Halifax fire department given green light to hire 32 new firefighters

Halifax regional council hammered out a compromise Tuesday for its fire department as councillors agreed to hire 32 new firefighters within three years, at an annual cost of $3.3 million by 2022.

• Fire report to reignite debate at Halifax regional council
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Fire officials had recommended hiring 52 full-time firefighters so four-person crews could ride all fire trucks, including aerials, on both sides of Halifax Harbour. An alternative option for the aerial trucks was approved.

"We're staying at two." said deputy mayor Matt Whitman. "Two is the standard and two is approved in all the reports, so why would we go to four when the magic number is two?"

The decision means Dartmouth will have a staffed aerial truck for the first time. It will also add career firefighters to stations in Bedford, Cole Harbour, Eastern Passage and Lakeside.  

"It's a win not only for the union, for the citizens as well," said Jim Gates, president of the local firefighters union, Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association. "It improves our safety on the job."

'We're tying the hands of future councils'

Regional councillors also agreed to recruit and train 40 new volunteers. Some of them will supplement the Lady Hammond Road station in Halifax and the King Street station in Dartmouth. Next year's budget will include $200,000 for the volunteer training.

Some councillors expressed concern about the impact of the hiring decision on future budgets.

"We're tying the hands of future councils," said Coun. Russell Walker.

Other councillors don't believe the move will automatically mean increases to property tax bills.

"How can we look ahead to 2022 and say this will have any impact on the tax rate? We don't know what our revenue will be then," said Coun. Gloria McCluskey.