It's time for answers

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: August 12, 2008

I first met Leo Lecavalier 18 years ago. Since then, I spent seven years living across the street from him and I consider him and his family to be friends. So now that I've done full disclosure, I want to make it clear that my concern about Coldstream council dismissing the fire chief has nothing to do with my personal relationships, but with the integrity of the fire department and its role in the community. The municipality insists that it has the authority to determine who is and isn't chief of the volunteer fire department. But it's always been a time-honoured tradition in virtually every volunteer hall in B.C. that rank-and-file firefighters decide who is not only a member, but also who serves as chief. What is the point of members electing a chief if council is just going to go against that recommendation? Who is better qualified to determine who should be chief — actual firefighters or politicians and bureaucrats? Volunteer fire halls have generally operated at arm's length from municipalities, regional districts or fire protection districts because they are volunteers. Unlike their big-city counterparts, fighting fires is not their full-time job. They squeeze this in between their own careers and families, simply for the betterment of the community.

But while they are classified as volunteers, don't get the impression that they aren't professionals. The training they go through is extensive and they are able to handle a variety of emergency situations. Knowing that they may be risking their own lives, the firefighters must have a chief they have confidence in. If council isn't going to give a bunch of dedicated volunteers some say over their activities, why be there? Where is the sense of ownership and belonging if their wishes are just cast aside? Council may argue that volunteers are municipal staff because they get paid, but how they financially treat these so-called employees is embarrassing. Based on practices and call-outs, firefighters on average get about $2,500 a year, while the chief takes in a whopping $3,000 (there is also an annual $8,500 honorarium split among the department's nine executive officers). It's peanuts when you consider the actual time put into training, various activities around the hall and helping out with special events such as fireworks and Christmas light-up.

What would happen to Coldstream taxes if the volunteers were gone, and full-time firefighters had to be hired? Just for reference, Vernon's fire chief had a base salary of $87,430 last year. And while you'd think a smaller municipality would have a smaller pay scale than a larger one, the salary for Coldstream's chief administrative officer wasn't far off Vernon's in 2007.It's the volunteer firefighters doing the municipality a favour, not the other way around. In the end, mayor and council were elected on behalf of the residents of Coldstream. It's time that those same voters were provided some basic information. What legislation did council follow to terminate a fire chief elected by the department membership? What was the wording of the motion to do so? Which council members voted for it? It's unlikely the municipality will be forthcoming with the information so residents may have to take direct action. That can be done either by writing letters to mayor and council, or asking to be a delegation at the next council meeting. The bottom line is that residents deserve some answers. Why is a volunteer being fired? And if mayor and council believe they made the right decision for the community and their actions are legally defendable, then they should have no problem with answering some questions. What's there to hide?