Halifax fire association says it needs more equipment now

The association that represents firefighters in the Halifax area is sounding the alarm about a lack of in-service fire equipment after a busy south-end station was recently left without an engine for hours.

The Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association said the municipality's population has outpaced the department's fleet capabilities and has left some areas severely under resourced.

Earlier this week, there were no spare trucks available and the department's University Avenue station — the oldest and most continually staffed fire station in Canada — was without an engine for hours, the association said in a statement.

It said three of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency's four 30-metre tower ladders are presently out of service, leaving only a spare 22-metre ladder truck to cover the entire downtown core.

As well, two stations that typically have a ladder truck as their primary unit have been temporarily assigned an engine.

"We don't have enough in-service apparatus on an ongoing basis. In years gone by, there hasn't been enough purchases to maintain in-service trucks," association president Brendan Meagher said in an interview Thursday.

Meagher said the station on Bayers Road, which services an area with many apartment and commercial buildings, has been without a ladder truck for a few months.

That could affect the department's ability to fight fires and perform rescues in taller structures, he said, noting an aerial ladder truck was used to get water to the roof of an 11-storey building in the Larry Uteck area a few years ago.

"There may be lengthy absences when these trucks go out for annual service and we need to have spare apparatus in the fleet that can keep us in service," said Meagher.

According to the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency's 2022 annual report, the University Avenue and Bayers Road stations are among the top six busiest stations in the municipality, each racking up more than 1,300 incidents per year.

The association is urging the management of fire apparatus be brought under the authority of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, rather than Halifax Regional Municipality's corporate fleet.

Meagher said that would streamline the process of ordering new equipment, cutting back on red tape and putting the decision-making power in the hands of the department actually carrying out the service.

A request for an interview with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency was redirected to the public affairs office of Halifax Regional Municipality, and was declined.

In a statement, spokesperson Laura Wright said repairs to the three ladder trucks are underway and "the apparatus are anticipated to be back in service soon."

"The municipality has invested in the purchase of new fire apparatus and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2025," said Wright.

But Meagher said that doesn't go far enough. He wants to see a commitment of at least five new apparatus per year going forward, and also new fire stations in communities with surging populations.

A new headquarters and four-bay fire station is already planned for the rapidly growing area of West Bedford, with construction expected to be complete in 2026.

The department has 51 fire stations across the municipality.