HALIFAX — Two Nova Scotia fire chiefs have lost their volunteer posts after municipal officials found they were not being truthful when explaining what happened after the fire truck they were in struck an injured snowmobiler who later died.
In a statement released this week, Cumberland County council found that fire Chief Jerrold Cotton and acting Chief Andrea Bishop had breached the municipality's code of conduct, saying the pair repeatedly claimed their truck did not hit the 28-year-old victim last Friday.
Council learned that emergency responders were called to help the snowmobiler after he crashed his machine on Wyvern Road south of Collingwood Corner — and the RCMP later confirmed he was hit by the fire truck as he was receiving help.
"They had multiple opportunities to raise the prospect that the truck could have hit the victim," says a staff report reviewed by council on Tuesday. "They failed to do so in a timely and forthright fashion."
As well, council found that after Cotton was asked to step down pending an investigation, he was spotted driving a fire truck on Monday as he and Bishop responded to a medical assistance call.
"They knew, or they ought to have known, that Cotton appearing at a medical call after publicly agreeing to step aside ... was inappropriate in the extreme," the report says. "These actions ... display both an obvious disregard for the gravity of the situation and extremely poor judgment."
On Wednesday, council also banned the two from entering the Collingwood & District Volunteer Fire Department. Council has also asked for an external review of the fire department’s response to the initial call.
"This (fire truck) incident and one that followed have sparked outrage in the community and created serious concerns regarding the leadership of the Collingwood & District Volunteer Fire Department," the report says.
On Friday, Mayor Rod Gilroy said he had spoken with the RCMP earlier in the day.
"They said it's a very fluid and rapidly changing investigation," Gilroy said in an interview, adding that he specifically asked the Mounties if they could comment on the young man's cause of death. "They said, 'No, we cannot answer that question for you at this time.'"
The mayor said the RCMP were still interviewing witnesses. "They're a long way from the finish line," he said.
The RCMP issued a brief statement later in the day appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Attempts Friday to reach Cotton and Bishop for comment were unsuccessful.
No charges have been laid and the RCMP have seized the fire truck and the victim's snowmobile. "The driver of the snowmobile ... was struck by a fire truck while being attended to in the roadway," the RCMP said in a statement Monday. "The man was pronounced deceased a short time later."
In an earlier statement, Gilroy said he and council members remain "heartbroken" over the young man's death.
"We trust that the police investigation related to the incident will come to a just conclusion," the mayor said. "The municipality acted swiftly and decisively to deal with the actions and inactions of the chief and acting chief."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2025.
The Canadian Press
