Yesterday, HRM’s Budget Committee tentatively approved 10 new fire fighter positions, down from the original request of 20

**** Via Halifax Professional Firefighters Yesterday, HRM’s Budget Committee tentatively approved 10 new fire fighter positions, down from the original request of 20 We want to acknowledge that Regional Council has continued to invest in fire protection year over year, and we appreciate the difficult task councillors face when balancing the many priorities of a growing municipality. However, we are disappointed that only half of the requested positions were approved. It’s our understanding that those 10 fire fighters will be assigned to Station 11 in Upper Sackville, increasing staffing on the first-due fire truck from 2 fire fighters to 4. This will have a meaningful impact in that community and improve fire fighter safety. With four fire fighters arriving on the first truck, our members can immediately begin fire attack, search, and rescue operations, rather than waiting for additional fire fighters to arrive. Station 11 is HRFE’s last station with Halifax Professional Fire Fighters that does not currently have a minimum crew of four fire fighters on the first-due apparatus. The remaining 10 requested positions would have staffed Aerial 9 in Sackville to four fire fighters, bringing it to manufacturer and industry staffing standards and improving our ability to assemble an Effective Firefighting Force (14 fire fighters within 11 minutes) in the Sackville area. As Acting Fire Chief Dave Meldrum stated during deliberations, adding only 10 positions to Upper Sackville will have negligible impact on the Effective Firefighting Force in Lower Sackville due to travel distance. While HRFE improved overall EFF performance from 54.5% in 2024 to 67.8% in 2025, the data also shows that Sackville continues to fall well below the rest of HRM, achieving the target only 21.1% of the time in 2025. Analysis conducted by HRFE predicted that approving all 20 positions would have significantly improved response performance in the Sackville area, including: • +11.13% improvement for Station 9’s area • +21.87% improvement for Station 10’s area • +4.16% improvement for Station 11’s area Without these additional positions, those improvements will not be realized and Sackville will continue to fall short of the response standard. The full proposal would have cost the average household approximately $1.54 per year in the first year — a relatively small investment for measurable improvements in public safety. We appreciate council’s continued investment and the ongoing discussion around strengthening fire protection across HRM. Our position remains simple: Investing in fire fighters is investing in public safety.