How much is a volunteer firefighter worth to the regional district?
A former Keremeos firefighter hopes to find out on April 26.
That’s the date Cawston resident Doug MacLeod will be taking his small claims action against the regional district to court. The action stems from Macleod’s dismissal from the Keremeos fire department in March of 2011.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to be heard in court,” MacLeod said recently. His case has been before the courts since an October 17, 2012 mediation meeting failed to come to an agreement, largely over the dollar figure offered by lawyers for the regional district.
In a preliminary court meeting on November 23 last year, MacLeod said that the lawyer for the regional district did not dispute MacLeod’s original dismissal claims. What was in dispute was the amount of the claim, which is the maximum allowed in small claims court - $25,000.
“I would have been happy to have settled for a lesser amount earlier in the process,” MacLeod explained, but previous offers wouldn’t even have covered my expenses to date, let alone compensate me for damages.
It’s hard not to make this personal, but it feels to me that the regional district acted on my case the way they did because it was the cheapest way to do it. I really want to get this case out in public, and I’m hopeful that one outcome will be that some sort of value will be defined for volunteer firefighters.”
Early on in the dispute, MacLeod had hired a lawyer. It was she who brought the issue of value to the forefront for MacLeod, when after a meeting with the regional district board over the initial firing, she told him that valid though his claim was, it wasn’t worth his while to hire her to pursue the matter through the courts. As a volunteer, his loss of income of $4,500 in annual remuneration wouldn’t come close to covering her costs.
“At this point in the process I have incurred substantial costs in legal fees, and time and effort expended in pursuing this on my own,” MacLeod said.
MacLeod is also seeking reinstatement in the Keremeos fire department as part of his settlement. He personally feels it won’t present an issue for him.
“I was actually employed as a Fire Warden last fall, and worked closely with the Keremeos department during the fires we had here in the valley,” MacLeod said.
“The regional district does seem to be improving with respect to supporting their volunteer firefighters - I’ve seen some evidence of change recently,” he said, citing a recent appreciation dinner held be Area “D” Director Tom Siddon for fire services in his electoral district as one example of recognition of their value to the RDOS.
Mark Woods, Community Services Manager for the RDOS, declined comment when asked about MacLeod’s case.