Wildfire risk prompts firefighter concerns over unstaffed Saint John tanker trucks

The City of Saint John discussed its response to wildfires.

While the temperatures have started to drop to more seasonal averages in the Saint John area, the conversation regarding the status of the city’s two tanker firetrucks has the union ringing the alarm bell.

Tuesday afternoon Saint John Firefighters Association Local 771 President Tyler Embree made a post to social media outlining the concerns of having unstaffed tankers in the midst of extremely dry conditions in the province due to budget constraints.

As of 3:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, 13 wildfires raged in New Brunswick, most of which are occurring in the northern half of the province.

“In service is a truck that is available with a full complement crew on it available to go to the first alarm, first dispatch,” explains Embree. “Out of service would be a unit that is not available with staffing, it has to be put into service and available by staff. The same thing and or tanker situation, we have to put another truck and have another borough out of service to put that tanker in service, which there is a delayed response on that.”

Embree says the decision not only delays response times and jeopardizes community safety, but firefighter safety as well.

The conversation quickly took over much of the update provided by the city Thursday on what efforts are being made to limit the risk of wildfires in the Saint John region. Methods taken include burn bans, the closure of walking trails within the woods, and the removal of homeless encampments from heavily wooded areas.

Since restrictions began Saturday, Saint John Fire has responded to 40 outdoor fires. No fines have been issued to date.

Saint John Fire Chief Rob Nichol says for the past three years the tankers have operated under a “rapid deployment model” meaning on duty crews must go and pick up the tankers if required.

“There’s no delay in getting the tankers or getting one tanker moving,” says the chief. “But it does take some travel time for a crew to go from another station to pick up a different tanker, so there could be a short delay in getting one of the tankers rolling.”

The city and Local 771 union have been without a contract since December 31, 2023.

The tankers have only been used a total of 16 times to date this year, as they tend to help battle fires where no hydrant hookup is available. But with the risk of wildfire at an extreme level, the union was hoping to see the trucks fully staffed while the risk remains high.

Embree says as he sees it, the city would have to pay some overtime to firefighters to staff the trucks or redeploy assets.

City of Saint John CAO Brent McGovern refutes the reason behind the unstaffed trucks is an unwillingness to pay overtime by the city.

“This isn’t about some overtime spend up money,” he says. “This is about having an operating model in place, as the chief mentioned, that has been in place for approximately three years and it’s been working.”

Embree has a different take.

“I question what success looks like to them,” Embree says. “If success is not having water there for a fire in a non hydrant area in a timely manner, that is completely contradictory to what I feel success would be.”

“Success would be staffing those trucks that are in those stations. All it takes is to put a firefighter on it and we have that water that we need so desperately to mitigate a scene successfully when we need it.”

A fire service review conducted in 2023 suggested eliminating the use of tankers for the department entirely to instead rely on neighbouring services when they are required.

“Will we go with getting rid of the two tankers? I don’t know,” says Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon. “That’s a discussion but at the end of the day, that was a recommendation out of the fire review along with a lot of other recommendations that came.”

The mayor says the city spends about a quarter of its overall budget on public safety, which includes funds for the fire department.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.