Springhill Fire Department

🚒 Springhill Fire Department — Share Your Story ❤️

The work we do doesn’t always end when the call is over. Sometimes, a moment, a conversation, or a helping hand stays with someone long after we’ve left.

Have you been touched by the Springhill Fire Department? Has one of our members made a difference in your life, helped you through a difficult situation, or gone out of their way to make a tough day a little easier?

We want to hear from you.

We’re collecting stories from members of our community to share on our page and display in the fire hall. Whether it’s a big moment or something small that meant a lot to you, we’d love to hear about it.

Stories can be submitted by private message to the Springhill Fire Department page or by sending an email to [email protected]

For privacy and appropriateness, all submissions will be reviewed by the Fire Chief before being shared or displayed. Redactions or changes may be required to protect personal information, the privacy of those involved, or the integrity of an incident.

You don’t have to write anything fancy—just tell us what happened and why it mattered to you.

We’re proud to serve Springhill. Now we’d like to hear about the moments where our members made a difference to you. ❤️🚒

🎉🚒 Happy Birthday to Firefighter Kennie Rector!🚒🎉

Today we’re wishing Kennie a very Happy Birthday!

Always ready with a smile and a good laugh, Kennie is a great addition to the Springhill Fire Department crew. We’re happy to have him as part of the team and look forward to plenty more calls, training nights, and fire hall shenanigans along the way.

Please join us in wishing Firefighter Kennie Rector a fantastic birthday! 🎂🎈

Happy Birthday, Kennie — hope you have a great one! 🚒🔥

Today was a hard day.

It was always going to be a hard one. The day had come to really say goodbye to our old home, but we could not have expected to be so intimately involved in that moment.

Opened in 1972, the old firehall served the firefighters and the community of Springhill well in the decades since. A place of shared joy in moments of celebration, a place of shared grief in moments of loss, and a sanctuary for our firefighters after more bad calls than we care to remember.

Many of us, firefighter or not, can summon more than one memory from that storied building. Many a Springhiller has celebrated a birthday, a wedding (or two..) or an anniversary there. Perhaps the memory you keep is of the building itself in a different time. Wood paneling in the lounge, the phone number printed across the big red bay doors, or maybe the sound of the old Scot pulling out on its way to a call. Maybe it was Mike sitting with the bay doors open on a sunny summer day. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that maybe, just maybe, the memory was of bingo..

For many today, the memory was of their first weeks and months in the fire service, with Springhill or another department, as they began their basic training in the old hall. This was mentioned more than once as we navigated today’s fire with support from neighbouring departments. To Oxford, Collingwood, Southampton, and Amherst Fire – thank you for being there for and with us today, and every other day. Pugwash and Westchester stepped up to help provide coverage in these communities as well. The fire service in Cumberland is small but mighty, and it is through the support of these and other departments that we are able to do the work we do. A quick note on this: on learning of the fire in Springhill, Amherst Fire reached out to make sure we knew they were ready and willing to show up with us today. There isn’t much I can say that sums up the fire service more than actions like that.

To our Auxiliary – thank you for always showing up for us, and with us. You consistently make the hard days a little softer with your kindness and attention, and today was no different. We cannot overstate our appreciation for each and every one one of you.

To those in the community who shared a kind word or an offer of support, thank you. To the employee from Foodland who walked over with cases of water – I didn’t get a chance to stop and thank you, but I did see you. It is those moments, those acts, that make a name on a map truly a community.

Today’s fire was neither a planned training event nor was it suspicious in nature. What it was, however, was a hard day made a bit easier by the kindness of friends and neighbours.

Stay safe and be kind,

Matthew Ward
Fire Chief

🎉🚒 Happy Birthday to Firefighter Derrick Wood! 🚒🎉

Today we’re celebrating Derrick and more than 30 years of dedication to the fire service.

After all those years, countless calls, training nights, community events, and plenty of time spent around the fire hall, Derrick’s motivation remains pretty simple — help his community. ❤️

His experience, dependability, and willingness to lend a hand have made him a valued part of the Springhill Fire Department for many years.

