A volunteer service typically has members who have full-time jobs outside the fire service, meaning day-time calls can be difficult for them to respond to. (Nathalie Sturgeon/The Courier)
The fire chief and deputy chief of the Collingwood and District Volunteer Fire Department have been removed from their positions after a fire truck fatally struck a snowmobiler in Nova Scotia.
The Municipality of Cumberland council voted Wednesday to discharge fire chief Jerrold Cotton and deputy chief Andrea Bishop and bar them from the fire station in Collingwood Corner. Cotton and Bishop are married.
Blake Nicholson, 28, died last Friday after he crashed his snowmobile near Poison Lake. The fire department was called to assist, but the RCMP confirmed Nicholson was struck and killed by a fire truck driven by Cotton.
Greg Herrett, the municipality’s CAO, told the council that Cotton was not truthful about hitting Nicholson. He also confirmed Cotton responded to another emergency call on Monday, despite publicly stating he would step away from his duties.
Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday after reviewing evidence related to the incident. Friends and family of Nicholson questioned why action was not taken sooner, noting that Cotton had pleaded guilty to impaired driving in 2020.
Herrett said the municipality previously lacked the authority to remove individual fire chiefs or deputy chiefs. A bylaw enacted in 2024 allowed council to dismiss them without disbanding the department.
The RCMP continues to investigate.
