Nova Scotia supporting regional firefighter training centres as staffing concerns grow

A new Nova Scotia program is offering volunteer firefighters hands-on training.

The Nova Scotia government is supporting the creation of regional training centres for volunteer firefighters, a move aimed at making training more accessible for departments serving rural communities and small towns.

The new centres are intended to reduce travel for volunteer firefighters and provide safer facilities for hands-on training, including live-fire exercises.

Rod Nielsen, president of the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia, said the regional approach will help firefighters complete required training closer to home.

“We’re focused on regional training centres in different parts of the province so people don’t have to travel as far,” Nielsen said.

He said specialized facilities are needed for live-fire training because they allow firefighters to experience heat and smoke safely in a controlled environment.

The need for training has grown as communities outside Halifax continue to expand, bringing new challenges for local fire departments.

“We’re seeing the urban area from Halifax spread out,” Nielsen said, adding that growing communities are seeing larger buildings, higher call volumes and increased demands on staffing and equipment.

While the new training centres are welcome, Nielsen said many volunteer departments are also struggling to maintain enough firefighters to respond to emergencies, particularly during daytime hours when many volunteers are at work.

He said some communities may eventually need paid-on-call or daytime firefighters to ensure enough people are available to respond.

“I think it’s coming fast upon us,” Nielsen said. “There are days that there are only two or three of us around to respond to a call.”

Nielsen said many fire departments across Canada already compensate volunteer firefighters when they respond to calls, while Nova Scotia continues to rely heavily on unpaid volunteers.

Premier Tim Houston said volunteer firefighters remain the backbone of the province’s fire service.

“We’re really fortunate with the commitment of our volunteer firefighters,” Houston said. “They do a great job of keeping our communities safe.”

Houston said the province is reviewing fire service legislation for the first time in decades and will continue working with municipalities and fire departments to strengthen the system.

“We’ll continue to look for ways to support volunteer firefighters,” he said.

Nielsen said emergency calls have increased in many communities over the past several years, adding that some departments have seen call volumes rise by 25 per cent or more.

He said improving access to training is an important step, but staffing will remain a growing challenge as Nova Scotia’s population continues to increase.

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