At 11:37 PM last night, #hfxfirefighters responded to reports of fire in an abandoned commercial building on Pleasant Street in Dartmouth.
Our members from Station 15
(Woodside) arrived quickly and confirmed a working fire in a vacant structure that formed part of a strip mall. Due to the volume of fire and smoke conditions, the incident was escalated to a second alarm.
Crews operated in defensive fire conditions, focusing on containment and protecting adjacent occupied businesses.
Through coordinated efforts, fire fighters were able to stop the fire from extending into neighbouring structures — a challenging task in strip mall occupancies.
More than 30 fire fighters were committed to this incident overnight, significantly depleting available resources across the city while crews worked to bring the fire under control.
As Council debates the HRFE budget this week, a proposed hiring delay is under consideration. We recognize Council faces difficult decisions — but delaying the hiring of fire fighters has real consequences.
While HRFE reports an increase in effective fire response from 54.5% in 2024 to 67.8% in 2025, performance remains well below industry standards, underscoring how strained the system continues to be.
Halifax continues to grow year over year. Incidents like this clearly demonstrate how quickly resources are stretched — and why decisions made at Council have immediate, real-world impacts on our communities.
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Emergency crews remain on scene of a structure fire that was reported late last night at the old Sobeys building on Pleasant St, close to the diner
Crews kept the fire from spreading to other businesses and will be on scene for a while yet.
A strip of Pleasant St is closed to allow hoses to run to a nearby hydrant.
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**** Traffic Advisory via HRP
Halifax Regional Police are on scene in the 200 Block of Pleasant St.,Dartmouth assisting HRFE with traffic control due to an overnight structure fire.
Traffic in both directions on Pleasant St between Prince Arthur St and Arthur St are closed to motorists and pedestrian traffic. HRP is requesting people refrain from being in the area while the situation is being dealt with.
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