Nova Scotia ends relationship with firefighter school following audit into 2019 death

Nova Scotia is cutting ties with a firefighters school following a scathing audit.

Nova Scotia announced Tuesday it will end its relationship with the Nova Scotia Firefighters School following a value-for-money audit.

“The results are clear, and they are appalling. We are ending our relationship with the school and will set up an interim training plan for firefighters right away,” said Kim Masland, minister of Emergency Management.

“Our firefighters respond when other people’s lives are on the line. They need and deserve, at minimum, a safe place to train. We’re going to ensure they have one.”

The audit, which was commissioned in June, stemmed from the preventable death of Skyler Blackie during a training exercise in 2019. The audit was done to help ensure the safety of students and staff at the school, a news release from the province said.

“When we lost Skyler in the line of duty, we made a promise to speak up; not just for him, but for every firefighter who deserves to come home safe. The findings of this audit are painful to read, but they reflect what we have known all along: the Nova Scotia Firefighters School is not safe,” said the Blackie family in a statement Tuesday.

“We are heartbroken that it took such a loss to bring this truth to light, but we are incredibly grateful to the Government of Nova Scotia for listening, for taking our concerns seriously, and for taking action.

The family said it will continue to work with the province to ensure strong legislation and “safe, accountable training” for all firefighters in Nova Scotia.

Key findings from the report include:

• systemic and governance issues
• a breakdown in safety accountability
• lack of stakeholder engagement
• inadequate governance and oversight of the executive director
• eroded public trust
• lost confidence of firefighters

The province said the audit found the school failed to uphold a culture of safety. The audit also found serious, unaddressed safety-related deficiencies, a lack of strategic planning and a decline in infrastructure.

“I know what it’s like to call 911 and wait for firefighters to respond. They’re willing to put their lives on the line for our safety. Skyler Blackie’s death was both tragic and preventable. We owe our firefighters better than that, and we have a duty to ensure this doesn’t happen to another firefighter,” said John Lohr, minister of Municipal Affairs.

The province said there has been no substantive change in the Nova Scotia Firefighters School board structure or governance in more than 20 years.

“We look forward to reviewing the report in detail. The fire service in Nova Scotia requires effective and consistent training to support the retention, recruitment and operational readiness of fire service members,” said Greg Jones, president of the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia.

“This report, along with the fire and associated services governance review, is critical to gaining a full understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

The value-for-money audit was done by 21FSP Advisory Inc. and cost $300,000.

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