nova scotia announces complete break from firefighters school held responsible for 2019 death
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emergency management minister kim masland answers questions from reporters at one government place in halifax on tuesday, aug. 5, 2025. the province released the results of an audit into the nova scotia firefighters school in waverley on tuesday and have ended their relationship with the school.
ryan taplin
/
the chronicle herald
the nova scotia government is ending its affiliation with a firefighters training school responsible for the 2019 death of a 28-year-old firefighter.
“nova scotia’s firefighters put their lives at risk every day,” emergency management minister kim masland said at a news conference in halifax on tuesday in which she released the findings of a comprehensive value-for-money audit of the nova scotia firefighters school.
“it’s one of the most dangerous jobs that anyone could do, so it goes without saying that at the very least the school that trains our firefighters should uphold the highest safety standards.
“this is not a nice-to-have feature, it’s a must-have, it’s critical, because even when in training, firefighters are exposed to life-threatening situations.”
masland said the audit “results are clear and they are appalling.”
death of truro firefighter
the audit overview recounts skyler blackie’s death at the training school in waverley on march 9, 2019, while participating in a training exam.
blackie, a truro firefighter living in debert, used a rusted, expired fire extinguisher, donated by the shuttered irving oil refinery, during an exercise to demonstrate his mastery of the training prop. the extinguisher exploded, its bottom detaching and striking blackie in the face, causing catastrophic brain injury.
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he died 11 days later.
the privately owned not-for-profit school pled guilty in april 2022 to two charges under the nova scotia occupational health and safety act and was sentenced in provincial court to a penalty totalling $102,00, which included a fine and bursaries for volunteer firefighters.
a regimental funeral for truro firefighter skyler blackie was held march 30, 2019, at colchester legion stadium. blackie died in hospital 11 days after he suffered a critical head injury when a fire extinguisher exploded during a training exercise at the nova scotia firefighters school in waverley.
harry sullivan
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harry sullivan
“i cannot begin to imagine the depths of pain you have endured since losing your precious skyler,” an emotional masland told members of blackie’s family, his wife erin, parents blaine and cheryl anne blackie, his brother arison, also a firefighter, and sister jessica, who were present at the news conference.
“let’s remember how we got here,” masland said. “in 2019, skyler blackie was tragically killed in a preventable accident at the school. since then, there have been ongoing issues, chronic safety issues, a lack of regular inspections and maintenance of equipment, a failure to create and maintain a culture of safety and concerns about the board that oversees the firefighters school.”
‘crisis of confidence’
the minister pointed to gaps in funding oversight, governance structure and a lack of communication with its members.
“the nova scotia firefighters school cannot safely and effectively operate as it is,” masland said. “there is a crisis of confidence in its leadership and governance, and there has been an incomprehensible lack of accountability following mr. blackie’s preventable death.”
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the value-for-money audit, commissioned in june to help ensure the safety of students and staff at the school, included three targeted surveys to garner first-hand perspectives from across the province’s fire services.
the audit, completed by consultant 21fsp advisory at a cost of $300,000, surveyed 680 firefighters from across the province about training experiences, canvassed 52 fire department leaders and conducted a general board governance survey of eight board of directors members.
“the firefighting community was given the opportunity to speak and they spoke loud and clear,” masland said.
jessica gillis answers questions from reporters at one government place in halifax on tuesday, august 5, 2025. gillis’s brother, skyler blackie, was killed during a training exercise at the nova scotia firefighters school in waverley in 2019.
ryan taplin
/
the chronicle herald
“seventy-five per cent felt negatively toward the school, especially in relation to safety culture, instructor credibility and its outdated infrastructure.”
she said the leadership survey revealed a system under stress, in desperate need of modernization and regionalization.
“almost all of the remaining directors of the general board participated in the surveys and their feedback was scathing,” masland said.
“they said the school was too large, ineffective, centralized all of the decision making with the executive director and that it had a lack of accountability and transparency.”
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masland said government has listened.
“we are taking immediate action in ending our relationship with the school,” the minister said.
the province had already discontinued annual operating grants to the school.
“obviously, nova scotia still needs firefighter training,” masland said.
she said a steering committee will be established in the coming weeks to oversee an interim training plan and to guide the work on a long-term, comprehensive training model for firefighters.
the goal is to have the interim training available by fall. the broader fire services governance review is a second, separate review being led by the fire service association of nova scotia and focusing on governance, operations, communications, funding and more.
family’s response
“when we lost skyler in the line of duty, we made a promise to speak up; not just for him, but for every firefighter who deserves to come home safe,” the blackie family said in a statement.
the nova scotia firefighters school in waverley on tuesday.
tim krochak
/
the chronicle herald
“the findings of this audit are painful to read, but they reflect what we have known all along: the nova scotia firefighters school is not safe.
“we are heartbroken that it took such a loss to bring this truth to light, but we are incredibly grateful to the government of nova scotia for listening, for taking our concerns seriously, and for taking action. we are also thankful to the journalists who helped us share skyler’s story and keep this crucial issue in the public eye. we remain committed to working alongside the province to ensure strong legislation and safe, accountable training for every firefighter in nova scotia.”
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recent history
the firefighters school has been in operation since 1967 but there has been no substantive change in the school’s board structure or governance in more than 20 years.
the school is registered as a training institution under the authority of nova scotia’s private colleges legislation. the private colleges director in august 2024 suspended approval for the school’s pre-employment program pending the school satisfying all occupational health and safety orders regarding the use of propane tanks and certifying that all equipment, supplies and materials be inventoried and confirmed safe for training purposes.
at the time of the audit, the order remained in force because the requirements had not been satisfied.
between 2005 and 2017, the firefighter training school experienced high and growing student enrollment, with annual participation exceeding 5,000 in peak years like 2015 and 2016.
course volumes also expanded during this period, resulting in relatively low student-per-course ratios, a likely reflection of smaller, decentralized, or specialized training offerings.
certification rates during this time, however, remained modest. from 2012 to 2016, only seven to nine per cent of students were recorded as achieving formal certifications, suggesting that while the school was delivering high volumes of training, a significant share of it may not have been oriented toward certification outcomes.
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beginning in 2018 and accelerating through the covid period of 2020 to 2022, both student enrolment and course volumes declined sharply.
in 2023, the system shows signs of recovery with student volumes climbing to 4,531, the highest since 2017, and course offerings increased to 340.
there are more than 6,000 firefighters in nova scotia, across 276 fire departments. ninety-five per cent of nova scotia firefighters are volunteers.
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