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The fire chief and all the members of the fire department of a small town in northern Ontario resigned following acrimonious conflict with local government officials.
The unusual situation in Gogama, a town of about 450 people located between Sudbury and Timmins, is causing a community to live without emergency protection.
The Local Services Board, the governing body of the unincorporated city, tried to dissuade residents from losing their home and business insurance in the event of non-fire protection and, in an open letter, indicated that it cooperates with the province for the chief and new firefighters are appointed and this training is provided as soon as possible. "
The commission declined to answer specific questions from the National Post before the deadline, but said in a statement that she had the right to hold her fire chief accountable.
"I do not even know where to begin," said Mike Benson, fire chief for Gogama for 15 years, and will remain so until his resignation takes effect December 1, when he was asked what happened.
I am tired of the fight
Benson explained that the problems stemmed from a personal dispute with members of the local utility board.
"For personal reasons, they decided to get rid of me. They first tried to fire me, but I do not work for them. I am an employee of the Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario, "said Benson.
An agreement between the local board and the Provincial Fire Marshal's office provides for the province to bear most of the cost of the service. The local board agrees to provide a building for fire trucks and a heated training room.
In other words, the board of directors owns the fire station but not the fire department.
The Services Commission published a list of complaints in July and a public meeting was held to discuss it. The council described them as "serious concerns" with Benson's "actions and lack of accountability".
The minutes of the council show, among other things, that the council was concerned about not having access to the financial records of the fire department. Benson replied that the finances of the service were not within his competence.
Mike Benson, Fire Chief of Gogama: "For personal reasons, they decided to get rid of me."
Timmins Times / File
Benson described the complaints differently: "They range from absolute lies to ridicule," he said.
"They decided to appeal to a public kangaroo court, thinking that the citizens were behind them," he said. "And the city was 100% behind me. It was incredible, even I was amazed. "
This did not end the conflict.
In October, the fire destroyed the house of a board member, Benson said. Subsequently, he said, the board of directors has launched a flood of requests for fire training records to all staff for five years, reports on the latest developments. house fire and indications on why the house could not be saved.
It seemed like the last straw for Benson, who, like all his firefighters, is a volunteer.
Last week, Benson announced his resignation.
"OK, you win," Benson wrote in an open letter to council.
"I'm sick of the fight and I decided to focus on other less time-consuming goals," he wrote. In a follow-up article on the fire department's Facebook page, Benson said he had "enough intimidation tactics and games".
They tried to fire me, but I do not work for them.
When Benson informed the members of his fire department, each of them also submitted his resignation: the deputy chief, the fire prevention officer, the training officer and six current firefighters. A fire captain had recently resigned.
Since then, efforts have been made to find a solution.
The commission released a public statement in which it said the problem was only Benson and not the other firefighters.
On Monday, Benson had a meeting with his staff. He said that he had encouraged them to stay and work for the department to continue to function. His hope is that with him gone, the commission will pull out, he said. He hoped that the current deputy chief will remain as the new leader.
On Wednesday, a representative of the Office of the Fire Marshal should meet with staff to try to resolve the situation, Benson said.
Appeals to the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management were unanswered on Tuesday.
In a written statement, the commission stated that the commission "gives the highest priority to the safety of the public and firefighters and will hold any fire chief responsible, including the fire chief Benson".
Meanwhile, the 25-kilometer Mattagami First Nation Fire Department, which has a Mutual Aid Agreement with the Gogama Fire Department, will respond to emergencies in Gogama after December, expected date of entry into force of resignations.
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