On January 28, Brudenell Lyndoch and Raglan (BLR) Council held a special meeting to allow members of its Fire Department to air their concerns over worsening morale. They were aggrieved over the fact that Fire Chief Genrick had not received a public vote of confidence from Council following his suspension last year. The Current reported on November 1st that Genrick was under investigation following a complaint relating to alleged alcohol-related violations and an accusation of wilful endangerment of personnel. Click HERE to read. Following the complaint being referred to the Ontario Fire Marshall, Council requested the County’s Director of Human Resources to carry out an investigation. That investigation was completed in November but the report has not been made public.
Mayor Sheldon Keller opened the meeting saying its purpose was to try to “address some of the concerns that our volunteers have with our Council, and try to resolve particularly the feeling of, maybe, non-support.” He invited Fire Department members to speak so the Fire Chief got the ball rolling by reading a brief prepared statement. Genrick thanked Council for the opportunity to meet as a group to address the issues. He said he believed volunteer fire fighters should not be “tied up with political business; they have a job to do.” Referring to the investigation last fall, Genrick said at that time the department banded together and said “If the Chief goes, we all go.” He added, “The volunteers behind me serve this community with pride and would think nothing to jump out of bed at 3 a.m. and save someone’s life. We are a team. We are family. When one person is down, everybody feels it. We worked very hard to bring this department to what it is today, and we will continue to work.” He ended with the question, “Do you want a Fire Department? If yes, please allow us to run it. We don’t need to be micromanaged.”
More than two-thirds of the 25 firefighters in the department attended the meeting. Many of them voiced their respect and support for Genrick, his work ethic and his leadership qualities. They also raised concerns about rumours relating to the future of the BLR Fire Department. Keller responded by saying that there is nothing on the table about changes. He pointed out that Council awaits the Fire Marshall’s review, which will come with recommendations. He gave his word that if any changes were to happen, there would be prior consultation with the Fire Department and with the public.
Councillor Trevor Lidkie said, “No one around this table has ever said there’s no need for a Fire Department. We discuss costs of things…. I even ask about out-sourcing, but … I can tell you it has never come across this table that no one here doesn’t want a Fire Department.”
When asked, Keller explained the review came about because of the investigation, not because of a request from Council. Various members of Council said they, as well as Genrick, were bound by confidentiality requirements and could not speak about the investigation.
Firefighters questioned why fines had been altered by Council but agreed they had not known that the By-Law required Council to review all fines. Keller announced they were working towards a revised By-Law.
Discussions of department morale included concerns about attracting future volunteers. Councillors and firefighters agreed that the tax base wasn’t large enough to support financial bonuses to attract volunteers and in any event BLR has fewer young residents now. Volunteer firefighter Edward Battiston, a resident of Brudenell, said, “So now you’re talking about how to make BLR more attractive for young families, so that’s like your job, right? That’s an agenda item going forward – can you put that on your next meeting?”
Battiston also recapped earlier Fire Department comments saying they wanted a public statement of support from Council and that they wanted to see the Fire Chief’s needs met.
When firefighters asked that Genrick be allowed to get on with his job without interference from Council, Councillor Budarick explained, “We have to work together to try to get a balance between what we can do, what we can afford to do, what we have manpower to do and what’s safe. And what we can do that we’re willing to accept….. Some of it we don’t have a choice either.”
She urged firefighters to say what they expect from Council to improve communication should incidents arise in future. Both firefighters and Councillors acknowledged there were challenges and Budarick said, “BLR is all of us. How we handle it is a reflection of all of us. Change is never easy but we have to talk about it. There are things Council cannot discuss because of confidentiality issues, it is what it is. We need to meet challenges and need to learn from this.”
Councillor John Rutledge suggested that BLR hold quarterly meetings to discuss Fire Department matters as the monthly Council meetings did not allow sufficient time for details of the department’s reports.
As the meeting drew to a close after nearly 90 minutes, Mayor Keller thanked the firefighters for attending. He asked the Clerk to draw up a formal, public letter of support for the Fire Department that he would sign on behalf of Council. He said that he and the Clerk would research what information they could legally share regarding the investigation that took place last fall. The firefighters thanked Council for listening to their concerns.
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