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Photo of sample fire department i.d. card

Greenstone Fire is taking steps to help reduce potential fraudulent activity.

People wishing to take advantage of others or do harm may claim to be associated with the fire department, using the trust the public has in the fire service as a means to gain access to people's homes, information, or to take advantage of them.

The department does do legitimate public education at events and also door-to-door throughout the year, in addition to conducting inspections of certain property types. Typically, door-to-door campaigns will be advertised through the Municipal website and Facebook pages.

Inspections for fire code compliance are usually pre-arranged with the property owner, and the owner is usually present at the time. It is rare for an inspection to be conducted without notification. Currently, the Fire Chief is the only fire inspector in the Municipality.

Department members may visit you at your home, work/business, school or in public for educational purposes. This may include handing out information, providing a presentation, demonstration, or offering smoke and carbon monoxide alarm checks, among other activities. There are entry powers the fire department has which apply under emergency conditions and to conduct lawful inspections only. If you are not comfortable with the person at your door, you are NOT required to allow them into your home to check your alarms or for any other purpose. (Note: Multi-residential type buildings may require periodic inspections, your landlord or agency should notify you before this takes place)

Members may also  be involved in fundraising events for worthy causes. The fire department is a Municipally funded agency and does NOT fundraise for itself or it’s own purposes.

Members have begun to be issued, and are required to be in, an identifiable uniform with current Greenstone Fire cresting when conducting non-emergency and non-training related activities.

All active members are also issued ID cards which are required to be visible when attending non-public or restricted spaces such as vulnerable occupancies or private residences under non-emergency circumstances. You are free to take a photo of the ID card presented. See the above photo for a sample of the card and features to look for.

If you suspect someone is impersonating a fire department member, please contact us at 807-854-1100 ext. 2007, or email fire@greenstone.ca with the information they presented, when they visited you, where, and photos if you took any. The service will work to verify the person and notify any other agencies as necessary.

We look forward to positive and impactful interactions with our community members as we promote fire safety!