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The aftermath surrounding the recent firing of former fire chief Ray Saurette appears to have left Squamish's firefighting community polarized, as evidenced by numerous written submissions to The Chief online and the District of Squamish.
Saurette claimed he was fired from the district last week because he was trying to ensure alcohol licensing at fire hall lounges did not lead to firefighters working under the influence. He said a backlash from some volunteer firefighters influenced the district's opinion of his work.
However Mayor Greg Gardner said he was dismissed because the district was concerned with Saurette's "leadership style not meshing with the direction that the District of Squamish is choosing to take."
The matter appears to have reached a stalemate as Gardner said there are no plans to investigate Saurette's allegations of alcohol consumption at fire halls prior to calls, and no volunteer firefighters have resigned.
But a few firefighters have come forward to make their opinions known, along with many other members of the public.
Within a few days, more than 40 comments have been posted regarding Saurette's dismissal on www.squamishchief.com. The comments within the community are as a varied and extreme as those of community firefighters.
"I know many of the firefighters personally since my father himself has been a volunteer in Squamish for over 15 years. I grew up around, and in some cases with the firefighters that make up the Squamish department. They are all good people and the only one that was causing a rut in the department was Ray himself," wrote one online reader.
Another website reader defended the honour of the newly dismissed fire chief.
"What kind of people are you? Ray has dedicated everything to Squamish Fire Rescue and this community, and would have done anything for any one of its firefighters. He took a stand against the bullies and fought for open communication and better department standard," said the anonymous online reader.
"Now the bullies have beat him down, dragged him through the mud and basically destroyed him."
Saurette handed over several letters in his defence from local firefighters to The Chief newspaper. One written by volunteer firefighter Stephan Guerin describes Saurette as an "honest, caring, supportive and dedicated human being."
"His passion and dedication to the Squamish Fire Department is surpassed by no other member; despite what you may have heard," he wrote.
However, when contacted by The Chief newspaper on Saturday (Dec. 19) to confirm the letter, Guerin said he wanted to retract the statements he made about the former fire chief.
"It was written under false pretences. There was information I wasn't privy to and I wrote it thinking that he just got terminated for no reason," Guerin said.
"I wrote that without all of the information therefore I think that it shouldn't be submitted. I was under the impression that Ray had just lost his job that day, whereas I found out he had been terminated two, two and a half weeks prior."
Guerin said Saurette had approached him to write the letter in early December, before Saurette's formal termination by council but after he had been advised by district Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Kevin Ramsay that his termination was being recommended to council. Guerin says he obliged because Saurette had never done him any wrong in the four years they worked together.
"I thought that he had lost his job that day and I'm not in favour of people losing their jobs at Christmas time. It's happened to me and I wanted to back him up. Personally, to me, he'd never wronged me and that's what I wrote in his letter."
Craig Neuls-Dunn, who's been with Squamish Fire Rescue for approximately four years, also wrote a letter addressed to municipal staff outlining Saurette's character as being respectful and professional.
"It is my observations that Chief Saurette has shown nothing but respect and professionalism in his dealings with the Squamish Fire Rescue membership when handling controversial and sensitive issues," he wrote in the letter.
"Since taking on responsibility as the District of Squamish Fire Chief, Chief Saurette has faced much condemnation and undermining of his character, abilities and authority from a select group of Squamish Fire Rescue members. The degree of dissention within this dynamic has festered and grown to such that it has brought about the present situation."
Despite the controversy surrounding the dismissal, Neuls-Dunn said in a telephone interview this week that he still personally believes Saurette is a good person.
"I still stand by his character. His coming forth with the allegations of the lounges and their possible misuse, I don't agree with but that is his opinion and if it differs [from mine]. It doesn't change the fact that I admire the man and his personal character."
As vice president of the Squamish Fire Fighters Association representing volunteer firefighters, Neuls-Dunn clarified his comments are his own and don't represent the association.
"At this point we [the association] are just trying to digest it all."
Bob Fulton, International Association of Fire Fighters (Local 2874) secretary-treasurer echoed similar thoughts.
"This is very much an internal matter right now and I don't really feel that I should make a comment on behalf of the union. We have to move on, run the fire department and provide a professional level of service."
As of Monday (Dec. 21) there have been no resignations of volunteer firefighters in the wake of Saurette's dismissal, according to acting fire chief Mike Adams.
The District of Squamish hosted a meeting for district staff and fire volunteers last Thursday (Dec. 17), which CAO Ramsay said was "productive and open." In a written statement to The Chief, Ramsay said the municipality is now searching for a new fire chief.
"We are looking for someone with excellent leadership skills that can repair the damage done by Mr. Saurette's actions and to ensure that the citizens of Squamish can continue to rely on the dedication of our fire professionals," said Ramsay.
When asked if there would be further investigation, Gardner said the district would simply continue to rely on staff to manage any concerns that may arise within Squamish Fire Rescue.
"What we're going to do with these allegations is rely on our acting fire chief to manage the department on a very professional basis," said Gardner. "We'll be relying on our next full time fire chief to be doing the same."
The municipality currently has a zero tolerance policy regarding employees coming to work under the influence of alcohol, said Gardner, adding that would continue to be enforced.
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SquamishatHeart says... 
The Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General, Office of The Fire Commissioner and WorkSafeBC have all been contacted with regards to the issue of alcohol being permitted/consumed in Squamish Fire Halls's. WSBC has already (apparently) met with the Squamish Mayor's office & will be following up (monitoring) Squamish's response to this issue. WSBC was outraged at learning of this issue & our mayor's response/comments.
Posted on January 12, 2010 @ 7:19 am PST | Report post to Editor | 3091645