A Halifax-area community meeting about wildfire protection had some people in the Upper Hammonds Plains area leaving with more concerns than answers.
Community members were joined Monday evening by Halifax Water representatives, Halifax Fire members and municipal staff. The goal was to discuss water pressure and fire protection.
Rev. Lennett Anderson of Emmanuel Baptist Church attended the meeting and said he felt as if his church and congregation are ill protected.
“We have fire hydrants that cannot protect us,” he said.
“In essence, the community heard that they’re there for decoration. They’re cosmetic.”
The community was the site of a major wildfire that broke out May 28, 2023. More than 16,000 residents of Hammonds Plains and Upper Tantallon were displaced. By the end, hundreds of hectares of forest and infrastructure had been burned, including homes, businesses and facilities.
That fact had many wondering what the municipality can do to prevent future losses.
“We are home of the Pockwock Watershed — the watershed that provides and supplies water to other communities in the HRM. And yet we are lacking water infrastructure, pressure and fire protection for the residents of Upper Hammonds Plains,” Anderson said.
During Monday’s meeting, Halifax Water confirmed that the design configuration of the water distribution system, which was installed in the late 1990s, means hydrants can only supply a limited amount of water for firefighting. This does not meet the standards required for continuous fire suppression, the utility said.
“This is a really serious inequity that we’re seeing, and we need to understand why these decisions were made in the 1990s and make sure that we can rectify them,” said Coun. Pam Lovelace, who also asked municipal staff to report on ways the area watermains can be upgraded.
Coun. Iona Stoddard said it was evident how important it was to address the safety concerns.
“It was very upsetting to the community and they felt like they were being overlooked, for sure,” Stoddard said.
In a statement to Global News, Halifax Water said it understands the concerns.
“Based on the parameters of the current system, we are reviewing the system pressures and available flows and identifying opportunities to improve overall conditions,” it read.
A report by Halifax’s fire department released earlier this month found that fighting the “unprecedented” wildfire last year went beyond the municipality’s capabilities.
The rapid escalation of the fire “was beyond typical operational contingencies” of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, the report said.
All this has those who call the community home worried about what will happen if another major wildfire strikes the area.