Yellowknife (Mar 22/04) - The Hay River Fire Department has been fined $500 by the NWT Liquor Licensing Board.

The fine -- to be paid by members of the volunteer department -- was imposed following a March 18 hearing on a charge of after-hours drinking at a Fire Hall canteen.

The board also ordered members of the department to perform one day of community service on an alcohol awareness project.

"We'd like to give you an opportunity to win back some of the respect you may have lost in the community," board chair John Simpson told a fire department representative.

"In some respects we felt you let your community down," Simpson added.

Liquor inspector Rod O'Brien found people drinking outside of licensed hours at the non-profit canteen on Dec. 7, 2003.

In summarizing the case, Department of Justice lawyer John Nurse said O'Brien saw people entering the Fire Hall at 2:49 a.m.

When O'Brien entered the building, he counted 22 people on the premises, some with beer cans in hand.

"Mr. O'Brien was told the liquor had come from a dance and the people were cleaning up," Nurse said, noting there was no function in the Fire Hall.

However, he said the scene at the Fire Hall canteen was a "party in progress" after a dance at the community hall.

The fire department, represented by firefighter and bar manager John Stanga, did not dispute Nurse's description of events.

"There's nothing I can say," Stanga told the board. "He's got it right."

Crew on call

However, Stanga noted the fire crew on call that night had not been drinking.

O'Brien observed no intoxication at the Fire Hall.