Potential change to firefighter certification and training rules could end up costing Highlands East thousands of dollars

Mandatory training and certification for firefighters could cost Highlands East as much as $70,000.

Acting Fire Chief Chris Baughman did a report for council making suggestions to the province as it considers changes to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.

The proposed change calls for new recruits to be certified by January 1^st of 2019, while those currently on a roster would have to be certified exactly a year later.

Mayor Dave Burton says rural communities don’t have the same ability as larger centres to absorb that kind of cost.

Among Baughman’s suggestions is extending the certification deadline.

The report goes onto say with municipal elections coming up in October, councils may not have time to adjust their budgets to accommodate the increased cost.

Click here to see Baughman’s report, which is being submitted to the province.