SUNDRE — The fate of the annual Friday night Sundre Pro Rodeo fireworks show might be in insurance limbo.
Fans of the annual display, which is conducted from Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) property on the fields beneath Snake Hill behind the local schools, were dismayed this year that the Friday, June 24 fireworks did not happen despite being advertised on the Sundre Pro Rodeo’s itinerary.
“We were hoping to get our relaxation from the school board and it just wasn’t able to transpire this year,” said Shane Crouch, Sundre Rodeo & Race Association president, adding there wasn’t really a suitable alternate location that would still ensure the display is readily visible to as many people as possible.
“I should have been on it earlier, and we couldn’t get it done on time,” he said.
Citing insurance liability issues, Crouch said changes with the school division meant the fireworks could no longer be set off from the traditional spot behind the schools.
Shawn Russell, CESD associate superintendent of corporate services, confirmed that a changeover to another insurance carrier led to the prohibition of fireworks on school property.
“A couple years ago, all rural school divisions changed insurance companies, and they had a new list of prohibited activities for both student activities and activities on our property,” Russell told the Albertan. “And fireworks was listed now as a prohibited activity on our property. So based on that, we cannot allow fireworks to occur.”
Russell said the municipality had been made aware well in advance with the intent of considering another approach.
“I did inform the town quite some time ago of this change in the hopes that they could find another solution to their fireworks,” he said, adding the school division remains committed to working alongside the municipality and the rodeo association to brainstorm options.
“The board has had a discussion and we’re looking at ways to try to come up with a solution that will allow us to do it in the future,” he said. “We’re going to look at a whole bunch of different ways to work with towns as best we can.”
Chris Albert, Sundre’s director of corporate services, confirmed the school division had provided the town with ample notice.
“Staff was notified by Chinook's Edge School Division in mid-June of 2021 about the change in insurance that excluded the ability to have firework displays on their properties,” Albert said.
“At that time, we made arrangements with the rodeo association to utilize their lands for the town’s Canada Day 2021 fireworks display."
He added that the municipality once again made similar arrangements for this year’s Canada Day celebration.
But the rodeo grounds during rodeo weekend are bursting at the seams with RVs and livestock trailers, hence in the past setting off the display from the nearby school property.
Ultimately, however, if another way of satisfying the school division’s insurance company cannot be determined, Russell said setting off fireworks from school property will not be a possibility.
“But we’re hopeful, and the board is hopeful, that we’ll be able to come to some type of solution that would allow it to move forward in the future," he said.
Further elaborating, Russell said there was more to the issue than liability.
“It’s also property damage as well,” he said.“We could have third party liability insurance which we’ve had in the past for the fireworks to occur. So the town or the rodeo association has purchased some liability insurance.
"But they can’t purchase property insurance, just like you can’t purchase insurance on your neighbour’s house.”
Finding a path ahead will need some outside-the-box thinking.
“We have to find a solution to that somehow working with the insurance company and maybe the town and then the association to find a creative solution that will allow (the fireworks display) to happen in the future,” he said.
“We’re hopeful we can find that. We can’t make any promises, but that’s going to be our goal.”
Asked whether a precedent might have prompted the insurance company’s decision, he said, “Yes, there was an incident where a school did burn down as a result of fireworks.”
Unsure of the exact location and date of that incident, Russell added, “That’s why it would have been added to the insurance company’s list of prohibited activities because they felt it was a risk that they didn’t need to take.”
In the meantime, he said the board of trustees has directed the school division’s administration to bring back some potential solutions in the fall.
“We’ll have to wait and see how things play out over the next year,” he said.
For his part, Crouch said he intends to sooner than later start making plans for next year’s fireworks.
“For 2023, we’re going to really work with the school board. We’ll start here in the fall and get the ball rolling. We got to have fireworks at our rodeo,” Crouch said. “It’s one of our main staples.”
