More than five years after a firefighter tragically died because of an accident at the Nova Scotia Firefighters School, the province is cutting ties with the institution.

The government made the decision following an audit, which they released on Tuesday, that outlined major shortcomings in the leadership at the school, as well as safety and accountability.

“The results are clear, and they are appalling. We are ending our relationship with the school and will set up an interim training plan for firefighters right away,” said Kim Masland, Minister of Emergency Management, in a news release.

“Our firefighters respond when other people’s lives are on the line. They need and deserve, at minimum, a safe place to train. We’re going to ensure they have one.”

Many fire departments were relying on the school to get certain training exercises, and in the next few weeks the province will create what they call a “steering committee” for firefighter training to oversee an interim training plan and to guide a long-term training model.

They plan to create a comprehensive training model once a broader review of fire services is in, but they hope to have interim training by the fall.

Skylar Blackie died in 2019 after a faulty fire extinguished blew up in his face. His family revealed a report from the province that showed he found rust on the extinguisher, but an instructor told him to use it anyway.

The school was issued a stop work order in August of 2024 after failing an inspection, and the order was lifted in mid-September that year, according to the province.

Several firefighters unions renewed their calls for change to the fire school around the time of the stop work order, and they also called for the leader of the school, John Cunningham, step down.

No formal internal review happened after Blackie’s death, and the school denied the family access to basic documents, like by-laws, according to the Tuesday audit.

More to come…