North Sydney first responders mourn death of colleague

First responders in North Sydney are mourning the loss of a retired volunteer firefighter who died yesterday following an accident.

The 66-year-old died after being struck by a police vehicle at the scene of an incident near his home.

Emergency responders received a call about a two-year-old child that had fallen out of a window.

A spokesperson for the Cape Breton Regional Police says a police officer was moving a marked police vehicle out of the way for an ambulance and while backing up, he struck the man.

The name of the deceased hasn't been released.

Fire Chief Lloyd Macintosh says it's a tragic situation for everyone involved.

"Accidents happen. We have to be there for our people, for the family of our peopleand we need to stay strong and be together. We have to be there for all those parties concerned," he said.

Northside area MLA EddieOrrell was a friend of the deceased.

"The victim here was a great gentleman. He devoted a lot of time to community and as I understand, he was trying to help an individual who was in distress yesterday when this happened, so a man that puts his life into dedication and volunteering in our community, it's going to be a loss for everybody," he said.

Police have turned the investigation over to the province's Serious Incident Response Team. The investigation is expected to take several months.