A group of Canadian firefighters are feeling the heat after their ill-fated Halloween bash. During the North Sydney Firefighters Club’s Halloween dance, a group of four people dressed up as members of the Ku Klux Klan joined in on the festivities.
In video obtained by CBC News, four people are seen entering the Nova Scotia party wearing white robes and pointed hoods. One person in the racist outfit was carrying a makeshift cross.
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In a statement to Global News, Fire Chief Lloyd MacIntosh said the people in Ku Klux Klan costumes were admitted by volunteers working the door.
“A mistake was made,” he admitted. “They were allowed in, they shouldn’t have been.”
Volunteers asked the people to remove their hoods, but some refused, MacIntosh said. He added that a volunteer took away the cross one person was carrying.
Firefighters Speak Out About the Racist Costume
In a statement posted to Facebook, the club admitted that it “made a mistake!”
“We apologize to any and all of our community who were offended or hurt by our lack of actions,” the post read. “These four individuals are in no way, shape or form associated with our organization. We promise to be better in the future.”
Wade Gouthro, the Deputy Fire Chief, also spoke out about the controversy in a Facebook post.
“I can honestly tell you that the situation at the North Sydney Firefighters club is not who we are or what we stand for,” Gouthro wrote, before admitting that he’d been “very reluctant” to address the situation due to fear of adding “fuel to the fire.”
“I can tell you this, the members of North Sydney and myself are very sorry from the bottom of our hearts and we ask for your forgiveness,” he continued. “We would certainly never intentionally hurt or insult anyone regardless of race, color, orientation or religion. We spend all of our time trying to do right by the community and are here to do all we can for anyone.”
Gouthro added that being “referred to as racists hurts bad.”
Why KKK-Dressed Attendees Were Admitted to the Party
While Gouthro was not working the party in question, he noted that he’s worked the annual event many times in the past.
“When we have Halloween dances you never know what you are going to see come through the door,” he wrote. “Most times we think, ‘Ah it is a costume’ without really thinking of the big picture or the past it represents.”
“So when you folks comment that they shouldn’t have gotten in and that we need to do better, you are right, and we will,” Gouthro continued. “… I will assure you that we are all hurting in our hearts today that we have disappointed a community that we work so hard to make better and protect.”
He concluded his post by “once again apologizing on behalf of myself and our membership and also a sincere promise to do better in the future.”
