One of the trucks from the Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department that went off the road on Sunday en route to fighting a fire near White Point. (Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page)

The Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department may have lost two trucks on Sunday to icy roads near White Point, but its firefighters still helped battle a house fire.

Chief Moyal Conrad described the dangerous driving conditions he had to deal with as his crews responded to a call for help from the Liverpool Fire Department.

“We left here. It was a sunny day. There was no snow in the air. The closer we got to Liverpool, the snow was coming down. Reports were the house was fully involved and the roads were treacherous. I was driving the first truck for Greenfield. The road was really, really slippery. The first turn we almost didn’t make. I went in about a couple hundred yards and stopped and rethought my choices. We were only hundreds of yards away from the scene, so we proceeded very, very cautiously. Every turn we tried to make, the truck had a mind of itself.

“The front tires would not steer at all. Every time we went towards the ditch until we hit the hard crushed snow and it bounced back on. … There was a downhill turn at the end and as we were going down the hill, she just kept sliding, sliding, sliding and she just got to the edge and all of a sudden the front tires caught the hard snow and bounced back on the road. When it did that, it slingshot my ass end then my truck into the ditch. It put a brand new 2023, million-dolar truck into the ditch.”

Conrad was in the truck with his son Brandon, who is also the deputy chief. The chief says he’s grateful they escaped unhurt.

“I was basically holding on to him saying, ‘Oh my god, we’re going off, Brandon.’ It’s a very sickly feeling when you have no control of what you’re driving.”

The other tanker truck from Greenfield that went off the road on Sunday in icy conditions. (Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department)

Firefighters from Liverpool, Greenfield, North Queens, Port Medway and Mill Village responded to the blaze off the White Point Road on Sunday. That was during a freezing rain warning, which made already slick side roads in the area even more dangerous.

Conditions were so bad that a salt truck also ended up in the ditch.

The Greenfield department sent two tankers. Soon after Conrad’s truck left the road, another tanker from Greenfield coming the other way also slid off the road and landed on its side.

Nobody was injured in either case. And two of the crewmembers from the second truck walked to the scene and spent the rest of the day helping fight the fire, even though it was difficult to stand on the icy roads.

“And they fought fire for the rest of the afternoon and the evening and our rescue truck come along with four other firefighters that made it to the scene and they were on scene fighting fire all afternoon, all evening.”

Conrad says the truck he was driving was a newer model the department bought in 2023. He believes that one can be fixed. The other tanker was an older model from 2017 that was extensively damaged and will probably have to be replaced.

A new tanker truck costs about $1.2 million, he said.

He said he hopes insurance will help cover the costs of repairs and replacement. And there may be some money available through the Region of Queens, which provides up to $425,000 over 10 years for new equipment.

But any insurance payout will cover only what the department paid for the truck, not its replacement cost, Conrad said. So, the fire department could still be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Most of that would have to be raised through the volunteer firefighters’ fundraising efforts like community breakfasts or the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 draw.

“We need to think a lot of things out,” Conrad says. “Queens County doesn’t have a big tax base. We do not have a lot of money to work with. We do a lot of fundraising just to keep the lights on. We have to flip a lot of eggs sometimes in order to buy these trucks.” 

Conrad says they get about $80,000 a year from the Region of Queens to help run the department, half of which goes to keep the hall open. 

“That does not buy equipment, that does not train my men. All that stuff is done by the great people of this county when the fire departments put out their hands (for fundraising) … If it wasn’t for the fundraising, us out here in the country, it makes it hard to be able to purchase stuff. We had a truck plan and that truck plan has gone right out the window at the moment.”

Even so, he said he’s hopeful that things will work out.

“On a good note, in the last two days, I’ve taken a ton of calls and emails from people who want to help out. I just got a message from a fire chief in Prince Edward Island who wants to help us out.”

And he said the neighbouring North Queens Fire Association has loaned them one of their older tankers. So, he said the Greenfield department is still able to respond to fire or medical emergencies.

