A waterbombing helicopter is seen carrying water as emergency responders battle the wildfire burning in Tantallon, N.S., outside of Halifax on on May 31, 2023.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
A new report says Halifax’s fire department was not ready to battle a major wildfire in 2023 that erupted in a city suburb.
The fire that started on May 28, 2023, in Upper Tantallon spread quickly, with 22 structures engulfed in flames within an hour and about 128 on fire within four hours.
The blaze forced the evacuation of 16,400 people, and by the time the fire was under control six days later, 200 structures were destroyed – including 151 homes.
The incident report has identified 13 areas for improvement with accompanying recommendations, and says the flow of information between front-line firefighters and the division chief must be improved.
It says there was a lack of clarity regarding the expected response from firefighters to the Upper Tantallon blaze, and that Halifax fire officials should make a plan for how nearby fire departments can assist with fighting major wildfires in the future.
Despite the scale of the fire, which consumed more than 900 hectares, there was no significant injury and no deaths, a result the report says highlights the strength of the firefighting response.