Halifax spent more than $160,000 on the wrong kind of wildfire protective gear for firefighters

CBC

a day ago

Halifax spent more than $160,000 on the wrong type of wildfire protective gear, and the union for municipal firefighters says the mix-up is just one example that the department is not properly preparing for wildfires.
In the aftermath of the Upper Tantallon wildfire in 2023 that destroyed 151 homes, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency ordered a second set of wildland firefighting coveralls for most of its members.
But about two years later, it was discovered in April that the new coveralls were intended for use in industrial settings where firefighters typically encounter short flashes of fire. They look almost identical to the correct ones but do not meet wildfire standards for working in sustained heat.
"There could be bad consequences from this gear. So we've been lucky that the wrong thing hasn't happened so far," said Brendan Meagher, president of the Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association, last Friday.
Wearing the wrong gear in a wildfire setting presents a greater risk of heat exhaustion, Meagher said.
There is often little turnaround time between shifts during a major wildfire, he said, and having a second set of coveralls is a good idea because it enables members to switch to a second pair while their other set is being washed.
Due to the "scale of the request" in 2023, the fire department's regular vendor was not able to handle the order within the set timeline, a Halifax spokesperson said, and they found an alternative vendor.
The municipality spent about $167,000 on the coveralls and rolled them out to firefighters.
After the error was noticed and flagged as a safety complaint for Halifax Fire management, Meagher said it took weeks for the department to react. In mid-June, the municipality directed firefighters not to wear the 2023 coveralls, he said, and anyone left without any wildland gear would be issued new ones.
Municipal spokesperson Jake Fulton said in an email that Halifax Fire is looking for a way to make sure the 2023 coveralls "do not go to waste," like possibly sending them to other departments that may have a use for them.
"This was an unfortunate error that HRFE is working diligently to address. HRFE takes the use of municipal tax funds very seriously," Fulton said.
But now, Meagher said, they have noticed some of the older, proper wildfire coveralls have also reached an expiration date. He said he's concerned a situation could come up where only one person on a crew has the appropriate gear.
"Does that person go to the woods by themself and take equipment in? I would suggest absolutely not," Meagher said.
"And so we are left with that dilemma of going in and violating the directive — or watching loss increase that we could otherwise stop if we had the proper equipment."
Fulton said about 94 per cent of the 1,100 total Halifax Fire members still have one set of wildland firefighting coveralls that meet "all relevant safety requirements."
This leaves about 70 members, or six per cent, without any appropriate wildland coveralls. Fulton said it will cost about $50,000 to outfit those members with the proper gear.
Any members without compliant coveralls can still support wildfire response efforts in other roles, like water supply or logistical support, Fulton said.
"This directive ensures firefighter safety remains the top priority while maintaining operational capacity. With the vast majority of members fully equipped for wildland fire response, HRFE is confident it can continue to deploy safe and effective crews to respond to wildland fires as needed," he said.
Fulton also said municipal firefighters would be supported in these cases by the provincial Department of Natural Resources, who are "primarily responsible" for wildland firefighting within the Halifax region.
Although Meagher said it seems like the order for the wrong coveralls was an "honest mistake," he said this is why all new equipment orders are supposed to go through their health and safety committee to ensure things aren't missed.
Meagher said he has not been told when replacement coveralls will arrive but these orders can often take more than two months.
A review of the Upper Tantallon fire suggested 56 ways Halifax Fire could improve in similar situations. Meagher said he's had "numerous" firefighters worry that lessons have not been learned.
He said new sprinkler trucks have yet to be brought into service and sat on hold for weeks after vehicle inspections had been done.
Also, although a few members received specific training in December 2024 for firefighting in the wildland-urban interface area — where woods and homes meet — to eventually teach to all members, Meagher said they have not rolled out that hands-on training yet. He said this would include practising with equipment around communities.
During the wildfire on the Eastern Shore along Ostrea Lake Road last week, Meagher said he was concerned no firefighters were called in on overtime, even though more than 100 homes were evacuated.
"Every member of this fire service on the ground is going to show up and do the very, very best they can for the communities. But we want our managers to make the commitment that the firefighters are making, and be better at organizing and preparing," Meagher said.
He said while the union prefers to handle most issues internally, he does not believe that fire Chief Ken Stuebing has presented the full picture to Halifax regional councillors.
"We feel like he hits the high-level items in communication with council, and they are not getting an awareness of the frustration that the firefighters are feeling," Meagher said.
Fulton said the sprinkler trailers will be brought into use once Halifax Fire members have received the appropriate training, which must be scheduled without compromising firefighting coverage around Halifax.
The department "continues to prepare to fight wildfires," Fulton said. While it's an "evolving challenge," all Halifax firefighters receive initial wildfire training when they enter service and get refresher training, he said.