High school program helped train some volunteers who fought giant N.S. wildfire

Some volunteer firefighters who responded to the largest wildfire ever recorded in Nova Scotia came through a program that gives students a high school credit when they complete their training.

The initiative allows high school students who finish a firefighter training program to apply for a personal development credit that goes toward their graduation.

The Municipality of Barrington, where the May 27 fire began, has been running the training since 2019, seeing the possibility of a credit as a bonus for students looking to graduate. As many as nine have joined volunteer fire departments in the area since then.

It's another strategy the municipality has tapped into to find new volunteer recruits.

"It's challenging to get people," said Dwayne Hunt, the fire services co-ordinator for the municipality. "It's very important because especially in rural areas, there's no way that the municipalities can afford to have paid fire service."

The 113 firefighters from the three departments in the municipality are all volunteers.

Recruitment strategy

The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs estimates volunteer firefighters make up 71 per cent of all firefighters in the country.

But some chiefs have raised concerns that tough economic times are making recruitment efforts increasingly more difficult.

Hunt, who was a volunteer firefighter for 35 years, looked into the personal development credit program after a local fire department raised the idea.

"It's another tool for the toolbox to help with recruitment," he said. "It consists of classroom and practical skills."

The opportunity is available to any high school student in the province, according to the Department of Education. It said students work with volunteer fire departments to complete the requirements.

The three-month program Hunt teaches is run out of the three fire halls in the region between September and November to avoid the busy lobster season in the area.

A number of volunteer firefighters make their living on the water, he said, or by working in the plants.

The students who complete the training can apply for one elective credit toward the five they need to graduate.

"Over the years, we've had a lot of members join at the age of 16 that were still in high school and it was a way of recognizing the time they were putting into their community," he said.

While he cannot guarantee the chance of a high school credit is the reason new people have signed up in recent years, the numbers of students taking the training is encouraging, he said.

"Between the three fire departments we have 113 firefighters. So eight or nine of those is pretty good, the percentage. Especially new young people."

Some of those new hires have already proved invaluable in the fight against the massive Barrington Lake fire in Shelburne County, said Jody Goreham, the chief of Woods Harbour-Shag Harbour Volunteer Fire Department.

"It's getting them in the door," Goreham said. "If you don't have firefighters, you can't fight fires."

Hunt said he has been hearing from other fire departments in Nova Scotia and is sharing how things have worked in Barrington.