Legislation governing fire protection in N.S. in need of overhaul, say longtime firefighters
Province says 'full governance review' of fire service, including training, expected to start soon
Nova Scotia laws don't adequately spell out the roles and responsibilities of the province's fire departments, resulting in haphazard fire protection that puts the public and those on the front line at risk, say a pair of firefighters with decades of experience.
Will Brooks and Denys Prevost's comments come as the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs meets with elected officials in Ottawa this week to push for stronger fire protection laws and lobby for more money to buy equipment.
The retired firefighters, who are not part of the lobbying effort, said the Houston government needs to do similar work in the province, starting with streamlining legislation that's currently spread out over multiple acts.
"The legislation which basically undergirds the fire service is a mess," said Brooks, who has almost 20 years experience as a firefighter and helped establish the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation, a national organization that pays tribute to firefighters killed on the job.
The Municipal Government Act, for example, allows municipalities to offer fire and emergency services, but it doesn't actually require a city or town to provide either.
Prevost, who has reviewed fire services in Cumberland County, Windsor and Point Tupper, said he'd like to see the province make fire protection obligatory.
He's also calling for an all-encompassing piece of legislation specific to fire services in Nova Scotia. He added the legislation should be created with oversight from a dedicated fire commissioner responsible for equipment and training standards.
"You need to have a legislated framework within which fire protection resides," said Prevost, who served as a fire chief in Ontario over the course of his nearly 40-year career. "In other words, the response, the quality, the standards, the fire safety education."
Brooks also said some Nova Scotia fire departments are operating outside the law by failing to be properly registered, placing some of the province's 7,400 volunteer firefighters in a precarious position.
"If, God forbid, somebody driving a huge pumper hits somebody else and there's no registered department, that poor person is going to go to court," said Brooks. "It's going to be all kinds of pain and suffering for the firefighter, let alone the family of the injured person."
The provincial government did not respond to specific questions from CBC News, including whether Nova Scotia intends to create a single law to regulate firefighting, and why the Municipal Government Act doesn't mandate fire services.
In an emailed statement, however, the province's Department of Emergency Management said it is working with the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia and other government departments on a "full governance review of fire services," including training. The work is expected to begin soon and take a year to complete.
"Nova Scotia needs firefighters, and we value the important role fire services play in emergencies. Protecting their safety and ensuring they have the appropriate training and tools to do their work is of the utmost importance," the statement said.
"By working together, we can ensure that best practices are in place and our firefighters are protected and have what they need to serve Nova Scotians."
Among the issues being raised this week by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs is wildfire preparedness.
In May 2023, a wildfire in Upper Tantallon, N.S., consumed more than 900 hectares, forced 16,400 people to evacuate from their homes, and destroyed 151 homes. A separate wildfire in Shelburne County destroyed about 60 homes, growing to 23,525 hectares.
Although the federal government has provided fire departments with money to better equip themselves to fight forest fires, the director of fire service in Amherst, N.S., said Ottawa needs to do more.
Greg Jones, who is part of the lobbying effort in Ottawa, said he's worried about wildfires and the ability of fire departments to fight them.
"One piece that was missed was the training and assistance and equipment needs for municipalities," Jones told the CBC's Tom Murphy. "That's a big problem, a major issue for us."
Brooks and Prevost both said they feel municipal funding, community fundraising and 50/50 draws are inadequate to pay for the equipment and training necessary to maintain services.
"Traditionally in the fire service ... it's taken massive tragedy to push change," said Prevost. "We don't want to see what's easily predictable to happen.
"There's definitely a need to do this on a federal level, but I think there's also a need to recognize this provincially."
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