North Queens firefighters in a training exercise. (North Queens Fire Association Facebook page)

The North Queens Fire Association in Caledonia will now be notified of more 911 calls in their community.

“As of right now, if you call 911 and you say you want the fire department to respond, there will be no question. The fire department will be paged out,” Chris Wolfe, chief of the North Queens department, told QCCR on Monday.

Last Monday, about 100 residents, firefighters and other first responders from as far away as Yarmouth met in Caledonia to air their concerns about Nova Scotia’s emergency communications system.

Rural fire departments like North Queens said they weren’t being paged about some medical emergencies in their community, even when residents specifically asked for their help.

Volunteer fire departments can sign up to be a medical first responder agency and respond to various medical emergencies, depending on their level of training. That is vital in rural areas like Caledonia where the nearest ambulance depot is about an hour away.

The 18 trained first responders in North Queens can attend almost any kind of call for help. 

After a couple of high-profile incidents in the community left people waiting for an hour or more for medical help, Wolfe organized the public meeting with help from Queens MLA Kim Masland. She invited officials from Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness, Emergency Health Services and Emergency Medical Care, the company that operates the province’s ambulance and 911 services.

“Our local MLA Kim Masland’s helped greatly with it,” Wolfe said. “The public showed support that night. It’s just a bunch of various things that’s come together to make people more aware of what’s going on and there is an urgent need for something to change there. I couldn’t be more happy with the way it’s panned out.”

Wolfe is also meeting with EHS officials on Tuesday in Halifax to discuss a potential pilot project with the North Queens department that could be used across the province.

“We’re going to sit down and discuss some possibilities. There will probably be a new protocol put in place. It will start with our department and it will trickle down to different MFR agencies around the province.”

Wolfe said he believes hearing from the public pushed provincial officials to act.

“Oh definitely. I think they realize we’re not going to let it lay to rest and it’s something that needs to be addressed and fixed and they’re on board and they’re going to help us get there.”

Wolfe said he will likely post an update on the department’s Facebook page Tuesday evening after the meeting in Halifax.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Chris Wolfe, chief of the North Queens Fire Association, speaks at a public meeting on Monday evening. (Rick Conrad)

When Mya Uhlman’s father needed medical help last August, her mother called 911 and expected her local fire department to respond.

They were still waiting 20 minutes later, so Uhlman’s mother called again. The 911 dispatcher told her the North Queens Fire Department was on its way. Uhlman’s parents live less than 10 minutes from the fire hall in West Caledonia.

“And they never, ever showed up,” Uhlman told QCCR. “She ended up calling a relative that lived close by to be with her because she was by herself.  … So when I inquired about it, I was told (North Queens) were never paged.

“The ambulance did arrive eventually. It was around 40 minutes before the ambulance did arrive. My father is OK, but it was serious at the time. 

“When my mother explicity asked for the North Queens Fire Department, they should have automatically been dispatched with no questions asked.”

Uhlman’s story and others were why Chief Chris Wolfe called a public meeting at the North Queens fire hall in Caledonia on Monday night.

About 100 residents, firefighters and other first responders from as far away as Yarmouth met to air their concerns about their local fire departments not being called to medical emergencies.

Chief Wolfe sounded the alarm on Facebook in February after another resident called 911 and the dispatcher didn’t notify Wolfe’s department. Instead, that person was still waiting for an ambulance when Wolfe’s deputy chief found out about it and had 911 page the fire department.

Volunteer firefighters around Nova Scotia take medical first responder training. The type of call they can respond to depends on the level their department signs up for. North Queens has 18 people trained to respond to almost any level of medical call.

Wolfe said that 111 of 198 of their calls last year were medical emergencies.

“My mandate is not to give up until we find a solution to this problem of not being paged for certain calls within our communities, because North Queens residents depend on us.”

He contacted Queens MLA Kim Masland to help organize the meeting with officials from the Department of Health and Wellness, Emergency Health Services, and Emergency Medical Care, which has the contract to operate ambulance and 911 service in Nova Scotia.

Masland, who is also the minister of emergency management, told those at the meeting to be frank with their concerns. And she also told people to continue to contact her and other MLAs. 

“I want to make sure that we land where we need to land because what has been happening is not acceptable.”

Representatives from EHS and Emergency Medical Care explained how the system works and the challenges in deploying the right resources in a timely way.

But people like Mya Uhlman wanted to know why their local fire departments wouldn’t be told about a call, especially if the person in distress requested it. A first responder with North Queens also demanded to know why dispatchers would deny that request.

