A stop-work order has been issued against the Nova Scotia Firefighters School, the second such order in less than two years.

Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration told CBC News the order was issued against the Waverley, N.S., facility on March 6 following an inspection that “identified several safety concerns.”

The department said eight stop-work orders will remain in place until the school implements required safety controls.

It noted some of these safety controls include inspections of firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment, like turnout gear and breathing apparatuses, and inspection of the main administration building to confirm compliance with fire codes.

Other safety controls the department noted were inspection of welding equipment and verification of administrative requirements such as safety data sheets, training records and safety program documentation.

The department said no training or simulation will be permitted until corrective actions have been taken. It previously issued a stop-work order against the school in August 2024.

School working to address issues

The Nova Scotia Firefighters School, founded in 1967, told CBC News in an email that there has been no firefighting training at the school since June 2025.

It said the occupational health and safety inspector was responding to an anonymous call about the school.

“As expected, the inspector found a number of [occupational health and safety] violations, many of which relate to housekeeping and uncompleted renovations in the administration building. Because it is the only tool they have, the inspector issued a stop-work order,” a spokesperson for the school said in the email.

The school said its executive committee has been working with the occupational health and safety division to rectify the issues noted and “expect to have those fully addressed in the very short term.”

It said it is working to enable the school to rent its premises to a third party to undertake using its equipment on the site.

“The [executive committee] is continuing a full review of all safety, governance and fiscal processes to clearly understand the current state of the School and to explore future directions,” the school said.

“The abiding and central priority of the [executive committee] is to ensure a culture of safety  underlies all decisions and actions that are taken at the School.”

‘So many chances’

The father of Skyler Blackie, a firefighter who died after a training accident at the school seven years ago, says it’s “beyond words” that another stop-work order was issued.

“This school has had so many chances and so long to correct the issues. And now the second stop-work order is a lot of the same issues and more,” Blaine Blackie told CBC News. “Nothing has changed, they’re still under the same mentality as they were.”

Skyler Blackie, a full-time firefighter with the Truro Fire Service, died in hospital in March 2019 after a fire extinguisher he was using exploded during a training exercise. Investigators found the faulty extinguisher was visibly corroded and would have been discarded if annual inspections had taken place.

‘Nothing has changed’

Joe Triff, president of the Atlantic Provinces Professional Firefighters Association, said he was made aware of the stop-work order on Saturday. He said he wasn’t surprised, but he’s still disappointed.

“Seven years after Skyler Blackie’s accident, we’re seeing that nothing has changed,” he said.

Triff said it doesn’t matter that no firefighting training was happening at the time of the inspection.

“I think that the issues persist, the culture of ignoring these orders and not following proper safety protocols is prevalent and going largely unchecked there at the school,” he said.

“We think it’s unsafe for firefighters from Nova Scotia or from anywhere to be using the facility. We’re pleased that the government recognizes that there’s still problems and issued a stop-work order.”

MORE TOP STORIES