etc.) and results in an evacuation, or property damage, or disruption of the delivery of essential goods and services.

Context

The DFAA are intended to address natural disasters resulting in extensive property damage or disruption of the delivery of essential goods and services. They do not apply to the fighting of forest, prairie, grass or wildfires, except where they pose a threat to built-up areas (e.g., a threat to human life, private property, public infrastructure, critical infrastructure, etc.) - and then primarily for pre-emptive actions, evacuation and damaged infrastructure restoration (Guidelines, Section 1.4).

Furthermore, public sector response costs for regular salaries, normal operating expenses, and emergency service costs related to routine emergency management functions (as opposed to incremental costs of responding to broader disaster consequences) are not eligible under the DFAA (Guidelines, Section 4.1.3).

Interpretations

Disaster period and affected geographical area

For the purposes of DFAA eligibility, the disaster period (including beginning and end dates) and the affected geographical area must be defined and accepted by the province and the Government of Canada (Guidelines, Section 2.1.3). These data points will inform the Order in Council, which when approved, declares the provincial emergency to be of concern to the Government of Canada, and authorizes the provision of financial assistance to the affected province.

When defining the disaster period and the affected geographical area, Public Safety Canada (PS) suggests referring to a list of the fire season’s evacuation alerts and orders.

In order to support the submitted disaster period and affected geographical area, the province will need to provide records to substantiate the request. Records may include, but are not limited to:

To the extent possible, provinces should organize their records per fire site (evacuation dates; with expenditures broken down by pre-emptive, response, and recovery cost categories) to facilitate the final audit.

Pre-emptive Costs

Costs for pre-emptive action (typically up to two weeks prior to the evacuation order for the fire site) may be eligible (Section 3.2.1). Examples of eligible expenses could include actions taken to increase the defensible space between public or private property and wildland, activities to temporarily increase the resiliency of structures, and evacuation planning activities, etc.

It is important to note that measures that were taken as a normal part of preparations to avoid or mitigate the effects of a “future fire” prior to its onset are not eligible. Furthermore, if for any reason the threatened disaster does not occur (e.g., the fire does not result in an evacuation, or damaged property, or disruption of the delivery of essential goods and services), any expenses incurred for pre-emptive measures would not be eligible (Guidelines, Section 3.2.2).

In order for the pre-emptive expense related to the fire to be eligible under the DFAA, the province will need to provide records to substantiate the claim. Records should include, but are not limited to:

Mitigation Enhancements

Mitigation enhancements undertaken within the repair of damaged structures that were not insured or insurable could be eligible for cost-sharing under the DFAA. See Interpretation Bulletin 7: 15% Mitigation Enhancements for details. Examples of mitigation enhancements that could help reduce the structure’s vulnerability to future fire disasters could include using non-combustible materials when replacing damaged roofs, using fire-resistant siding when repairing damaged homes, etc.

In order to support the submitted mitigation project costs, the province will need to provide records to substantiate the request. Records may include, but are not limited to:

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