By Tyler Marr

Public safety

R.M. of North Battleford recruiting volunteer firefighters

Jan 29, 2019 | 5:28 PM

The Rural Municipality of North Battleford has put out a call for volunteer firefighters as they continue their discussions with the city on a fire services agreement between the two jurisdictions.

A five-year agreement to supply the R.M. with services from the city’s fire department ended on Dec. 31. Earlier in January, a press release from the city said negotiations between both governments on a new agreement had reached an impasse. This came as a slight shock to the rural government as they were under the impression talks would be ongoing until one could be ratified.

According to the R.M., the city is requesting an increase in funding to $220,000 per year for five years, with the potential for increases throughout. The previous agreement saw the R.M. pay a total of $775,000, though the total costs for actual services tallied just around $200,000, calculated from monthly reports outlining what the department responded to. The surplus is not returned.

The city had offered to provide service on an on-call basis until Feb. 28 and recently extended this to March 31. Each call will be individually billed to the rural government.

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Administer Debbie Arsenault told battlefordsNOW Tuesday that establishing and managing their own rural volunteer department could be “in the best interest of the ratepayers” and “would be more cost efficient,” more so given the new funding demand from North Battleford.

However, she stressed the call for volunteers was a contingency plan as the R.M. continues to liaise with the city to establish a meeting with Mayor Ryan Bater and council. Rural lawmakers are set to meet next week to discuss and formalize a path forward.

“We don’t want anyone to feel that they are not covered [if there is a fire],” she said. “We are just looking for coverage in the interim as we don’t want to have a lapse.”

The R.M. has been in conversation with other rural municipalities and the Office of the Fire Commissioner, who have the people and resources needed to establish a fire department.

Those interested in being with the volunteer fire department do not have to live within the R.M., though should be within reasonable proximity. No experience is necessary as the R.M. will offer any needed training. Potential volunteers are asked to contact the R.M. office.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr