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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Yellowknife Fire Department has launched a major recruitment drive after losing more than a third of its firefighters since the beginning of the year.

The losses include Lieut. Craig Halifax, who resigned Wednesday.

Fire chief Albert Headrick says the fire department has progressed.

As president of the local firefighters' union, Halifax has been a vocal critic of the city's handling of the fall-out from a 2005 fire which left two firefighters dead.

Halifax said more firefighters are contemplating leaving the fire department.

"There are members that have been exploring other job opportunities," Halifax said. "It's not a big secret around the fire hall as to who those guys are."

Halifax said if the three or four resignations rumoured to follow this month occur, almost half of the full-time staff of 22 firefighters will be on probationary status. Essentially, this means about eight to 10 fire fighters will have less than six-months experience on the job.

Fire chief Albert Headrick acknowledged there has been some turnover - 38 per cent this year, according to Halifax - at the fire hall but insisted residents can still expect a quality level of service.

"We are going to still have the same level of service," said Headrick.

"We are committed to that and the public should not be worried.

"To say that we're not concerned (about the resignations) wouldn't be true. We know that we're going to get a number of resignations (and) turnover."

Yet, he maintained that turnover doesn't have to be a bad thing. "What it does is put more emphasis on us in regards to doing the training ... We'll just have to advance it to a higher level."

Headrick also pointed out that a high level of job turnover is common in many professions in the North but it doesn't mean the department is not moving to bandage the bleeding staff.

To stem the flow, Headrick is looking to beef up training and to increase its paid/on-call volunteers. Currently, their numbers rank at eight. The department is looking for 12 more to bring the division fully up to 20.

Ideally, the promising paid/on-call volunteers will then be recruited into the full-time staff, which currently recruits mostly from the south, said Headrick.

"We are investing within our local community," said Headrick.

Paid/on-call volunteers receive $50 for each three-hour call and are required to complete one ride-along (10 hours total, or two sets of five hours) each month, among other things.

Last year, Halifax and the firefighters' union approached city council, asking for 12 more firefighters to be added to the department. Halifax argued there weren't enough firefighters to safely do the job. Council passed a motion which saw two full time positions added last month. Another two will be added next year to put the compliment of full-time firefighters up to 24.

That motion was put forward by city councillor Bob Brooks. When asked to comment Brooks said that - to his knowledge - councillors David Wind and Mark Heyck were looking into the turnover rate at the fire department.

When called Wind responded, "We have a turnover rate at the fire house?"

He added that he hadn't heard of Halifax's resignation or was aware of the 38 per cent statistic.

"I hadn't heard that until you just told me. No, I don't think at this stage I want to comment, I'd be afraid to be making matters worse. I think I should leave it at that."

Heyck was not available to comment at press time.

Halifax said his move was due to a variety of reasons - but there are a few that stand out. Namely, the March 17, 2005 fire, which Halifax refers to as the "accident."

"Number one is that the past few years have been extremely difficult ... Personally, the stress and the follow-up from the accident and the workload ... I'm essentially getting to the point of burnout," Halifax said of his decision to leave after eight years at the department.

"I'm moving to another fire department because if I kept up the pace I'm having to here I would end up having to quit and leave the fire service all together - which I don't want to do," he added.

Headrick said poor morale is not an issue in his department.

"It's something that's happened in the past. We have progressed since then," said Headrick, who has been on the job for four months.

"Did (the firefighter deaths) create some problems? I would assume it has," he added.

"As being a new chief I'm not exposed to that but I know what a firefighting fatality does to the community at the fire department; it absolutely can create some internal issues.

"But I think through open line communication and dialogue is the way to rectify those situations."

Halifax isn't so sure. "Currently, with so much change and uncertainty it does make it difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You can definitely tell it hasn't improved from where it's been the past few years."