Retaining new members key for Mabou department

April 21, 2026

A total of 27 members currently serve the community as part of the Mabou and District Volunteer Fire Department. Pictured here are (kneeling) John Frank; (standing, front row, from left) Nicole MacLean and Cate Lake-Thompson; (standing, back row, from left) Connor MacLean, Cathy MacEachen, Jude Rankin, Richard Heukshorst, Donnie MacDonald, Vincent Campbell, Dylan MacLean, Tyler Maclean, Cohen Cameron and chief Charlie MacKinnon. *(Photo: Dave MacNeil)*

Attracting and retaining new members is the biggest challenge facing most volunteer firefighters, and the Mabou department is no different.

Formed in October 1968, the Mabou and District Volunteer Fire Department serves an area of about 580 square kilometres, one of the largest geographical service areas of any volunteer force in the province.

Charlie MacKinnon, who joined the department in 2011 and became its ninth chief in 2023, says the cost associated with outfitting a member makes retaining that firefighter even more important than attracting them in the first place.

With a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) costing approximately $15,000 and turnout gear adding another $6,000 just for the pants and jacket, it costs well over $20,000 to outfit one member.

The Mabou department currently has 27 serving members,16 of which are trained medical first responders, and MacKinnon says that number hasn’t fluctuated much in recent years. He says the optimal number is probably between 30 to 35, as you need at least 14 members for any structure fire.

Showing off the updated equipment bought for the department’s pumper in the past few years are Connor MacLean, left, and chief Charlie MacKinnon. MacLean is the third generation of his family to have served with the department, following in the footsteps of his father, A.D. MacLean and grandfather, Gary MacLean. (Photo: Dave MacNeil)

“Trying to recruit new members is the hardest thing right now,” he adds. “Every department is in the same boat. We call it the five-to-two ratio. You bring in five members and two will stay.”

“Members need to attend 20 per cent of meetings, 20 per cent of trainings and respond to 20 per cent of calls in order to get a tax benefit credit and volunteer license plate,” he explains.

“If you want to do it, you’ll find the time to do it. The younger members we have here, you can see it in them. They have that drive.”

Lloyd Campbell, who handed over the reins to MacKinnon three years ago, is the department’s second longest serving chief at 14 years, surpassed only by Pat MacDonald, who led the department in its first 15 years of existence. He says he asked a younger member shortly after joining for his impression of the department, and that he told him, “I didn’t know that this was missing in my life.”

“That’s the kind of member you love to have,” he adds. “He’ll be a lifer.”

Campbell says the volunteer department in Port Hood had served the Mabou area prior to 1968, and they answered two structure fires that year — a home and a business — and that was the catalyst for the formation of the department.

He says the department has been very fortunate to have the support of the community it serves, especially when it comes to fundraising. He points to the longtime contribution of Mary Loretta Beaton, who passed away four years ago, but not before helping raise more than $100,000 by spearheading decades-worth of fundraising dinners for the department.

Significant contributions have also come from within the department, he notes, with firefighter Nicole MacLean organizing raffle draws. But probably the most significant of those, at least from a dollar standpoint, is the contribution of John Frank, who has been a member of the department for more than 20 years.

Frank, who is a St. John Ambulance-certified first aid instructor, has donated back to the department every penny of profit from more than two decades of first aid classes.

“That’s something we’ve acknowledged over the years,” Campbell notes. “But it’s an amazing amount of money that he’s donated.”

Nicole MacLean, left, and John Frank are two of the most active fundraisers for the Mabou department. MacLean spearheads regular raffle draws, while Frank, a St. John Ambulance-certified first aid instructor, has donated every penny of proceeds from his first aid classes for more than two decades. (Photo: Dave McNeil)

He says fundraising has become a lot easier with the launch of the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 Draw a few years ago, which has contributed a considerable amount of money to his department’s operating budget.

That money has helped keep the Mabou department on track when it comes to having the equipment needed to properly serve its coverage area.

MacKinnon says former Chief Campbell put a lot of effort into updating the equipment on the department’s truck, and that has allowed him to focus more on updating the turnout gear. He says they’re in “pretty good shape” when it comes to vehicles, with a 2022 pumper being the most recent addition. The next purchase is likely to be a new equipment van sometime before 2029.

But while the Mabou department has the most up-to-date equipment, MacKinnon is quick to point out that the most important intangible are the members.

“I’m very happy with the crew we have,” he adds. “Everyone gets along very well. Everybody’s very good to help each other out, from the guys who just started to the senior guys.”

“I had some guys who’ve been in the department for 30 years and they say how much they like to come to practice now because of how much energy the young fellows have. It’s so good to hear that.”