Two Nova Scotia volunteer fire chiefs banned after a deadly collision between a fire truck and a snowmobiler - two recent DUIs charges in the US involving firefighters
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In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, a deadly collision between a fire truck and a snow mobiler led to the lifetime ban of a Fire Chief and a Deputy Chief from their volunteer fire department.
Last week, a fire truck killed a 28-year-old snowmobiler who had already crashed in to a snow bank in Collingwood during the third week of February 2025. The volunteer fire chief was driving and the deputy chief was a passenger in the fire truck when the they hit the snowmobiler fatally.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay explained that first responders were providing aid to the snowmobiler on the roadway when the accident occurred.
Mayor Rod Gilroy stated that action became necessary after solid evidence emerged on Monday regarding the fire truck’s role in the deadly accident. Despite the chief's claim that he would step down, he reportedly responded to another emergency call that same day.
Using a recently enacted bylaw, the municipality dismissed the two chiefs, avoiding the drastic measure of disbanding the entire fire department. Greg Herrett, the municipality’s chief administrative officer, noted that the bylaw had been introduced in 2024 after the volunteer chief was convicted in 2020 for impaired driving.
"The only option that was available to the municipality to deal with a situation like this would be to disband the department. Pretty extreme option. And so with the enactment of the bylaw, we were able to [discharge the volunteer fire chiefs] this time around," Herrett said to reporters.
Cover photo shows a CTV screenshot from the first video below.
Other recent incidents involving North American firefighters accused of impaired driving:
On February 26, Firehouse.com reported about a 28-year old New York Fire Department firefighter charged with manslaughter charged with driving while intoxicated (while off duty). A 23 year old was killed when he was hit in an intersection by the 28-year old off duty firefighter.
On February 26t , TV20 also reported about a fire chief in Newberry, Florida, who resigned after being arrested for driving under the influence. The chief has pleaded not guilty.
More information in these sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cumberland-county-snowmobiler-fire-truck-1.7469231