The Nova Scotia RCMP is investigating after someone damaged a pipe at a filling station in Antigonish County used by a local fire department.
In a release, police said Antigonish District RCMP responded to a report of damage to the filling station on Old Monastery Road in Monastery around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday.
“RCMP officers learned that sometime between July 31 and August 8, the filling pipe on a water station, utilized by a local fire department, was cut,” it said.
“The damage caused to the filling station could have delayed a response by the fire department, affecting public safety.”
RMCP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Marshall said in an interview that the filling station was used by the nearby Tracadie & District Fire Department.
Images shared by the RCMP show a deep gash in the pipe.
“It wasn’t cut all the way around, but it was cut through,” said Marshall, saying the air coming in from the gash would affect the water pressure.
“While it doesn’t look crazy because the whole pipe’s not completely cut off, it would still impede the ability of firefighters to pull the water out of the filling station.”
He said the pipe has since been fixed and thankfully the issue was spotted before an emergency happened.
“But ultimately, had they not noticed it was cut prior to needing the station to go fight a fire … they could have had issues or difficulty using that filling station,” he said.
“Of course, it’s concerning when you’re talking about that kind of infrastructure that’s being damaged.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Antigonish RCMP at 902-863-6500.