Firefighter Retention

• A Guide for Managing Return to Work Canadian Human Rights Commission (2007)

  This guide provides an outline of the key legal principles that apply to return-to-work situations, step-by-step procedures to guide your approach to case management, and a series of case studies demonstrating how you could deal with different hypothetical scenarios.

• Bargaining and Equity Public Service Alliance of Canada (2015)

  This link provides questions to ask when reviewing your bargaining demand(s) and/or employer proposals to see if there are any barriers for members belonging to one or more equity group.

• Bargaining Equality Kit Canadian Union of Public Employees (2014)

  This link provides many resources (for union members and those on a bargaining committee) on equality and measures to change the workplace to better suit workers, meeting the needs of members, and making workplaces reflect the communities we live in.

• Creating a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace. Ontario Public Health Association (2008)

  This publication will assist your organization in creating a family-friendly workplace that will enable employees to achieve a balance between career and parenting responsibilities.

• Designing for Inclusivity: Strategies for Universal Washrooms and Changerooms in Community and Recreation Facilities HCMA Architecture + Design (2018)

  This document was created to help fill a gap in design knowledge around issues relating to universal washrooms and change rooms, and their provision in community and recreation facilities. It is a contribution to ongoing and evolving discussions around designing for inclusivity. It shares core considerations rather than comprehensive suggestions for all groups.

• Emerging Health and Safety Issues Among Women in the Fire Service FEMA; US Fire Administration (2019)

  This document speaks to occupational health and safety issues for female firefighters: recruitment and retention, heart health, mental health, inclusion, and cancer.

• Employment Standards Act Queen’s Printer for Ontario (2020)

  This link helps to understand one’s rights and obligations under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). The guide describes the rules about minimum wage, hours of work limits, termination of employment, public holidays, pregnancy and parental leave, severance pay, vacation and more.

• Equity and Inclusion Lens – Handbook; A Resource for Community Agencies City for All Women Initiative (2015)

  This City of Ottawa handbook is an interactive tool that will help you to learn about equity and inclusion and how to apply it in the workplace.

• Firehouse bedrooms and bathrooms: The ongoing debate. FireRescue1, Linda Willing (2018)

  This article addresses some issues faced with open dorms and lack of bathrooms and the challenges faced finding the balance between health, privacy, and camaraderie in the firehouse.

• Gender neutral or gender inclusive? What to consider in fire station design. FireRescue1, Linda Willing (2020)

  This article is a great introduction however it doesn’t address the desire for privacy that trans and non-binary firefighters may have.

• Guidelines for Accommodating Pregnancy and Breastfeeding City of Toronto (2017)

  The City’s Accommodation Policy outlines the obligation to accommodate individuals in accordance with the City’s Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy and Ontario’s Human Rights Code (Code). This guideline raises awareness and fulfills our shared obligation to accommodate employees, job applicants and service recipients based on the ground of sex, which includes Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. The Code requires that all employees, job applicants and service recipients receive equal treatment and opportunities regardless of their sex, including the right to equal treatment without discrimination because a person is, was, or may become pregnant.

• Maternal and Child Health Among Female Firefighters in the U.S. Jahnke, Poston, Jitnarin, & Haddock (2018)

  This research article analyzes the finding of 1821 female firefighters who participated in a self-report survey of questions about pregnancy including their departments’ policies and practices and their own experiences of pregnancy. Findings found important implications for policy and practice among women who become pregnant while actively serving in the fire service.

• Meeting the Accommodation Needs of Employees on the Job Ontario Human Rights Commission (2008)

  This section defines the principle of accommodation and how unions and employers can take an active role in their duty to accommodate.

• NFPA 1582, Standard on Medical Requirements for Fire Fighters NFPA (2007)

  Annex D of this standard is intended to serve as guidance for the re department physician in advising the pregnant firefighter of the risks associated with performing essential job functions and enabling her in decision-making.

• Policy on Preventing Discrimination Because of Gender Identity and Gender Discrimination Ontario Human Rights Commission (2020)

  This link contains legislation explaining how accessibility to washrooms and change rooms must be granted based on lived gender identity and further states an organization’s washroom facilities and any related policy should not negatively affect trans people.

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in First Responders and Other Designated Workers WSIB Ontario (2018)

  This policy applies to decisions made on or after September 1, 2018, for accidents on or after January 1, 1998. The purpose of this policy is to outline the circumstances under which PTSD in first responders and other designated workers is presumed to be work-related.

• Pregnancy & Human Rights in the Workplace – A Guide for Employers Canadian Human Rights Commission

  This policy will help employers, unions, and employees under federal jurisdiction to better understand their legal rights, obligations, and duties regarding pregnancy-related discrimination issues. It will also explain some of the employer benefits of providing respectful and inclusive workplaces for pregnant employees, identify potentially discriminatory practices, and offer practical solutions.

• Pregnancy and firefighting: Is firefighting bad for your baby? FireRescue1, Sara Jahnke (2020)

  This article contains research impact of the job on pregnant firefighters, potential health risks to pregnancy, the impact on men, and the importance of exposure prevention.

• Pregnancy and Parental Leave Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development (2020)

  This link speaks to pregnancy and parental leave legislation in Ontario in accordance to the Employment Standards Act and the federal Employment Insurance Act.

• Recovery and Return to Work First Responders First

  This link specifically speaks to return to work considerations for a PTSD plan, and advice for accommodating a worker with PTSD. It also speaks to legislative requirements.

• Retention and Recruitment for the Volunteer Fire Services: Challenges and Solutions U.S. Fire Administration (2007)

  This project shares findings on what makes community members want to volunteer, how to retain volunteers, and the reasons why volunteers eventually choose to leave the organization. The document addresses challenges with recruiting women and other underrepresented groups, and reasons why female firefighters leave the job. Some of the language is dated, but the content is applicable beyond the American context.

• Return to Work Plans for Ontario Workplaces Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Greg Thomson (2018)

  This link provides useful information about return to work legislation, how it applies to employers, and the details that need to be included in a return to work plan.

• The case for space: Many firefighters want more privacy at the station FireRescue1, Linda Willing (2020)

  This article speaks to how firefighters can still achieve camaraderie without communal space living situations.

• The Toronto Professional Firefighters’ Association’s Family Resource Guide TPFFA (2019)

  This guide helps association members navigate pregnancy and/or parenting while working as a member of Local 3888. Other Locals or fire service leaders may wish to model items addressed in this manual since it is intended for anyone who is pregnant or parenting, adopting or fostering children, or considering any of these roles. While some sections of this document, especially those regarding physical job demands, are more focused on pregnant membership in the Operations Division, this document is intended as a resource to all members.

• Understanding the Volunteer Deficit Will Lead to Better Recruitment and Retention Public Safety, Kupietz (2019)

  This article addresses how it is becoming increasingly difficult for fire departments to recruit and retain quality volunteers.

• Women’s Health in the Fire Service IAFF (2019)

  This article speaks to women’s pregnancy experiences in the fire service, issues surrounding lack of policy, facilities for breastfeeding, and legislation.