01/18/2026
The final founder being introduced from The FireSafe Foundation today!
Meet the Visionaries Behind The FireSafe Foundation 🌟
Our founders are dedicated to addressing critical health and wellness issues affecting firefighters—working toward a safer, healthier future while promoting a powerful “Do Better” approach for our first responders. 🚒❤️
Over the next 4 days, we’ll introduce you to the founders behind The FireSafe Foundation.
Day 4: Founder — Joel Neily
Joel has dedicated over 15 years of service to the Nova Scotia fire service, volunteering in several leadership and technical roles, including Captain/Engineer with Hantsport Fire and currently serving as a Firefighter and Engineer 1 with the Kentville Volunteer Fire Department. He lives in Kentville with his amazing wife and their beautiful twin girls, who remain his greatest source of strength and motivation.
Joel’s commitment to The FireSafe Foundation is deeply personal. While courageously fighting a firefighting-related cancer, he is using his time, experience, and voice to advocate for meaningful change—championing fireground safety, improved decontamination practices, departmental policy evolution, and smarter equipment decisions to better protect current firefighters and the generations that follow.
“If sharing my story helps protect even one firefighter—or ensures one family doesn’t have to walk this road—then it’s worth it. We owe it to each other, and to those who come after us, to do better.”