Please join us in wishing Derrick a very Happy Birthday! 🎂🎈

Thanks for everything you do, Derrick — here’s to another great year! 🚒

🎉🚒 Happy Birthday to Firefighter Jim Wilcockson! 🚒🎉

Today we're celebrating one of the great teammates at the Springhill Fire Department.

Jim is the kind of firefighter every department is lucky to have—always willing to lend a hand, quick to volunteer, and someone you can count on when the work needs to get done. Whether it's responding to calls, helping at events, or pitching in around the hall, he's always there with a smile and a great attitude.

Of course, around the station he's also known by a few different names...RJ, Regular James, Ice Man, and the crowd favourite, Sporty Spice. Somehow they all seem to fit!

From everyone at the Springhill Fire Department, we hope you have an amazing birthday, Jim. Thanks for everything you do for our department, our members, and our community.

Happy Birthday, RJ! 🎂🎈🚒

🚨 Every Second Counts. Every Life Matters. 🚒

When emergency vehicles are responding or crews are working on the roadside, the choices you make behind the wheel can help save lives.

Pull over. Slow down. Move over when it's safe. Follow the directions of traffic control personnel. These simple actions give firefighters, paramedics, police officers, tow operators, and other emergency responders the space they need to do their jobs safely.

We're all members of the same community. The person behind the wheel of the fire truck could be your neighbour, friend, coworker, or family member—and the person we're responding to could be someone you know.

Our goal is simple: to help those in need and to make sure everyone—our responders, the public, and those waiting for us at home—are safe.

Thank you for doing your part to keep Springhill and our surrounding communities safe. ❤️

🎉 Happy Birthday to Captain James “Jim Jim” MacDonald! 🎉

If you’ve ever had a question around the hall, chances are Jim Jim had the answer… and if he didn’t, he’d figure it out with you.

Want to know how a piece of equipment works? Just ask. He’ll happily walk you through it, explain it, and probably have you trying it yourself before you’re done.

Now, if you’re lucky enough to be partnered with Captain MacDonald on the fire ground, here’s one piece of advice: keep up! Jim Jim has exactly one speed… GO! If there’s work to be done, he’s already halfway there. You might end the call covered in soot, soaked to the knees, and wondering what just happened—but you’ll also know the job got done.

Thanks for everything you do for our department, your willingness to teach, and the energy you bring to every call.

From all of us at the Springhill Fire Department, have a fantastic birthday, Jim Jim! We hope your day is a little slower than your fireground pace! 🚒🎂

There’s nothing quite like a community coming together to make great things happen.

Thanks to the incredible support of our community through the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50, the Springhill Fire Department was able to add a brand-new storage shed to our station.

This new space will allow us to store seasonal and lesser-used equipment, creating more room inside the hall for training, emergency response, and the day-to-day work that helps keep our community safe.

A big thank you to Springhill Home Hardware for helping us get all the materials ordered and delivered. We truly appreciate your excellent service and support throughout the project.

We’d also like to recognize SFD Captain Joe Keizer and Edward Keizer for building the shed. It turned out fantastic, and we’re grateful for the quality work that will benefit our department for years to come.

Every improvement we make is possible because of the continued support of our community. Thank you to everyone who purchases Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 tickets—you are helping volunteer fire departments like ours invest in equipment and improvements that make a real difference.

Thanks to the incredible support of our community and the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 Draw, the Springhill Fire Department has been able to purchase a new gas detection kit!

This new equipment includes:
• 2 gas monitors
• 1 bump test station
• Calibration gas cylinder

These monitors are vital tools for keeping both our firefighters and our community safe. They allow us to quickly detect dangerous atmospheres when responding to carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, gas odour calls, and other hazardous incidents.

Every ticket purchased in the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 Draw helps volunteer fire departments like ours acquire equipment that makes a real difference. Thank you for your continued support—it helps us better serve and protect the residents of Springhill.