Latest news with #HalifaxFire
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Gas leak shuts down Queen Street in Halifax
A gas leak in Halifax shut down Queen Street on Friday May 30, 2025. (CTV Atlantic/ Carl Pomeroy) Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency and Halifax Police are investigating a gas leak on Queen Street in Halifax. Police have closed Queen Street from Morris Street to Victoria Road to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Fenwick Street is also closed. The QEII's Victoria General asks patients, visitors and staff not to go to the hospital at this time. Those already in the hospital are asked to remain in the building until the issue is resolved. An evacuation order has been issued in the immediate area and power has been turned off in the surrounding electric grid. Police are asking the public to avoid the area and take alternate routes to avoid delays. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Researchers work to improve communications equipment for first responders
Researchers working with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency are making it their mission to improve communication equipment used by first responders. The project, led by the Nova Scotia Community College's applied research team, aims to upgrade an existing device that enhances radio coverage. It's called a digital vehicular repeater system (DVRS) and it's typically built into emergency vehicles — but it can only reach so far. The device can cut out in areas where there are often cellular brownouts, like in concrete buildings or underground areas. In some situations, this can not only slow first responders down, but it can be dangerous for them. "This radio is a line of safety for them so they're able to call emergencies, they're able to reach out to their peers to get assistance," said Mark Burgess, Halifax Fire's division chief of technology and innovation. "If they cannot communicate, then they cannot do that." To soften this issue, Halifax Fire's communications technician created a prototype of a portable DVRS. It allows first responders to carry it with them and extend radio connection, rather than it being built into an emergency vehicle. Burgess said the prototype is not yet being used in emergency situations, but Halifax Fire has been testing it for the last few months. The organization has since given the prototype to researchers with Nova Scotia Community College's applied research team in hopes of making it even better. Jacob Woods, a research associate with the team, said one issue identified with the current prototype is how heavy it is. "So they're in a rush to get out — 30 seconds, a minute — doesn't sound like much," Wood said. "For a firefighter who's trying to respond to an emergency, it adds some pretty significant time." He said they're hoping to make the device lighter so it's easier to carry. "In a perfect world, we're hoping to really slim down the size of this," Woods said. "But we're still in the early preliminary stages here, just getting a better sense of what's in the box, what the equipment is and what we can do with it." Fire departments have been seeing an increase in calls in the last few years, Burgess said, which will require better equipment. "Any time that we are able to go in and do our job safely, that's a benefit to the public," he said.
CBC
19-05-2025
- General
- CBC
N.S. greenhouse boosts fire-resistant landscaping after 2023 wildfires
New | Vernon Ramesar | CBC News | Posted: May 19, 2025 9:00 AM | Last Updated: Just now Bloom Greenhouse and Garden Centre had to be evacuated two years ago Image | Cathy Oulton Caption: Cathy Oulton is the owner of Bloom Greenhouse and Garden Centre in Hammonds Plains (Vernon Ramesar/CBC) Open Image in New Tab The Halifax-area wildfires two years ago had a lasting impact on Cathy Oulton, who owns Bloom Greenhouse and Garden Centre in Hammonds Plains. Fires raged through the community. She had to vacate her business. "It was very personal for us," Oulton recalls. "This area was completely shut down, and we were evacuated ... about 18 of our staff were evacuated from their homes directly." Image | FireSmart plant label Caption: Bloom Greenhouse is the first in the province to adopt a new plant-tagging system, guiding customers toward safer options for their properties. (Vernon Ramesar/CBC) Open Image in New Tab Oulton has since worked with Halifax Fire & Emergency on an initiative aimed at helping homeowners make landscaping choices that are fire-resistant. The FireSmart program started in Alberta but has since expanded and been adapted in other provinces. On Saturday, the greenhouse hosted an information session in conjunction with Halifax Fire. Bloom Greenhouse is the first in the province to adopt a new tagging system for plants, guiding customers toward safer options. Kara McCurdy, wildfire mitigation program manager with Halifax Fire, said the plant-tagging program started in British Columbia but has been customized for the Maritimes. The fire-resistant plants, McCurdy said, are leafy, shed less, have high water content, and lack the flammable pitches and resins found in some others. McCurdy said that "vegetation around the homes was actually the No. 1 reason why a lot of homes fell victim" to past wildfires. She also cautioned that bark mulch should not be used closer than 1.5 metres from the home due to the risk of spontaneous combustion. People often prioritize privacy without considering the potential risks associated with their landscaping, not just from wildfires but other natural hazards too, McCurdy said. McCurdy said Halifax Fire offers free home assessments for wildfire risk to help residents make decisions about their homes. At Bloom Greenhouse, plants deemed lower risk are now marked with signs and stickers. Both Oulton and McCurdy hope to see more events and an expansion of the program If customers in fire-prone areas select a more flammable tree, Oulton said, staff will direct them to safer alternatives. "We've been here for 20 years and it was shocking and earth-shattering when the forest fires happened in this area," Oulton said. "We're happy to be helping to build a plan going forward to help mitigate some of that risk."
CBC
12-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
Halifax firefighters' union asks city to pay for cancer screenings at private clinics
The Halifax firefighters' union is asking the municipality to pay for preventive cancer screenings at private clinics, after they say members were denied through the provincial health system. Brendan Meagher, president of the Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association, made the request to councillors at a budget committee meeting Wednesday. Meagher said the union has had members in their 40s, who are healthy, ask for blood work or other tests that screen for various cancers but "they're not approved currently through the health-care system." "We're asking for the help to gain the peace of mind, and the actual access to life-saving medical diagnostic technology," Meagher told reporters outside the meeting. He said he knows the issue is on Premier Tim Houston's radar, but the union has been working on it for the past two years and hasn't seen changes yet. Until they can "bridge the gap provincially," Meagher said, the union wants the municipality to fund a program that would pay for some firefighters to go to local private clinics. The union said about $735 per firefighter would cover multiple services, including a physician's medical exam, urinalysis, tests for prostate and colorectal cancer, X-rays and blood work. The project would cover about 300 career and 150 volunteer firefighters with more than 10 years of experience, Meagher said, and have them tested every two years within a four-year program. This would cost the city about $200,000 a year, he said. Research from the United States has shown firefighters are 14 per cent more likely to die from cancer than the general public. Cancer is also the leading cause of work-related deaths for Canadian firefighters. "We're coming out of these fires and we smell the smoke coming out of our skin for days afterwards. It's constantly on my mind while I'm in the fire, I'm aware of the conditions and I'm also aware of my exposure," Meagher said. This kind of screening, Meagher said, might have helped Capt. Billy Marr, who died of colorectal cancer at 46 years old last April. "Our ultimate goal is to not see that happen again when it's preventable," Meagher said. CBC has asked the province for a reaction to the union's request and will update this story with any response. Coun. Becky Kent asked for the union to share more details and a formal request that councillors could review. "It's about the money but it's also about what is the benefit of the money, where is it going to go," Kent said. The union's request is outside of the regular Halifax Fire budget for this year, which will be discussed Friday, but a councillor could bring it up over the next few weeks of debate. The final budget is decided in April.
