Fire Routes (By-law No. 2003-499)

A by-law of the City of Ottawa designating fire routes.

The Council of the City of Ottawa enacts as follows:

In this by-law:

“authorized sign” means a fire route sign or other device placed or erected on or along a designated fire route for the purposes of regulating, warning or guiding traffic, and which is in a location and of a size and design approved by the City;

“building or structure” means a building or structure within the City;

“Chief Building Official” means the Chief Building Official of the City or persons designated to act on behalf thereof;

“Chief of Police” means the Chief of Police of the City or persons designated to act on behalf thereof, including By-law Enforcement and Parking Control Officers appointed or employed by the City;

“City” means the City of Ottawa;

“designated fire route” means a fire route designated in accordance with this bylaw;

“fire access” has the same meaning as “fire route”;

“Fire Chief” means the Fire Chief of the City or persons designated to act on behalf thereof;

“fire department” means the Fire Department of the City;

“fire route” means any private access, route, road, way, lane, ramp, or other means of vehicular access to or egress from a building and it may include part of a parking lot set aside for use by emergency vehicles;

“General Manager” means the General Manager of Transportation, Utilities and Public Works of the City or persons designated to act on behalf thereof;

“park or parking” when prohibited means the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when standing temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in the loading or unloading of merchandise or passengers;

“parking control officer” means any person appointed by City by-law to enforce the provisions of the City’s Traffic and Parking By-law, and also includes a Bylaw Enforcement Officer;

“property owner” includes:

1. a person deemed to be the owner under the appropriate land registration system; and,
2. a person who is or appears to be receiving rent or other compensation from the use of land by a third party whether receiving it as the owner or as agent, trustee or representative or like capacity;

“stop or stopping”, when prohibited, means the halting of a vehicle, even momentarily, whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a constable or other police officer or of a traffic control sign or signal;

“vehicle” includes a motor vehicle, trailer, motor assisted bicycle, traction engine, farm tractor, road-building machine, and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power.

Section 2

Those fire routes listed in Schedule “A” to this by-law are hereby designated as fire routes.

Section 3

Authorized signs shall be placed or erected by the property owner on or along a designated fire route in accordance with Schedule “B” to this by-law.

Section 4

1. The property owner shall maintain the fire route and signs and shall remove any snow, ice or obstruction that may prevent the use of the fire route or obscures the visibility of an authorized sign.
2. No person shall interfere with, deface or remove an authorized fire route sign.

Section 5

1. No person shall stop or park a vehicle on a designated fire route where stopping or parking is prohibited by an authorized sign, except that:
2. Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who parks or stops an ambulance, police, fire or other emergency vehicle.

1. A police officer, parking control officer, by-law enforcement officer or firefighter who discovers a vehicle parked in contravention of the provisions of Section 5. may have the vehicle moved to and stored in another location and all costs of removal and storage shall be a lien upon the said vehicle and may be enforced in the manner provided by the Municipal Act or Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
2. No person other than a police officer, parking control officer or firefighter shall move or cause a vehicle to be moved to another location.

The General Manager is responsible for the enforcement of this By-law, and a Police Officer, a Parking Control Officer or a Municipal By-law Enforcement Officer may enforce the by-law.

Any person erecting or maintaining any sign or sign structure shall be liable for such sign or sign structure. The City is not responsible for such sign or sign structure and is not responsible for any claim for damages, loss, expense or otherwise arising from the erection, maintenance, removal or falling of such sign, sign structure, or part thereof.

1. Every person who contravenes any provision of this by-law is guilty of an offense.
2. Every person who is convicted of an offence is liable to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) as provided for in the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter P.33, as amended.
3. When a person has been convicted of an offence under this by-law:
   1. the Ontario Court of Justice, or
   2. any court of competent jurisdiction thereafter,

may, in addition to any other penalty imposed on the person convicted, issue an order prohibiting the continuation or repetition of the doing of an act or thing by the person convicted directed toward the continuation of the offence.

If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision or part of a provision of this by-law to be invalid or of no force and effect, it is the intention of the Council, in enacting this by-law, that each and every other lawful provision of this by-law be applied and enforced in accordance with its terms to the extent possible according to law.

The headings contained in this by-law are for the purposes of convenience and reference only and do not form part of this by-law.

The following by-laws of the former municipalities that now comprise the City of Ottawa are hereby repealed:

1. By-law Number 243-74 of the old Corporation of the City of Ottawa entitled “A by-law of the Corporation of the City of Ottawa respecting fire routes”, as amended;
2. By-law # 127-1988 of the old Corporation of the Township of Osgoode entitled “Being a by-law of the Township of Osgoode respecting Fire Routes”, as amended;
3. By-law No. 2892 of the old Corporation of the City of Vanier entitled “A by-law of the Corporation of the City of Vanier respecting fire routes”, as amended;
4. By-law 30-78 of the old Corporation of the City of Nepean entitled “Being a by-law of The Corporation of the Township of Nepean respecting Fire Routes”, as amended;
5. By-law 201 of1985 of the old Corporation of the City of Gloucester entitled “A by-law of the Corporation of the City of Gloucester concerning fire routes”, as amended;
6. By-law No. 90-89 of the old Corporation of the City of Kanata entitled “Being a by-law of the Corporation of the City of Kanata respecting Fire Routes, as amended;
7. By-law No. 128-92 of the old Corporation of the City of Cumberland entitled Being a by-law of The Corporation of the Township of Cumberland respecting fire routes”, as amended; and
8. By-law No. 78-72 of the old Corporation of the Township of Goulbourn entitled “Being a by-law of the Corporation of the Township of Goulbourn respecting Fire Routes”, as amended.

The Schedules referred to in this by-law shall form part of this by-law.

This by-law may be referred to as the "Fire Routes By-law".

ENACTED AND PASSED this 8th day of October, 2003.

1. Unless otherwise specifically required pursuant to an approval of a fire route in accordance with the Fire Protection and Prevention Act or the Fire Code, the Building Code Act or the Ontario Building Code or a Site Plan Control By-law under the Planning Act, the following requirements shall apply to signs for fire routes:
   1. A sign prohibiting parking in a fire route shall,
      1. be not less than 45 centimetres in height and not less than 30 centimetres in width;
      2. bear the markings and message that the area is a fire route where parking is prohibited and include double arrows, except at the ends of a fire route where single arrows shall be included;
      3. include, in black letters of a minimum height of 4.0 cm, the English Language message “FIRE ROUTE” and the French Language message “ITINÉRAIRE DES POMPIERS”, below the message “FIRE ROUTE”, and
      4. have the design and dimensions as described in the following Figure:

(b) Despite subsection (a), signs of a larger size and pavement or curb markings may be required where considered necessary by the Fire Chief to more clearly delineate a fire route.

(c) Authorized signs shall be located as shown on a site plan approved by the City, and shall be located no more than 25.0 metres apart unless otherwise specifically approved because of unusual site conditions or fire route configuration, and the lower edge of each sign shall be between 2.0 metres and 2.5 metres above the ground.

(d) Despite the above minimum requirements, any sign which lawfully existed as an authorized and required sign at the date of the passing of this by-law continues to be lawful as an authorized and required sign:

(i) provided it continues to be maintained in accordance with Section 4. of this by-law or

(ii) unless such sign has been required to be changed pursuant to an order of the Fire Chief under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act or Fire Code.