New Brunswick·NewChief Bradley MacLeod of the Salisbury Fire Department says a recent fire at the town’s only grocery store was yet another reminder that poor cell service in and around his community needs to improve.Mayor of town near Moncton says service is ‘unacceptable,’ and improvements aren’t coming fast enoughRhythm Rathi · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoChief Bradley MacLeod of Salisbury Fire and Rescue says he has difficulties making calls from within the fire hall. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC)When the only grocery store in Salisbury was burning, firefighters struggled to communicate with the owners to confirm no employees were inside, fire Chief Bradley MacLeod says.Their calls kept cutting out and text messages wouldn’t go through.The recent fire at the Independent grocery store was yet another reminder that poor cell service in and around his community needs to improve, MacLeod said.And when it comes to emergencies, seconds count, he said.”It’s been very frustrating, very, very difficult for us. We’ve kind of just dealt with it for a long, long time. But I think the weekend where we lost our grocery store, enough is enough. It’s too much.”.Poor cell and internet service in the town, a drive of about 23 kilometres west of Moncton, creates daily headaches for emergency responders, he said. Salisbury Fire and Rescue can encounter difficulties in its day-to-day emergency responses because of poor cell coverage in the southeastern New Brunswick community. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC)He pointed to the difficulties Salisbury Fire and Rescue faces loading maps in response to accident calls.”If we don’t have that information coming to us, it creates delays and confusion,” MacLeod said.The department also needs good service to operate a third-party application it uses to notify firefighters of emergencies. That app works on the cellular network.Depending on the individual’s location in the community, MacLeod said, the emergency responder may or may not receive the alert. WATCH | Locals in Salisbury say dropped calls and dead zones are worrying:Trying to make a call in Salisbury? Try again … and againInadequate cellphone service is impeding local officials and first responders, and they say something needs to change.This means the department remains uncertain of how many firefighters will report, and which apparatus can be assigned to whom.”I’ve had it personally happen to me where the call didn’t come into my phone, and the only way I knew there was a call was I saw the fire truck going down the road.”Mayor calls for immediate actionThe Town of Salisbury has been asking for better cell coverage for a couple of years now. Mayor Robert Campbell said trying to make a call from town hall is a frustrating experience that often requires a walk to find a spot with coverage.”Our CAO, when he’s doing calls with me, he’ll have to stay in certain parts of his office, [if] he was to move around the building or get called downstairs, the calls will drop,” Campbell said. “It makes it very hard to operate during crisis mode. If you can’t rely on cellular network then you’re at risk, and we’re facing that.” Salisbury Mayor Robert Campbell says poor cell service affects his calls with town staff, even when they are in the same building. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC)Campbell says the current level of service is “unacceptable” and even though he has complained to different levels of government and cellular service providers, there haven’t been any improvements.A new Rogers cell tower on Main Street, across from the fire hall, will be activated in 2026, the company said in an email to CBC.“We cover nearly the entire population of New Brunswick with our wireless network and are continually making upgrades,” said a spokesperson. Not on list for new cell towersBell said in response to “customer feedback in the Salisbury area,” it recently made “adjustments” to improve service in the region.Bell is installing 10 new cell towers across rural New Brunswick under a recently announced provincial partnership, but Salisbury is not on the list.“The 10 New Brunswick sites … were selected in collaboration with the government of New Brunswick, based on a range of factors, including the use of existing government-owned infrastructure,” Bell said in an email.Campbell wasn’t reassured.A new Rogers cell tower, across from the Salisbury fire hall, will be activated in 2026, the company says. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC)“Quite frankly, we get a lot of the buzzwords, a lot of the talk, but not true meaningful action,” he said.The Canadian Telecommunications Association said investments by their members have been made to improve cellular service across New Brunswick.”New Brunswick’s vast geography and low population density make deployment complex and costly, and industry cannot meet this challenge alone.”Kiersten Natis, who lives in Salisbury, says service in the area is “horrible.” Her calls often drop, which is a concern for the mother of a young child.“So in the event that we had an emergency, connectivity is not that great. So I fear for my family safety.”Tanya MacLeod, who works at a local pharmacy, said she often struggles to hear the person on the other end of her phone.CBC News tried the New Brunswick government multiple times for a response but did not get one. ABOUT THE AUTHORRhythm Rathi is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick in Moncton. He was born and raised in India, and attended journalism school in Ontario. Send your story tips to rhythm.rathi@cbc.ca
Salisbury emergency responders frustrated by poor cell coverage
