Halifax considers fast-tracking new firefighters for Upper Tantallon

Halifax is considering fast-tracking more firefighters for Upper Tantallon to address staff shortagesin a growing area thatexperienceda devastating wildfire in 2023.

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency's$92-million budget for the coming year includes plans to cope withthe city's growing population andwildfire riskswhile working toward faster response times. Introducing plans to municipalcouncillors at budget committeemeetings last week, the departmentsaid it wantsto add15 new firefightersin Upper Tantallonor Hammonds Plains.

That would allowcareer firefighters to work around the clock,supported by volunteers. The stations now only have career members there for regular business hours during the week, with volunteers covering evenings and weekends.

Brendan Meagher, president of Halifax Professional Firefighters Association,told councillorsthe departmentneeds torun two training classes a yearto catch up with staffing shortfalls andpending retirements.

The current Halifax Regional Municipalitybudget saystraining for new recruits will begin in February 2025.

"I think that it's not soon enough,"Meaghersaid in a recent interview.

Coun. Pam Lovelaceasked staff to calculate how much it would cost to have the Upper Tantallon class start this fall instead of next year.

Lovelace said thousands of housingunits will be coming on the market soon along Pockwock Road, and there are other planned developments in the area, all emptying onto busy Hammonds Plains Road.

"I do think that it's well beyond time that this community [has this service], which continues to exist in an extreme wildfire area, as well as the fact that we still have deficits with regards to egress," Lovelace said.

Council will decide whether to fund that request during budget adjustmentsat the end of March.

The fire department will also assess emergencyplanning in areas expected to grow around Halifaxand update itswildfire strategiesfollowing the Upper Tantallon blaze.

That will see the fire department buy specializedtrucks and sprinkler trailersfor combating wildfires, and a mobile fire suppression unit that's a first for Atlantic Canada, said fire Chief Ken Stuebing.

Stuebing said he's excited to workwith the provincial Department of Natural Resources totestnew early-detection technology that couldget crews out to a forest fire hours before it's normally reported.

"This allows us to fight the fire when it's small and probably stop it from spreading. That work is going tobe a first for Canada, and a first on the Atlantic seaboard of North America," Stuebing said.

The budget report shows the fire department is close to hitting its targets for arriving on scene to fire and medical calls. But it meets the firefighting standard of 14 members on scene within 11 minutes just 57 per cent of the time, far below the 90 per cent target. Rural or suburban areas often see the longestdelays.

Construction is also expected to beginsoon on anew $40-million, four-bay fire station and headquarters inBedford West on Symonds Road, just off Hammonds Plains Road. Completionis slated forspring 2026.

"This is absolutely in the middle of an area that is growing, that is underserved," area Coun. Tim Outhit said in a recent interview.

Stuebingalso said some traffic-calming measures around Halifax are affectingemergency response times because firefighters have to driveover speed bumps to get tofire hydrants. And fire trucks can't turn through some intersections with bumped-outcurbs, Stuebing said.

"Our ability to navigate to a call is getting harder and harder," Stuebing said. "Is it in fact affecting our response time? We think it is."

Coun. Sam Austin suggested using smaller fire trucks similar toEuropean ones, which could better navigate urban areas with narrower streets. Stuebing said they will look at those options, which might make sense to buy when Halifax eventually converts to an electrical fleet.

The overall Halifax budget will be passed in April.