The Nova Scotia Firefighters School has stopped all classes after an online petition and several fire fighter groups called for the school to improve safety.

In a social media post, the school said they’re going to work on their safety paperwork, one of the recommendations of a third-party audit requested by the school.

The school said the firefighting practices outlined by the National Fire Protection Association and the International Fire Service Training Association “don’t translate into the level of comprehensive paperwork that needs to be in place.”

“Unfortunately for students of our ongoing classes, this means that, in accordance with OHS [Occupational Health and Safety] and the Department of Labour, we will be putting our classes on hold until new forms can be created and policies adjusted to reflect those changes.

Our newsroom has reached out to the department to confirm if they sent the school a stop work order.

An investigation recently found that the school had 41 safety infractions, 22 of which were considered high risk, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It’s unclear if the third-party audit mentioned in the school’s social media post is the same investigation.

Those infractions were revealed in an online petition from the family of Skyler Blackie, a firefighter who died after a fire extinguisher blew up in his face at the training facility.

The petition called for the government to create legislation that would improve safety at the school.

As of Monday, it had more than 2100 signatures, with a goal of 2500.

In a social media post, Truro fire chief Blois Currie called on other leaders in fire service to stop sending firefighters to the school. The Atlantic Provinces Professional Fire Fighters Association, along with the Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association union voiced their support for Blackie’s family and for better safety conditions.

Jessica Gillis, Blackie’s sister, previously told our newsroom that the school should not have needed an investigation to prompt changes to how they operate.

“If I knew I had people’s lives in my hands, those people who were then turning around and going out and saving our communities, you best believe that safety would be the top priority.”