N.S. firefighter's family pushes for school to close following death

Skyler Blackie's bunker gear, including his pants and boots, sit on the floor of his parents' basement in tribute along with dozens of smiling photos of the young fallen firefighter.

The 28-year-old died following a routine training procedure at the Nova Scotia Firefighters School in Waverley, N.S., in March 2019. The expired extinguisher he was using exploded.

"Unfortunately the fire extinguisher he chose was well out of date. It hadn't been inspected since 2004, so we don't know why the fire school would have ever had such a thing there," said Blaine Blackie, Skyler's father.

A court case resulted in the school admitting in 2022 that it failed to perform routine inspections and keep adequate records. 

But now, the Blackie family has learned the training facility has received 41 new safety recommendations as a result of a third-party review ordered by the court.

The provincial Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration said 22 "high-risk activities" were noted by occupational health and safety officers, and the "Safety Branch continues to work with firefighters' school to achieve compliance."

Blackie's sister Jessica Gillis calls it "unacceptable."

"We can't be quiet anymore. We can't hope and wait because hoping and waiting could just lead to another death," said Gillis.

Another member of the Blackie family was there the day of the tragedy — Skyler's younger brother Errison. They were both employed at Truro Fire Service and had been at the school together to complete an exam as part of their certification upgrades.

Chief Blois Currie said he has not sent a single firefighter back to the school since that day.

"I don't want to have to go to a funeral because another firefighter was killed at the training facility," said Currie.

"If it was any other organization, they'd probably be shut down until they assured that it was safe. For some reason, they continue to bring people in knowing it's unsafe."

Currie said fire departments across the province are continuing to send members to the school, but he hopes they will now take a pause after learning the latest developments.

The Nova Scotia Firefighters School declined an interview with CBC News. In a public written statement, executive director John Cunningham said the school is "actively implementing changes to our operations and safety policies to create a safer training environment for all firefighters."