Halifax firefighters' union concerned about response times

The union that represents Halifax's firefighters says slower response times are fast becoming a problem for the fire service.

When a fire breaks out, seconds count. But the Halifax Professional Fire Fighters association says too often crews are failing to meet basic standards for arriving at the scene of a fire.

Union president Brendan Meagher says the blaze that destroyed an apartment building on Hanwell Drive in Middle Sackville in September highlighted the department's shortcomings.

“We need to address our deficiencies in response. I think the public sees it. They know that when things go wrong, it's devastating for people occupying 50 apartments to go find someplace to live,” Meagher said.

Response to Hanwell Drive fire

According to Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency’s numbers, it took seven minutes and nine seconds for the first fire engine with a crew of four to arrive.

By the 11-minute mark, a second vehicle — a fire tanker — was on the scene with two more firefighters, bringing the total number of crew to six.

But according to its own targets, the Halifax fire service aims to have 14 firefighters on the scene 90 per cent of the time by this point.

Based on National Fire Protection Association standards for a fire at a building of that size, there should have been 28 firefighters at the scene by then.

But the department didn't have 28 crew at Hanwell Drive until 31 minutes after the call came in about the fire.

The Halifax fire service's numbers show it is often not hitting its 11-minute standard and response times have been getting slower in recent years. Last year, the department hit its target only slightly more than half the time in urban areas.

Union blames staffing levels

Meagher said staffing levels are not keeping up with the demands of a rapidly growing city.

“If you look at it like a pizza, we've got a small enough sauce for a small crust now spread over an extra large.”

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency declined an interview request from CBC News. But in an emailed statement, the department's Roy Hollett said the fire service has hired additional staff and plans to add 20 more firefighters in March to address the delays. He also referenced the new fire station opening in the west Bedford area next year.

Hollett pointed out that when the department responds to a larger fire, crews from stations located farther from the scene are also called in, which contributes to longer response times.

Halifax Regional Fire relies on a combination of professional and volunteer firefighters. It says it employs 101 on-duty career firefighters who provide 24/7 coverage at 22 fire stations, mostly in the urban core.

On weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., around 30 career firefighters are assigned to seven stations located in suburban and rural areas. The municipality also benefits from the support of over 500 active volunteer firefighters, the department says.

According to its numbers, crews responded to 15,770 “total incidents” in 2024, up more than 45 per cent from 10,816 in 2021, and are on track to exceed 18,000 in 2025.

'It's a dangerous way to operate'

Meagher said traffic is increasingly another obstacle for firefighters trying to get to a station and for fire trucks responding to a call.

“Our city is becoming more and more dense,” he said. “Our streets are becoming more crowded, more vehicles, more traffic-calming measures, and we're not seeing the growth in our service to keep up with the extra demands this places on our time.”

The fire service said it’s working with the city to try to minimize traffic issues, including efforts to expand the use of traffic pre-emption that allows emergency vehicles to override normal traffic signal operations in an effort to reduce travel time.

But Meagher is concerned the steps being taken to bolster firefighting services are not enough.

“We'll see more property damage, more effects on housing, loss of livable spaces,” said Meagher. “We'll see this and we're probably going to eventually, if not soon, see a fire death because of our people being in these situations.

“It's dangerous. It's a dangerous way to operate.”

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