RCMP and other emergency crews are on the scene of a possible plane crash near Mill Village. (RCMP)
UPDATED 5:35 P.M.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene of a possible plane crash on Tuesday afternoon near Mill Village.
But after extensive air and ground patrols of the area, “neither RCMP nor (search and rescue crews) observed evidence of a plane crash, a plane in distress, or a situation that required emergency response,” according to a statement from Nova Scotia RCMP on Tuesday just before 5 p.m.
Queens District RCMP received several calls at about 1:15 p.m. of emergency flares near Mill Village. One caller said they saw a plane in distress in addition to the flares, the RCMP said.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax deployed a CH149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC295 Kingfisher airplane as part of the search. Queens RCMP officers searched on the ground through rural areas and worked with drone operators as part of the search.
Firefighters and RCMP rushed to an area off Highway 103 just before 2 p.m. after reports that flares and smoke could be seen.
The RCMP thanked members of the public who called 911.
Two children have died after a boat they were in overturned in the West Caledonia area late Saturday afternoon.
RCMP, EHS, fire services and the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre responded to a 911 call of a boater in distress in Lake Rossignol just before 5 p.m.
A 45-year-old man and three children from Fall River were in a flat-bottom canoe with a motor when it capsized.
Emergency personnel reached them just before 6:30 p.m., RCMP said, when they were rushed to hospital in a search and rescue helicopter.
The man and one child survived their injuries. The other two children died, RCMP said.
The children were “10 or younger”, RCMP spokeswoman Const. Mandy Edwards said in an interview. Edwards said they’re not releasing any more specifics about the children’s ages.
“There were many challenges involved with the rescue,” she said. “The recent drought levels, the lake was quite low so there were a lot of rocks exposed as well as just trying to locate exactly where in the lake the group was for the rescue efforts. And darkness was falling. This time of year, the evening comes pretty quick.”
Edwards said the man and the children had been using the boat’s motor when it stopped working.
“The weather had changed. The motor stopped working and then they took on water. So they were trying to bail themselves out, but unfortunately, that’s when the boat overturned and that’s when they called 911.”
Edwards said the man tried CPR on the children.
“The man had performed life-saving measures such as CPR and he was attempting CPR when they were recovered. So they were all transported to hospital and it wasn’t until they arrived in hospital when they were pronounced deceased.”
Queens District RCMP are investigating, though Edwards said police don’t suspect foul play at this point.
“They would just be looking to obtain all the information involved, so that could include statements, recovery of the boat involved, just to paint that final picture of what exactly happened and put all the pieces together.”
In a Facebook post, North Queens Fire Chief Chris Wolfe thanked emergency personnel for their quick response.
“The low water and darkness brought us challenges but we managed to do what we set out to do,” he said.
“We also want to send out our condolences to the families affected by this awful tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.”
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.”
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed on Sunday. (Communications Nova Scotia)
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will have reduced hours for the next few days.
It will close at 1:30 p.m. today (Friday) and reopen Saturday at 8 a.m. It will be closed again on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., all day Sunday and reopen on Mon., Dec. 30 at 8 a.m.
It will close again on Monday at 1:30 p.m. and reopen Tues., Dec. 31 at 8 a.m.
Virtual urgent care for certain things is available at Queens General Monday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.
Nova Scotia Health advises anyone experiencing a medical emergency to call 911.
Patients of Queens Family Health can access the same-day clinic through the week for new health problems that require urgent treatment. Hours are based on provider availability. Clinic patients can call 902-354-3322 to book an appointment.
The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.
Patients of Queens Family Health can access the same-day clinic, depending on provider availability, by calling 902-354-3322.
A mobile primary care clinic is scheduled to be at Queens General on Tuesday (July 30) from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday (July 31) from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Thursday (Aug. 1) from 9 a.m. to noon.