Before officials could answer his question, first responders from the Liverpool, Pubnico and Woods Harbour fire departments also spoke up and said the same thing is happening in their areas.

Jeff Fraser, senior executive director of the emergency health services branch with Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness, said dispatchers have to follow certain models.

“I’m not so sure we should be denying that. I actually didn’t realize that was happening in that manner.”

Gordon Peckham, who is the vice-president of operations with EMC, said he didn’t know why that’s happening, but that it shouldn’t.

After the meeting, Uhlman said she hopes officials change how and when they notify local fire departments.

“In a way it made me feel a little better to know it wasn’t only us. But at the same time, it really made me feel awful  that this is happening in so many places and so many particularly rural community members are not getting the services they need in a timely fashion.”

Masland said she believes some progress was made at the meeting.

“There were things that were said here tonight that I could see they were raising the eyebrows of people here from EHS. And I think it’s important whenever you have communication that’s when you can start to resolve issues, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Chief Wolfe told QCCR that provincial officials promised to work on some of the issues raised and return in six to eight weeks for another public meeting. 

“The community did well supporting us, showing up. They voiced their concerns. Most of the concerns voiced we were aware of. I’m hoping that EMC will take it seriously and we’ll get things resolved.

“You could see the reactions with some of the public talking there that there were things going on that they weren’t even aware of. And I believe that within the next day or two, they’ll be taking those things into consideration and addressing them right away.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

The North Queens Fire Association bought a new rescue truck in December 2023 to respond to medical emergencies and other calls. (North Queens Fire Association Facebook page)

The fire chief in North Queens wants answers about why his department isn’t being called to more medical emergencies in the community.

Chris Wolfe, who leads the volunteer-run North Queens Fire Association in Caledonia, says he’s worried that residents aren’t getting the help they need and someone could die because of it.

“We’re supposed to get called for pretty well anything that the ambulance will come out to North Queens for and that hasn’t been the case here lately,” he told QCCR.

“My concern is that the community’s not getting the help that they need when they need help the most. You take an ambulance takes an hour basically get to North Queens and even longer if you’re in a storm, so potentially somebody could be lying there for an hour without medical help.”

That’s why Wolfe has organized a public meeting on March 3 at 7 p.m. at the North Queens Fire Hall in Caledonia at 9793 Highway 8.

He’s invited officials from Emergency Medical Care and Emergency Health Services, as well as Queens MLA Kim Masland, who is also the minister of emergency management, and Health Minister Michelle Thompson. Wolfe is also encouraging residents to attend.

Wolfe expressed his frustration in a recent Facebook post. He also posted last August asking residents to contact him if they’ve called 911 in the past expecting the fire department to respond.

A post on the North Queens Fire Association Facebook page from Chief Chris Wolfe.

“I’ve previously had meetings with EMC and EHS and we’ve talked about it and I thought things were going to get straightened out but obviously they didn’t and we did have one particular call there the night before I posted that and the individual was lying outside in the snow and they weren’t going to page the fire department for it.

“We ended up going over on our own terms and dealing with it till EHS arrived so that was my pet peeve that sent me to put the post on Facebook.”

Emergency Health Services contracts out ambulance and paramedic service in Nova Scotia to Emergency Medical Care, which is owned by Medavie Blue Cross. EMC also operates the province’s 911 call centre.

EMC officials declined an interview request. A spokesman said in an emailed statement that they “are committed to continuing the conversation to address” the fire department’s concerns.

Wolfe said 18 of the first responders at his department are certified under the Medical First Response Program, which trains people to care for someone who is injured. He said they responded to 111 medical calls last year, which account for between 65 and 75 per cent of what they do.

But he said they could potentially respond to more calls and more quickly than EHS, if only they knew about them.

It’s a situation that rural fire departments are dealing with around the province, he says. 

“When you become an MFR agency you choose what level of response you want to be and where we’re so far from a hospital or anything like that we choose to be non-urgent and that means that we give anybody the help that needs it for any type of scenario.”

He says he’s not looking for a quick fix, but he hopes the meeting helps.

“I don’t expect everybody to come (to the meeting) with answers. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.

“The purpose of the March 3rd meeting would be to get everybody there, address what the problems are, take everybody’s concerns from the public, put that all together and then go back to the drawing board and say, ‘Look we know this is what’s wrong, what options do we have to fix this, how can the volunteer fire service and MFRs help us out,’ and then maybe have another public meeting maybe three to four weeks later and come back to the drawing board and tell people what was found out and how things are going to be addressed.

