Forum discusses fire situation

DIDSBURY - About 50 residents showed up at a community forum about the firefighter situation on Sept. 24 at Knox United Church. The forum was organized by former councillor Joyce McCoy and Cindy Tippe, a parent of a firefighter and a concerned resident.

McCoy told the Gazette the forum was about getting people involved in the process and educating them on the fire department situation, which has seen a number firefighters resign over issues of safety.

She thought the meeting went well and that they accomplished what they set out to.

"I was impressed with the numbers and what people had to contribute, including current firefighters, resigned firefighters, residents, retired emergency professionals, county residents," said McCoy. "I believe it was a safe environment to share and people spoke up."

Both Tippe and McCoy talked about several issues facing the Didsbury Fire Department in regards to the situation that has led to the recent resignation of several firefighters. McCoy then announced that she had received an email stating that fire Chief Craig Martin had resigned effective immediately.

Tippe added that it is important for residents to get involved and create a united front.

"I think people have a right to know what's going on -- it affects our safety," said Tippe. "It was a surprise (to learn of Martin's resignation). We weren't expecting that. It did change the tone of our forum. But I feel we accomplished what we set out to do."

It's important for people to know that everyone is on the same side, she said.

"We were all on the same page," she said. "We're all concerned about our community and the fire department. There were a few differences of opinion, but in the end we all came together and realized we were all there for the same reason."

Duncan Milne, Mountain View County councillor for rural Didsbury was there and made a few points regarding the situation and the county's role in the fire department.

The event was a public meeting and open to all Didsbury and county residents, said McCoy.

Milne told the Gazette he was there to hear what people had to say and see what was going on.

"The county is gonna stress the fact that we don't manage the fire departments," said Milne. "We're keeping abreast of the situation and trying to keep on top of everything there."

Milne said that the county paid for roughly 40 per cent of the Didsbury Fire Hall and contributes to the department's budget.

"Our role is the same as it's always been in that we will continue to support administration to run it as they see fit, until we basically have someone tell us they (DFD) haven't answered a call. We haven't had a call that's been missed that we're aware of."

Milne said he reported his findings on the forum back to Mountain View County reeve Bruce Beattie and the county administration.

"I gave them my thoughts and they're working forward from there," he said. "I thought it was a pretty good forum. I thought it went fairly well. It started to go sideways at the beginning. Sometimes you need to jump on those things and express your thoughts."