Rexton volunteer fire department threatens to walk-out

A rural New Brunswick fire department is threatening to "cease ... firefighting duties," citing conflicts with the municipality it serves.

The 23 active members of the Rexton volunteer fire department have voted to stop answering calls as of 7 p.m. Thursday.

The department is one of two volunteer units serving the municipality of Five Rivers, the amalgamated community of Rexton, north of Moncton, and portions of several former local service districts in Kent County.

Warren Goodwin, the assistant deputy chief, said the decision to issue the ultimatum has been in discussion for months and was not arrived at lightly.

"To be perfectly honest, the rest of the members were pushing for this sooner," said Goodwin.

"They actually wanted this to take place about two months ago. We were trying our best to avoid this, if at all possible."

Budget issues

One of the major concerns has to do with the Rexton fire department's operating budget.

Goodwin said the department was under the impression that it would receive about equal funding with the Beersville-Harcourt volunteer fire department from the municipality.

However, he said he was surprised to find the budget for Beersville-Harcourt was significantly higher.

According to Goodwin, both departments serve areas of comparable sizes, but the Rexton department is responsible for a great deal more infrastructure.

Warren Goodwin, assistant deputy fire chief, says attempts to meet with the municipality have been fruitless. (Rexton volunteer fire department/Facebook)

"The difference between the two fire departments … was just over $63,000," said Goodwin.

"In our eyes that wasn't considered equal and fair as possible. That was considered, in my opinion, extremely out of whack and not even remotely close to equal."

Goodwin said the department hasn't been given an explanation about the budget and attempts to meet with the municipality have been fruitless.

"It's come to a point where we have to draw a hard line in the sand," said Goodwin.

Municipality denies allegations

The firefighters are also alleging harassment and disrespect from the municipality.

CBC News reached out to Five Rivers Mayor Tina Beers to find out more about the dispute but she refused to comment.

A statement posted on the municipality's Facebook page denies allegations of disrespect and says it has taken steps to ensure firefighting coverage from neighbouring departments should the Rexton department stage a walk-out.

"We want to make it unequivocally clear that these allegations are not only concerning but completely unfounded," the statement said.

The municipality has denied all allegations. (Five Rivers/Facebook)

As of 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, Goodwin said the fire department had not heard from the municipality directly about the ultimatum.

"In our hearts we know that there's a very high likelihood that there could be an emergency in our absence," said Goodwin.

"As of tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. if nothing has been resolved, we're officially walking off the job."