“The more people that show up, the better it will be. And hopefully we can get things addressed and make things better for all of Nova Scotia.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Fire trucks at North Queens Fire Association headquarters. (Facebook)

Region of Queens councillors and staff have found a way to help the county’s fire departments with the increased costs of buying new equipment — and all without raising the tax rate.

Councillors are currently in budget deliberations, so the final budget has not been approved. But they headed off a request for an increase to the tax rate to help fire departments pay for new trucks.

Fire chiefs and the region agreed to a new funding schedule in February to replace fire and rescue trucks. The region increased its contribution to $425,000 for pumpers, tankers and aerial trucks from $275,000. That kicks in for the 2026/27 fiscal year.

But as councillors heard on Tuesday, new trucks keep getting more expensive. And higher interest rates mean that borrowing costs for fire departments have skyrocketed.

Fire chiefs made a presentation to council on Tuesday asking for an increase of one cent to the region’s overall tax rate. 

The residential property tax rate per $100 of assessment in districts 1 to 12 is at $1.07 and $1.92 in District 13.

Chris Wolfe, chief of the North Queens Fire Association, told council that interest rates for fire departments have risen to 8.2 per cent from 3.45 per cent in 2021. On a 10-year loan of $600,000, fire departments would have to pay $170,000 more over that period than they would have in 2021.

“Basically the $275,000 that we get now for truck replacement would be just gobbled up in interest charges and wouldn’t be going to the actual principal of buying the truck,” he said.

“The interest for that 10-year term is what’s making a big difference for us in the Queens County fire services in purchasing trucks. It’s taken a drastic jump over the last three or four years.”

Wolfe said the cost of trucks has also risen in the past three years. He said a truck builder in Lantz reported that the cost of a custom fire chassis has jumped by about $120,000 since May 2022. The truck builder told Wolfe that his overall supply costs have also gone up by three per cent. 

Three trucks are due to be replaced over the next two fiscal years, but at the region’s lower contribution of $275,000.

Wolfe said that a one-cent increase in the tax rate now would help the fire departments cope with the increased costs.

Councillors appeared to be prepared to grant the chiefs’ request.

CAO Cody Joudry, however, suggested that staff might be able to find another way to grant the chiefs’ request without adding to the tax rate. 

After a break, Joanne Veinotte, director of corporate services, said that councillors could do what they did last year to help maintain the tax rate.

During last year’s discussions, they budgeted $442,000 from the accumulated surplus to prevent a tax rate increase. Councillors are also eyeing an estimated $650,000 surplus from 2023/24. 

Veinotte said the region didn’t actually need any of that $442,000 because they saved money on staffing and delayed capital projects. She suggested they could do the same thing this year, by pulling $126,772 from reserve funds for fire services to balance the tax rate.

“The fire department has their increase of a penny but yet you still have your no increase in tax rate. And that is something I can literally do in two minutes. So if that’s what council feels comfortable with to get this budget done and put to bed, then I can certainly do that.”

Joudry clarified that if they record a surplus in 2024/25, then the region likely wouldn’t have to dip into the accumulated surplus to pay for the fire departments’ increased truck costs.

Councillors will get the final draft of the budget on Thursday. They hope to approve it at their council meeting on Tues., April 23 at 6 p.m.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Photo Ed Halverson

Fire departments in Queens are putting smoke detectors into the hands of schoolchildren.

New Germany fire department started the initiative of handing out smoke detectors to students following a fire in Auburndale in February that claimed the lives of three children and a woman.

They challenged other departments to do the same and so far, Greenfield and North Queens have accepted.

North Queens Fire Department Chief Chris Wolfe says they’ve purchased a supply of smoke detectors locally.

“We’ll be giving out 300 first go, and then probably in a few months we’ll be doing another 300 possibly, but expanding out to grandparents and things like that, to put in their homes,” said Wolfe.

He says the smoke detector giveaway is in addition to efforts they routinely make to educate children.

“I find in Queens County and around that fire prevention is quite outstanding there,” said Wolfe. “Most of the departments take a lot of pride in teaching the kids and going to schools during fire prevention week and making sure that they are aware of fire safety.”

Wolfe says the smoke detectors will be handed out at North Queens Community school sometime in the next couple of weeks.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

Trucks outside North Queens station. Photo Credit: North Queens Fire Department

The COVID-19 pandemic seriously hurt fire services fundraising efforts in 2020.

The North Queens fire department would normally hold suppers and events throughout the year to support the community and help pay for new equipment and trucks

Those fundraisers would usually net between $60,000 and $70,000 over the course of the year.

Because of the pandemic, those events had to be cancelled.

