HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-12-14, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017.
Firefighters back on call after tumultuous five days
Smiling faces
North Huron Council members and Fire Department of North Huron personnel alike were all
smiles late Monday night after a resolution was reached that brought the firefighters back onto
the job and gave them significant input into the hiring of the department's next chief. Deputy -
Reeve James Campbell, centre, is seen here greeting and shaking hands with firefighters
following the adjournment of Monday night's special council meeting at the Emergency
Services Training Centre in Blyth. The centre was the site, just five days earlier, of the mass
resignation of the department in protest of decision-making and hiring practices imposed on
the department by North Huron. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Continued from page 1
Yolanda Ritsema-Teeninga and
Brock Vodden attended the meeting.
After a private meeting amongst
themselves, 41 members of the fire
department walked into the centre's
meeting room to discuss the issue.
After being invited by firefighters,
reporters for The Citizen were asked
to leave by North Huron staff
because the meeting was classified
as a private staff meeting.
After the meeting, Townsend,
Kregar, Captain Jeff Howson and
numerous other firefighters
informed The Citizen that they had
resigned from the fire department.
Townsend told The Citizen on
Friday morning that the decision was
due to irreconcilable differences
between the firefighters and North
Huron.
In the meantime, North Huron
enacted a contingency plan that
included the Huron County mutual
aid plan and neighbouring fire
departments in the case of an
emergency.
Townsend wanted ratepayers to
know they were safe during this
period.
"We haven't turned our back on
our ratepayers, we've been in
contact with the mutual aid co-
ordinator for the county. We, the
people that left, wanted to make sure
the ratepayers of North Huron were
protected and were left in a situation
where they are covered under mutual
aid.
"I spoke at great length with
Huron County mutual aid
coordinator and Goderich Chief
Steve Gardner and the other chiefs in
the county last night," Townsend
said prior to the FDNH resolution
being reached.
North Huron Council held another
special meeting at 3 p.m. on Friday,
Dec. 8, which was closed to the
public. Out of that meeting, two
motions were passed. The first stated
that North Huron Council would
direct staff to bring together captains
from both the Blyth and Wingham
fire stations for the special council
meeting on Monday night. The
second motion stated that a
representative of the Ontario Fire
Marshal's office would be invited to
that meeting. Both motions were
carried.
Over the weekend, members of the
FDNH issued the following
statement:
"To our community: Fire
Department of North Huron
(FDNH) personnel were forced to
take drastic measures due to the lack
of support and recognition of North
Huron Council on a very serious
matter impacting our community.
On duty
Despite resigning en masse the night before, Fire Department of North Huron members
responded to a medical call just outside of Blyth on Friday morning. They would respond to
another call in the community in the time following the resignation and before the issue was
resolved on Monday night. During that time, Deputy -Chief Matt Townsend and Captain Jeff
Howson assured members of the community that they were covered and would remain safe
while the department's issues with its governing body were resolved. (Dennyscottphoto)
"FDNH personnel provided North
Huron Council with 'the right
solution to a very serious situation'.
"Not only was a solution
presented to Reeve Neil Vincent and
the CAO prior to any
announcements, FDNH personnel
made a last-ditch effort to
representatives of council offering a
30 -day period for North Huron and
senior -ranking representatives of
FDNH personnel to come up with a
solution.
"In that time, FDNH personnel
would respond to emergency calls in
our community. FDNH personnel
would not partake in extra normally -
performed duties; only emergency
calls.
"North Huron Council chose not
to work with their emergency
services.
"FDNH personnel want a quick
resolution. FDNH personnel have
been requested to a meeting
Monday, Dec. 11, 2017 in the
evening to meet with a
representative of the Ontario Fire
Marshal and council. Due to the
severity of this issue, FDNH
personnel were prepared to meet this
past Friday or Saturday to come to a
quick and timely resolution so the
community we serve was not left
with uncertainties. FDNH personnel
will attend the meeting, but are very
discouraged by the timelines created
and North Huron's obvious lack of
value put forward regarding time on
such a serious issue affecting all of
our community."
In an interview with The Citizen
on Monday morning, Councillor
Brock Vodden chalked the entire
situation up to a lack of
communication.
He said that while firefighters have
spoke about complaints being filed
and concerns being raised, he and
the rest of council didn't realize the
severity of them. There will always
be complaints, he said, but he didn't
realize they were this critical.
Being thrust into an adversarial
role with the fire department,
however, he said is unfortunate,
because that's not how he's seen
council's relationship with the fire
department over the years.
"My impression going back for
years is that council and the
firefighters are a team; we're
friends," Vodden said. "We're so
proud of them and so concerned
about the importance of their work.
To be viewed as enemies, that's a
very difficult pill to swallow."
Vodden added that it's a terrible
situation and he felt there was
certainly fault on both sides.
However, he didn't feel the situation
was beyond repair.
"We need to come together," he
said, adding that a night of
open, calm discussion could do
wonders.
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