08/05/2025
🚨 BREAKING NEWS: Province Ends Relationship with NS Firefighters School 🚨
Today, the Province of Nova Scotia announced it is formally ending its relationship with the Nova Scotia Firefighters School (NSFS) — calling the results of a recent government review "appalling."
This marks a crisis of confidence in an institution that has long been responsible for training fire fighters across our province.
For the Halifax Professional Fire Fighters, this decision is a necessary and long-overdue step toward protecting those who protect others.
We have consistently called for urgent reform, particularly following the tragic and preventable death of Truro firefighter Skyler Blackie in 2019, when an expired fire extinguisher exploded during a certification exam. Skyler was a full-time firefighter with the Truro Fire Service. His family has pressed relentlessly for answers and change — and today, their courage helped bring accountability.
🔎 Key findings from the review include:
-Systemic governance issues
-A complete breakdown in safety accountability
-Lack of stakeholder engagement
-Inadequate oversight of the Executive Director
-A total loss of confidence from Nova Scotia's fire fighters
Even with a workplace death under his watch, the school’s Executive Director has seen his salary increase by 60% over nine years — now earning over $150,000 annually. This is not accountability. This is exactly why change was needed.
We commend the Province for taking bold and necessary action. Ending the relationship with NSFS is more than a policy change — it’s an opportunity to build something better: a modern, transparent, and safe training model that meets the needs of today’s fire service.
We want to thank the Fire Service Association of Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Provinces Professional Fire Fighters Association, and — most importantly — the Blackie family for participating in the review and for their unrelenting pursuit of change in Skyler’s memory. Their voices helped make this possible.
We remain committed to working with government and partners to ensure that meaningful, lasting change follows.
The safety of our members — and the memory of those we’ve lost — must always come first. 🧑‍🚒🔥
