Sister of dead firefighter calls for safety overhaul of N.S. firefighting school

HALIFAX — The sister of a firefighter who died during a training exam at the Nova Scotia Firefighters School says the program needs an overhaul to improve its safety standards.

Twenty-eight-year-old Skyler Blackie died in hospital on March 9, 2019, after a fire extinguisher he was using exploded at the school on the outskirts of Halifax.

His sister, Jessica Gillis, last week launched a petition calling for reform, after the province recently told the family an audit carried out in the spring uncovered numerous safety infractions at the school.

“We were hoping that the school could turn around and could become safer, but they are proving that that is not the case,” she said in an interview Monday. She said the family wants the province to integrate the training school — which currently operates as a non-profit body — into the college system, as occurs in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

Gillis also says there should be a provincial representative on the school’s governing board and legislation that improves safety standards.

A spokeswoman for the Labour Department said in an email that as “a result of our initial investigation, the Nova Scotia Firefighters School was charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”

“The school was ordered to undertake an assessment by a third party, which resulted in 41 recommendations. Upon review of the report, 22 high-risk activities were noted by Occupational, Health and Safety officers, and the safety branch continues to work with the firefighters school to achieve compliance,” Sarah MacNeil said.

She didn’t release details of the infractions, saying that they can be obtained through a freedom of information request.

MacNeil said the training school is a non-profit organization with a 27-person board of directors that includes a representative from each county, and the Nova Scotia fire marshal. The entry-level, occupational training delivered by the school is regulated under the Private Career Colleges Act, she added.

John Cunningham, the school’s executive director, said in an emailed statement that the school takes the family’s concerns “very seriously” and that it has made changes to its operations to improve safety.

“We wholeheartedly support changes to legislation that would enhance the safety of all firefighters in Nova Scotia,” he wrote. “It’s important to note that implementing these necessary changes requires significant funding and support from all levels of government.”

“Since the founding of our fire school in 1967, numerous reports have been submitted to the government recommending such improvements. Unfortunately, over the past 60 years, these recommendations have not been acted upon. We believe it’s time for change.”

He declined to be interviewed and did not provide answers to emailed followup questions.

However, Blois Currie, chief of the Truro Fire Department — of which Blackie was a member — said in an interview that he shares the Blackie family’s concerns. Currie said he struggles with the memory that he sent the young firefighter to the school for the training that resulted in his death.

“If you look at P.E.I., fire training is run through the Holland College, and in New Brunswick, it is operated by the New Brunswick Community College,” Currie said. “I think we need to have the same kind of a deal where we have a governing body that’s going to ensure that it’s a safe place for all firefighters to train at.”

Currie noted that in 2022 the Nova Scotia Firefighters School was ordered to pay $102,000 in fines and bursaries after pleading guilty to safety violations in the death of Blackie.

“Here we are in 2024, and the school still has a bunch of safety violations, so obviously something’s not working,” said Currie, who adds he hasn’t sent any more of his staff for training at the Halifax-area school since the 2019 death.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2024.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press