Province Ends Relationship With Firefighters School
A steering committee for firefighter training will be established in the coming weeks. (Province of Nova Scotia / FIle)
The Province released the findings of a comprehensive value-for-money audit of the Nova Scotia Firefighters School today, August 5.
“The results are clear, and they are appalling. We are ending our relationship with the school and will set up an interim training plan for firefighters right away,” said Kim Masland, Minister of Emergency Management. “Our firefighters respond when other people’s lives are on the line. They need and deserve, at minimum, a safe place to train. We’re going to ensure they have one.”
The value-for-money audit was commissioned in June to help ensure the safety of students and staff at the school. This stems from the preventable death of firefighter Skyler Blackie during a training exercise in 2019.
Key findings from the report include:
- systemic and governance issues
- a breakdown in safety accountability
- lack of stakeholder engagement
- inadequate governance and oversight of the executive director
- eroded public trust
- lost confidence of firefighters.
The audit also revealed a failure to uphold a culture of safety; serious, unaddressed safety-related deficiencies; a lack of strategic planning; and a decline in infrastructure.
A steering committee for firefighter training will be established in the coming weeks to oversee an interim training plan and to guide the work on a long-term, comprehensive training model for firefighters once the results of a broader fire services review are in. The goal is to have the interim training available by fall.
The broader fire services governance review is a second, separate review being led by the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia and focusing on governance, operations, communications, funding and more.
More than 680 firefighters from across the province participated in the value-for-money audit, along with 52 fire service leaders and eight members of the board of directors of the Nova Scotia Firefighters School.
Quotes:
“I know what it’s like to call 911 and wait for firefighters to respond. They’re willing to put their lives on the line for our safety. Skyler Blackie’s death was both tragic and preventable. We owe our firefighters better than that, and we have a duty to ensure this doesn’t happen to another firefighter.”
— John Lohr, Minister of Municipal Affairs
“When we lost Skyler in the line of duty, we made a promise to speak up; not just for him, but for every firefighter who deserves to come home safe. The findings of this audit are painful to read, but they reflect what we have known all along: the Nova Scotia Firefighters School is not safe. We are heartbroken that it took such a loss to bring this truth to light, but we are incredibly grateful to the Government of Nova Scotia for listening, for taking our concerns seriously, and for taking action. We are also thankful to the journalists who helped us share Skyler’s story and keep this crucial issue in the public eye. We remain committed to working alongside the Province to ensure strong legislation and safe, accountable training for every firefighter in Nova Scotia.”
— The Blackie family
“We look forward to reviewing the report in detail. The fire service in Nova Scotia requires effective and consistent training to support the retention, recruitment and operational readiness of fire service members. This report, along with the fire and associated services governance review, is critical to gaining a full understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
— Greg Jones, President, Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia
Quick Facts:
- there has been no substantive change in the Nova Scotia Firefighters School board structure or governance in more than 20 years
- there are more than 6,000 firefighters in Nova Scotia, across 276 fire departments
- the value-for-money audit was done by 21FSP Advisory Inc. and cost $300,000
*Additional Resources:
Value-for-money audit report: https://beta.novascotia.ca/documents/nova-scotia-firefighters-school-audit
Office of the Fire Marshal: https://beta.novascotia.ca/government/office-fire-marshal