Upper Tantallon residents air concerns in first public meeting since wildfire

Loud applause filled an Upper Tantallon gymnasium as resident after resident called for action from officials and governments in the wake of a devastating wildfire nearly two months ago.

More than 200 people gathered in the St. Margaret's Centre Thursday night to hear from staff at Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, RCMP, the Halifax Regional Municipality, the Nova Scotia government, and others involved in the fire response.

It was the first public meeting since 151 homes were destroyed and 16,000 people displaced when a fire that began in the Westwood Hills neighbourhood on May 28 tore through the area.

Half of the meeting was given to first responders and officials with various organisations who went over what their roles had been during the fire, with the remaining time given to representatives from affected communities to present comments.

Many of those residents raised concerns about inaccurate and slow communication with residents during and after the fires, the need for new exits into communities with one way in and out, long-standing traffic issues with the Hammonds Plains Road, and installing dry hydrants or other water sources.

"It was good. The conversation has to start somewheres, with the people, the officials — so that's what tonight was all about," said Denys Prevost after the meeting, who also spoke on behalf of the Perry Pond subdivision.

"I don't think that was the intention of the meeting but that was certainly the intention of the residents."

Prevost said he'd like to see residents given a seat at the table during the city's ongoing after-action report into how things unfolded, because without them there won't be a "360 degree view."

He and others said the new Tantallon Wildfire Life Safety Coalition should fill that role. It's a new umbrella group with members from many of the affected neighbourhoods, aiming to ensure that concrete actions are taken and lessons are learned.

"People are hurting and they need answers and they need a plan," said group spokesperson Martin Kenward of Highland Park. 

"We don't want to think small. We want what we're doing to be taken and used as a model to help other communities."

No update on possible charges

Some speakers said they were disappointed to not hear an update about whether charges will be laid around how the fire began. The provincial Department of Natural Resources and Renewables is leading that process.

Dustin O'Leary, president of the Westwood Hills Residents Association, said a clear message from residents was that they need the province and city to "stop squabbling" about responsibilities and work better together.

"The only way people are going to feel safe is if they feel like all their elected representatives ... are working together," O'Leary said after the meeting.

Ben Jessome, area MLA for Hammonds Plains-Lucasville, told reporters he appreciated people's candour and emotion.

"People expect results from all levels of government. Things that have been long-standing issues have not been dealt with and there needs to be collaboration driven by the municipality and followed up on by the province," Jessome said. 

Jessome said the "duelling" press conferences and lines of communication from both the city and province during the fire made it difficult for people to follow what was happening — himself included.

When asked what must be done better in similar emergencies, Jessome said HRM needs to learn from their mistakes in gathering impacted residents' contact information, but rarely using it.

"People were begged to call 311, saying 'We want your information, we want to know how to get in touch with you.' And there was next to no ... direct communication," Jessome said.

Area councillor Pam Lovelace, who organized the meeting, said she's looking forward to working with city staff and council to address those concerns "in an urgent manner"

"We are already looking at ways that we can fix the budget to ensure that the money and the funds are there to get egress built," she told reporters.

Lovelace said while the city's after-action report will only be compiled by the agencies involved in the fire response, residents will have a part to play after it becomes public. That's when residents can sit down with staff and first responders to fill in the gaps about what was missing and what should have been done, she said.