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NOVA SCOTIA

Crown seeks penalty for firefighters school

STEVE BRUCE sbruce@herald.ca @Steve_courts

The Crown is seeking $123,000 in financial penalties for the Nova Scotia Firefighters School for safety violations in connection with the death of a Truro firefighter.

Skyler Blackie, 28, suffered fatal head injuries March 9, 2019, when a fire extinguisher exploded during a training exercise at the school in Waverley. He died in hospital 11 days later.

A lawyer pleaded guilty on behalf of the school last September to two charges under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act: failing to recertify a used fire extinguisher and failing to ensure employees were aware of the hazard of using an extinguisher with an expired inspection certificate.

The school was supposed to be sentenced Monday in Dartmouth provincial court, but lawyers appeared by phone to request an adjournment until restrictions on in-person proceedings because of the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted.

Judge Amy Sakalauskas ordered counsel to appear in court by phone again next week to set a new date for the sentencing hearing.

In a brief filed with the court last week, prosecutor Alex Keaveny outlined the Crown’s sentencing position.

“This fatality was both foreseeable and avoidable,” Keaveny wrote. “Regular inspection and maintenance of fire extinguishers are mandatory safety requirements aimed at ensuring these tools are safe and effective.

“NSFS could have, and should have, ensured Skyler’s protection against the hazards of a faulty fire extinguisher, and Skyler should have returned home safely to his family at the end of the workday unharmed.”

A detailed statement of facts will be filed prior to the sentencing, but Keaveny’s brief says Blackie was using a fire extinguisher during a certification course at the school.

“During the exercise, Skyler was required to choose a fire extinguisher from a selection of different types of extinguishers provided by the school,” Keaveny told the court. “The fire extinguisher he chose was in poor condition and exploded, striking him in the neck and face and causing fatal injuries.”

EXTINGUISHER DONATED

Keaveny said the extinguisher was one of several donated to the school following the closure of the Imperial Oil refinery in Dartmouth.

“The donated extinguishers were not inspected or serviced when received by the school, (and) the school had no maintenance and inspection records for the extinguishers,” he said.

“The annual and hydrostatic inspections for the extinguisher used by Skyler were out of date by three-plus years. When the extinguisher was inspected post-incident, it was determined it would have failed inspection because of the amount of surface rust present.”

The prosecutor is recommending the judge impose a $20,000 fine with a $3,000 victim fine surcharge and order the school to make a $100,000 donation to the labour minister’s education

trust fund or another creative sentencing initiative.

The Crown also wants the school to conduct three one-hour safety presentations for approved audiences, to be video-recorded and used as a safety resource by the Labour Department.

TRAGIC IMPACT

“If NSFS had inspected and maintained the donated extinguishers as required, Skyler Blackie would have used a safe device for his certification and he would still be with his family and fighting fires for the people of Truro today,” Keaveny said.

“Instead, Skyler’s life has been lost, and the lives of his family, friends and colleagues have been changed forever.”

There is nothing the court can do to reverse the tragic impact of the offences, he said.

“However, in sentencing NSFS for its failures, you can send the message that these serious OHSA violations have real consequences. You can ensure this message of deterrence and denunciation will be felt by NSFS and heard loud and clear by others in the industry.”

During Monday’s telephone appearance, Keaveny told Sakalauskas several people who knew Blackie want to participate in the sentencing hearing. He said four individuals want to read their victim impact statements to the court.

IN-PERSON HEARING PREFERRED

“It is their preference, and my preference as well, that we participate in person if possible (rather than) over the phone or by video,” he said. “If we get to a point where there’s no possibility of getting it done in a reasonable amount of time, we could consider those options, but our first choice would be in person.”

John Shanks, lawyer for the firefighters school, has yet to file a sentencing brief. He told the judge Monday he echoed the Crown’s comments regarding the format of the sentencing.

“It would be most meaningful to be able to have this in person,” Shanks said. “It also allows the Crown and the defence to put a fine touch on what is effectively an agreed statement of facts between us, subject to a couple of points of modification. I think there is benefit in that to assist the court as well.”

SCHOOL PRIVATELY RUN

The firefighters school is a privately run facility. Its board of directors includes a representative from every county and the Nova Scotia fire marshal.

The Labour Department laid the charges in November 2020 following a 20-month investigation.

Blackie, who lived in Debert, began his career as a full-time firefighter with the Truro Fire Service in October 2013 after five years as a volunteer with Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency in Fall River.

More than 2,500 people – including family, friends, firefighters, police officers and other first responders – attended a regimental funeral for Blackie at Colchester Legion Stadium in Truro on March 30, 2019. Hundreds lined the streets to pay their respects as a fire engine carried his casket to the arena.

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2022-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

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