“We’re not defeated yet. We have the gear and we have the trucks. Members are keen. I don’t want to take away from anybody else’s fundraising, but think of us the next time we have a breakfast or something and come out and help us out.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Queens regional councillors are looking for ways to help prevent more water crises in the region. (Henryk Niestroj via Pixabay)

While residents and businesses in the Liverpool area are being asked to cut back on water, Region of Queens councillors want to find ways to improve communication and deal with any future water shortages.

Last week, councillors asked for a comprehensive staff report on the region’s water and wastewater systems. They also want staff to develop a communication system to inform customers quickly when problems arise.

Municipal water users in Liverpool and parts of Brooklyn have been asked since Nov. 1 to restrict their water usage. 

Water levels in the Town Lake Reservoir are too low to support the town’s usual consumption. 

The region has warned people that without significant amounts of rain, more drastic measures may have to be taken.

Mayor Scott Christian said it’s important to investigate longer-term solutions.

“It has appropriately alarmed a lot of our residents and a number of members of council as well,” Christian said.

“So I think it’s appropriate that we ask those questions in terms of how are we going to avoid situations like this in the future. What’s our Plan B? How can we make sure that we do all we can to protect against known or foreseeable risks to the stability or the dependence of our water supply?” 

Other councillors said they were also worried how the water supply could be affected if the Liverpool Fire Department needs to respond to a fire.

Liverpool fire chief Trevor Munroe could not be reached for comment Monday.

District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell said the region needs to address problems with its existing infrastructure.

“I think we’ve got an infrastructure problem on the west side of Liverpool from the town well to Union Street. This is very, very serious. We need to know what Plan B is, we need to look ahead and we need to look after people that already hooked up before we start hooking up new.”

The region has been criticized in the past for its efforts at spreading the word about water problems.

In summer 2023, the region imposed a boil-water order on municipal users. 

But some businesses and residents complained that they didn’t know about it until days after the order was issued. 

People were also upset at what they saw as a lack of transparency about the reasons for the order.

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton said residents and businesses need to be informed more quickly and more directly.

“I’m also running into a lot of residents who are unaware that they’re supposed to decrease their water usage right now, so I think that this is critical that this happen so that residents can be alerted when needed in a very quick manner.”

CAO Cody Joudry could not give councillors a timeline for when staff will complete their report.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

QCCR acknowledges the support of the Community Radio Fund of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative

A lighter than usual agenda was dominated by the proposed new library during the Region of Queens last council meeting.

As previously reported here, council voted to rescind their approval to build a new library at a site in Queens Crossing.

They’ve asked for studies to determine the cost to instead build either directly beside or attached to Queens Place Emera Centre.

The March 14 meeting began with a presentation from Queens Care Building Society updating their progress on the new long-term care home to be built at Queens Crossing.

The group is currently awaiting design approval before they can formally buy the land from Region of Queens.

Next council gave second reading to a Tax Exemption bylaw to support some non-profit organizations by allowing them to forgo paying their municipal property taxes.

Council passed the motion to give up $241,000 in revenue for the Region of Queens.

They also approved the naming of a new road off Shore Road in Western Head as Serenity Now Lane.

Council then rescinded library approval before awarding a community grant of $2,800 to this station, QCCR to update some broadcasting equipment.

Approval was granted to conduct an HVAC investigation at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre.

Council agreed to provide $10,975 to DUMAC Energy to complete a comprehensive heating, ventilation, and air conditioning assessment to determine the needs and find solutions to the heating and cooling systems in the building which houses the Astor Theatre.

During the discussion portion of the meeting council talked about creating a tiered support system for low-income property tax relief.

Anyone with an annual household income up to $20,000 will receive $400 in relief, from there up to $25,000 will get $350 and between $25,000 and $30,000 will enjoy $300 in property tax relief.

Council will vote on that proposal in an upcoming meeting.

Added discussion items included how to reduce the amount the Region’s fire services are paying for insurance.

Council decided they will go with a lower cost insurance provider and pay the higher deductible for any of the five departments as there have been very few claims.

The next council meeting will be held Tuesday March 28 in council chambers beginning at 6:00pm.

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