Family of firefighter who died after accident at training school appalled at persisting safety issues

The family of a Truro firefighter who died in 2019 after an accident at Nova Scotia's only firefighter training school say they're appalled to learn that serious gaps at the school continued as recently as this spring.

"I was expecting obviously quite a few infractions," said Jessica Gillis, the sister of Skyler Blackie. 

"I didn't think one of the top ones would be exactly the problem that took my brother's life. That is just so disheartening, and goes against every claim the school has made about how they keep safety in the highest regard."

Blackie was critically injured when the fire extinguisher he was using during a training exercise exploded, propelling the top of the extinguisher into his face. He died in hospital 11 days after the accident, which happened in March 2019. He was 28 years old.

Before the accident, Blackie told his instructor the fire extinguisher had rust on it, but he was told to use it anyway. The family was given a summary of the incident that stated the extinguisher's required inspection tests were out of date by more than three years.

In March 2024, Safety Services Nova Scotia visited the school and wrote a report based on what it saw, detailing numerous safety problems and making recommendations for change.

CBC News obtained a copy of the report through an access-to-information request and shared it with the Blackie family. 

The report identified "significant gaps" in the processes to remove out-of-service items from use by tagging and isolating them from "in service" items. It also concluded there were problems with the frequency and documentation of equipment inspections, with some employee training and with investigating incidents to prevent reoccurrence.

The school released a statement on Facebook on Friday after CBC News contacted its executive director, John Cunningham, requesting an interview to respond to the report.

The statement said the school has made numerous changes to its occupational health and safety policies, and that investigations "will include direct, indirect, and root causes, with a follow-up process to assess the effectiveness of corrective actions." 

It said it has added new systems to address the points raised in the Safety Services Nova Scotia report, but did not include specifics about what would change. 

Cunningham did not respond to CBC's request for an interview. 

'Too little, too late'

"My personal opinion is too little, too late," said Errison Blackie, Skyler's younger brother, adding that he sees nothing in the school's statement that gives him any confidence in its management. 

Errison is also a career firefighter with the Truro Fire Service and was on the same training course the day the accident happened. 

"They have been aware of their lack of professionalism and accountability for at least five years since my brother's death — and probably long before that," Errison said.

The Blackie family believes the school is necessary for training but that the school's executive director and board of directors should step down. 

"I would like to see the management gone, the board of directors gone and the school to be reopened," said Blaine Blackie, Skyler's father. 

The family also believes the province can improve laws to govern firefighter training. Blaine and his wife went to the provincial legislature on the first day of its fall session to meet with provincial politicians and the premier. 

"They're willing to sit down with us and all the firefighters to try to come to a solution on what legislation is going to look like," Blaine said.

The Nova Scotia Firefighters School falls under the province's Private Career Colleges Act. 

Classes were suspended in August, but in early September the province ended a stop-work order for the school, allowing it to reopen under certain conditions. However, according to the Labour Department, the school was not permitted to offer entry-level occupational training when it reopened. 

Skyler Blackie's fire department in Truro has refused to send any firefighters to the school for training since the accident happened, and Chief Blois Currie does not feel that situation will change unless he sees a change in the school's leadership.

"It was very disturbing," he said of the report obtained by CBC. "One of the biggest things that stood out to me is that these things are still happening after five years." 

Blackie's family says he was always safety-conscious and fought to improve conditions for other firefighters, which is why they continue to speak out about the issue.