North Queens fire chief Chris Wolfe is optimistic about restarting the fundraising efforts in the new year as Nova Scotia has begun to administer vaccines and residents have been supporting efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“We’re hoping to get back to the way it was. It’s one of those things you’re uncertain of and you just don’t know at this point but we seem to be holding our own where we are,” said Wolfe. “ Of course with what’s coming up for truck purchases, it’s going to be difficult to do that if things keep going the way they are.”

North Queens is scheduled to replace their 25 year-old pumper truck within the next three years.

Region of Queens has an agreement in place with the five departments operating in the county to contribute $275,000 towards the purchase of any new truck.

That leaves North Queens on the hook to raise the remaining $225,000 to buy the half-million dollar pumper.

In an effort to continue to raise money, the department signed on with other fire services across the province last summer to participate in a weekly 50-50 draw.

“It was a slow start there, but as the jackpot climbed, we started getting more and more people buying. We’re going to use it towards the replacement of trucks,” said Wolfe.

The jackpot reached it’s highest total of $461,595 on New Years Eve with the winner taking home $230,798.

North Queens fire service share of the proceeds for 2020 is $4,550. That’s less than 10 percent of what their fundraising efforts would normally bring in.

Wolfe says there isn’t much that can be done until the pandemic is under control.

While many groups have petitioned public health for exceptions that would allow them to resume their functions, Wolfe says they have not contacted Dr. Strang and public health about any measures that could see their hall reopen to community or fundraising events

“We haven’t mentioned to much to him there. You know they’re doing a good job with what they’re doing, trying to keep the COVID down.,” said Wolfe. “So I’m basically just following the rules and waiting for things to improve.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

Trucks outside North Queens station. Photo Credit: North Queens Fire Department

The North Queens Fire Department is opening their doors to offer kids and parents a safe way to trick or treat this year.

The North Queens Fire Association will be setting up tables for parents, kids and neighbours struggling to find a balance between following COVID-19 safety protocols and carrying on childhood traditions.

People can book a table to hand out treats to kids either by showing up Halloween night or making arrangements ahead of time by contacting the North Queens fire association through their Facebook page.

North Queens fire Chief Chris Wolfe says there will be no charge to anyone. The department just wants to provide a safe, central location for the community.

“Instead of the kids going all through the community and travelling here, there and everywhere, everybody can come there and have their own table and all the kids can just come to the hall, walk around in a circle, get their treats and be on their way,” said Wolfe.

He notes many families choose to go door to door in the subdivision across from the fire hall and hopes folks from outside the Caledonia core will take them up on their offer.

The department will start by making about 20 tables available to anyone who would like to hand out treats, but that number could increase depending on the interest from the community.

To keep traditions going for the kids, Wolfe said the community needs to find ways of adapting to the pandemic.

“Unfortunate part is, like I tell the firemen, COVID’s here and it’s not leaving so we’ve got to find new ways to do stuff,” said Wolfe.

This isn’t the first time the fire department has hosted a Halloween event, but given the state of the pandemic Wolfe said they felt it was necessary to revive the event.

“It just seems more fitting to do it this year and hopefully get a bigger turnout. Of course, they’re saying less travel is better, said Wolfe.

Anyone entering the hall will have to use hand sanitizer, wear a mask and follow social distancing requirements but Wolfe said that shouldn’t take away any of the fun of Halloween.

He says the hall will have some decorations and many fire department members will be in costume as well.

“We’re a tight-knit community and we’ve got to stick together and help one another out when we can,” said Wolfe.

He says the trucks will roll out of the bays and the fire association be ready to host all manner of ghosts and goblins between 6:00pm and 10:00pm Halloween night.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

Trucks outside North Queens station. Photo Credit: North Queens Fire Department

North Queens will soon see the return of their medical first responders.

Members of the North Queens volunteer fire department joined crews from across Queens at the Liverpool Fire Hall Thursday night to receive training on the proper use of personal protective equipment.

North Queens Fire Chief Chris Wolfe was one of those attending. He describes the evening.

“They face-fitted us with the N-95 masks and gave us our gowns and other PPE that will allow us to answer cardiac arrest calls and motor vehicle collisions,” said Wolfe.

As first reported on QCCR earlier this week, medical first responders or MFRs from across the province were told at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic they were not to respond to any calls aside from a motor vehicle collision.

This meant during an emergency, someone in Caledonia could wait 40 minutes or more for the nearest ambulance to arrive.

MFRs are generally volunteer fire fighters with the medical training necessary to stabilize someone until paramedics can arrive. They normally respond to any kind of medical emergency when called out.

Wolfe says the service still has restrictions, but can now respond to situations involving cardiac arrest in addition to motor vehicle collisions.

