Hot topic: Union tells career firefighters not to volunteer in Cape Breton

First at Five: A Burning Issue Professional firefighters in Cape Breton are being fined if they volunteer with local departments.

Professional firefighters in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality have been, or will be fined by their union if they volunteer with local departments.

“Right now, we have five career firefighters that could be affected by this,” said John Chant, chief of Glace Bay Volunteer Fire Department.

Chant says a recent motion by the International Association of Firefighters Local 2779 disallows career firefighters to volunteer at their local stations.

“Those firefighters range from 38 years of experience down to 10 years of experience. Overall, it’s 105 years of experience that we could lose,” he said.

The Cape Breton Regional Fire chiefs have sent letters to the mayor and council addressing their concerns, which include recruitment issues and actions taken against the paid firefighters who volunteer their time.

“We were informed that seven of the 26 of the career firefighters in the CBRM were charged under articles under their union constitution,” said Rod Beresford, Cape Breton Regional Fire Chief’s chairperson.

The firefighters in question await a hearing.

In the meantime, Beresford says, the action is shocking since it comes after a recent meeting with local chiefs, fire administration, and a union executive about ways to create a more global fire service.

“There was cooperation moving towards training, standardizing our equipment and how we operate, so for us we were surprised when this came about,” he said

A spokesperson for the International Association of Firefighters said the IAFF policy prohibits members from engaging in secondary employment as volunteer firefighters in areas represented by affiliate local unions because it is unsafe and negatively impacts the livelihood of other members.

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