Cambridge Bay (Sep 11/06) - A conflict between the former fire chief of Cambridge Bay and the hamlet is heading to court.

On Aug. 2, former fire chief Peter Laube filed a civil court case against the hamlet, senior administrative officer Mark Calliou, hamlet employee Derrick Anderson and an unnamed hamlet employee.

Former Cambridge Bay fire chief Peter Laube is suing the hamlet and two members of the hamlet staff. He claims that he was injured while repairing the ambulance bay door, which he says the hamlet would not fix. The hamlet is denying all of Laube's claims. - NNSL file photo

In his statement of claim, Laube states that he was trying to repair the faulty ambulance bay door on Nov. 30, 2004. "The condition of the door jeopardized the security of the fire hall and/or the state of readiness of the fire prevention services of the Hamlet," his claim reads in part.

In the claim, Laube says he fell from a ladder doing work the hamlet wouldn't get done.

The tumble allegedly fractured his knees, his left elbow and the big toes on both of his feet.

Laube is seeking monetary damages for his pain, his loss of work, and for his medical expenses.

Through its lawyer - Jonathan McCully of Edmonton - the hamlet has categorically denied all charges.

The hamlet states that they hired Laube to do the work, and any injury he received is due to his own actions. Laube blames the hamlet for "allowing the fire hall to deteriorate into a unsafe state of repair," not paying attention to his repeated complaints, allowing workers who were not qualified to repair the door, and for "allowing the defendant Calliou to supervise the fire prevention program when it knew he was incompetent."

In its response to Laube's statement of claim, the hamlet counters that Laube's contracting company - Kalvik Enterprises - was hired to repair the ambulance bay door, and any negligence was his own.

Through its attorney, the hamlet has denied practically everything in Laube's claim.

The only points the hamlet agree with are that Calliou and Anderson were employed by the hamlet, and that the Hamlet of Cambridge Bay is a legal entity.

Austin Marshall is Laube's lawyer, and he believes this case could take some time to resolve.

"There will be a lot to do to get this case ready for trial. It's hard to say, probably by early winter we'll have a better idea," said Marshall.

Laube resigned as fire chief in March 2006.

At the time, he blamed Calliou of poor management amongst other issues.