KILLALOE – The township of Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards has extended its extrication agreement with Madawaska Valley after refusing to do so earlier this year.
KHR had told MV that it would not be continuing its heavy extrication agreement with neighbouring townships as of January 1, 2014.
MV firefighters are not trained in heavy extrication, nor does the township have the equipment to perform the task. So, MV had asked for KHR to reconsider and extend the agreement.
“Even though we have given them an extension, this will be the second,” KHR Mayor Janice Visneskie-Moore explained at the December 17 council meeting.
The mayor warned it could be a potential liability for KHR’s township.
“If we got a heavy extrication call, three or four guys went and left to do that and we had a fire in Killaloe, there would be no one else,” she said, reiterating that KHR’s fire department operates on a volunteer basis.
Madawaska Valley Township has agreed to pay a $1,000 maintenance fee to KHR. They have also agreed to a $500 flat rate for the first hour and $250 per half hour after that.
“Madawaska Valley will be getting the calls for heavy extrication,” Fire Chief Bob Gareau explained. “They will be going to site, where the event is and they will make the determination if whether there is really is a heavy extrication requirement.”
Gareau said although there are not many calls for heavy extrication, this will hopefully eliminate false calls.
Council voted on the issue and agreed to extend the contract for six months. If need be, they can approach KHR again for an extension, Visneskie-Moore explained.
“But I told them they had to have some sort of plan in place,” she added. “They can’t just keep coming every six months saying, ‘oh, we just didn’t bother.’ They would absolutely have to demonstrate to us that they are in the process of accomplishing their own [extrication services.]”
LOGGING GAMES BACKLASH
Council discussed the upcoming Sno Fun games and potentially getting radio personality Dai Bassette to emcee the logging games at the end of January.
This led to Councillor Stanley Pecoskie venting his frustrations on gossip circulating around the township in regards to the logging games.
“It’s sad,” Pecoskie explained. “And you wonder why there are so few volunteers.”
Pecoskie said people have been questioning how the township is paying for Bassette’s services.
Read more in the December 31, 2013 issue of The Valley Gazette.