“The plan is to keep implementing different types of calls until we’re fully back to operation,” said Wolfe.

He says the departments have received a stock of the necessary PPEs and are now just waiting to hear the records of their training has been received by the Emergency Measures office so they can begin responding to calls again.

“Well, I feel a little bit more confident that things are on the go,” said Wolfe. “And hopefully it’s not too long and we’ll be back to full service in the North Queens area.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

Trucks outside North Queens station. Photo Credit: North Queens Fire Department

Medical first responders in North Queens are being told not to respond to calls because of COVID-19.

The MFRs are volunteer firefighters trained to attend to someone in medical distress until paramedics arrive on scene.

Queens-Shelburne MLA Kim Masland says when someone is having a medical emergency, waiting 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive from the nearest EHS base in Liverpool is too long.

“If you’re living in Caledonia and you’re in cardiac arrest, the local MFRs can no longer come to you, who actually have an AED on site, there’s no way someone’s going to get to you in time,” said Masland.

In March, the EHS/MFR coordinator told MFRs across the province they could respond only to motor vehicle accidents and to leave emergency calls to EHS paramedics because at the time, there wasn’t enough personal protective equipment to go around.

A spokesperson for Emergency Health Services says since COVID-19 restrictions have started to ease up, they have been bringing MFRs back online in 21 areas with high incidents of cardiac arrests.

Already, 11 have received the training around proper use of the new personal protective equipment and are currently operating.

The other ten are slated to return to service in the coming weeks but unfortunately, none of those are in the Western Zone servicing North Queens.

The EHS spokesperson says the North Queens MFR agency is one of the more remote agencies in the province and is also scheduled to receive training in the coming weeks.

Masland is concerned about what could happen if an ambulance can’t get to the area in time.

“We’re so rural, we’re so geographically isolated and if I’m getting text messages saying on a Saturday morning at 11:55 there’s not an ambulance to be seen from Barrington to Halifax, that’s very, very frightening,” said Masland.

North Queens Fire Chief Chris Wolfe says the community has always relied on the department as medical responders and as fire fighters.

He’s frustrated they’re being left in the dark as to why the department is no longer being dispatched for medical emergencies.

“Every time I see somebody in Caledonia they’re saying, why aren’t you guys answering medical calls?So and so had this problem the other night and you guys weren’t there,” said Wolfe. “To me, if EHS is not going to allow us to do this they should be making it more publicly aware and giving briefings to the public on what’s taking place, why we’re not responding.”

Wolfe is well aware of the strain on the province’s ambulance system.

He has been writing to government officials for the past three years to explain the dire situation residents in North Queens can face when looking for emergency medical help.

“It’s an ongoing problem and the province doesn’t seem to see that there is a problem. I’m to the point myself, that I can’t write no more or talk no more to change anything so, where do you go, right? It’s one of them things that a little town fire chief like me isn’t going to be able to fix ‘cause there’s too many people above me that make the decisions,” said Wolfe.

The president of Local 727 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, the union representing paramedics in Nova Scotia, says the EHS system in Nova Scotia is in chaos as it struggles to fill shifts and reduce offloading time for patients at hospitals.

Michael Nickerson says it’s helpful to have MFRs to service remote areas before his members arrive.

“They can provide oxygen therapy and get vital signs and treat fractures, like, splint fractures and dress wounds, bandage and whatnot,” said Niickerson. “So, they are a great, great asset.”

Nickerson says his members have been warning the province since before the COVID-19 outbreak that the pre-hospital system in Nova Scotia is not working.

The health department took those concerns to heart when they commissioned a $145,000 report by Fitch and Associates in October 2018 to review the ambulance system across the province.

The province received the report in December of that year, but Nickerson says despite repeated requests by IUOE 727, they still have not released the results.

“I don’t understand why they’re not putting it out there. They’re saying because, you know, negotiations and whatnot. Our contract’s settled, so they can’t use that as an excuse. They need to put that report out and let us see what’s in it. I’m sure there’s recommendations in there to make the system better than it is right now,” said Nickerson.

Health department spokesperson Marla MacInnis said they are currently in negotiations with Emergency Medical Care Incorporated, the company contracted by the province to provide paramedic services.

She says while the paramedics working under EMCI have a contract in place, the contract with the supplier (ECMI) is still being negotiated and releasing the Fitch report could put the province at a disadvantage.

Back in Queens, Kim Masland says now that the province has the personal protective equipment in place the focus should be on getting the medical first responders trained, and back in action.

“So let’s get our agencies back in the saddle,” said Masland. “Let’s get them doing what they do best in our communities.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson