Cambridge Bay (Sep 11/06) - Most of Cambridge Bay's volunteer fire department has quit, and they are laying the blame at the feet of Cambridge Bay senior administrative officer Mark Calliou.

"In our view, he (Calliou) is the only problem, We have had nothing but good relations with the other hamlet staff," said resigning fire chief Keith Morrison.

SAO's e-mail Nunavut News/North obtained this e-mail, which was sent from Cambridge Bay SAO Mark Calliou to Mayor Michelle Gillis, Deputy Mayor Stephanie Briscoe, Councillor Fred Pederson and former fire Chief Keith Morrison on Aug. 30, following a snowmobile fire next to the Glad Tidings Church in Cambridge Bay. By Sept. 5, the fire department had threatened to quit, and by Sept. 6 they made good on that threat. What it stated: I was quite concerned last night when I saw how the Fire Department responded to the snowmobile fire last night. There is no need to cause any danger to the community and especially kids enroute to any emergency. I am also concerned that they did not have the required flag people in place when the fire truck exited the fire hall. There must be people on the road to ensure that there are no vehicles coming when exiting the hall. Keith (Morrison) also made a comment about my presence saying that it took me some time to get off the road. I am telling you that I had exited a block before they got there and I was concerned about the 20 or so kids gathered on the street heading down to the fire. There needs to be some common sense here.

Among a list of complaints filed by the disgruntled fire department members is an accusation the SAO doesn't listen to suggestions made by the department.

In response to the mass resignation, Calliou said, "That's the route they've chosen to take, and I'm a humble servant of the municipality."

He referred all of Nunavut News/North's other questions to deputy mayor Stephanie Briscoe, as Cambridge Bay Mayor Michelle Gillis is out of the community.

Briscoe said Cambridge Bay will not be without emergency services because a new group of 10-12 firefighters has quickly been recruited.

"They are qualified and knowledgeable firefighters," she said. "The administration called back firefighters who had left the department, but already had training. That covered off our needs."

Community and Government Services (CG&S) - the department responsible for Nunavut's fire departments - opted out of this disagreement.

"Volunteer fire departments are autonomous and locally directed. It is our intention to leave them that way. We would really like to see these guys work this out," said Shawn Maley, assistant deputy minister for CG&S.

The hamlet is planning a recruitment drive, expected to start this week, to further rebuild the volunteer department.

"From comments received from the fire department, it (the relationship between the SAO and the firefighters) was deemed unrecoverable," Briscoe said.

A letter signed by 13 of the hamlet's 18 firefighters was delivered to the hamlet on Sept. 5. It was in response to an e-mail sent by Calliou to council members on Aug. 30.

In that e-mail, Calliou expressed concern about the fire department's response to a snowmobile fire next to the Glad Tidings Church.

After receiving the e-mail, former chief Keith Morrison stopped by the hamlet office and spoke with Calliou.

"I went into Mark's office and there was some back and forth, and I had no desire to get into a yelling match," said Morrison.

By Sept. 6, Morrison said he and most of his colleagues had had enough.

On Aug. 29, the Cambridge Bay Fire Department had responded to the call about the snowmobile burning near the church.

When Morrison arrived with the fire truck, he saw two vehicles blocking the road - a hamlet bylaw truck and Calliou's white truck.

"I leaned on my horn and I was really mad that someone would do that. We've had problems like that in the past, with vehicles in the way," said Morrison.

"I made some comments when I got to the scene. I forget exactly, but along the lines of ‘some idiot blocking the road.'

"I was concerned about the SAO showing up on our fire scenes when he didn't have to be there. He directly interfered in a fire response and he didn't have a reason to be there. In the south, he would have been charged," Morrison said.

Briscoe offered a different perspective.

"Ultimately, the SAO is responsible for the (fire) department itself. The big stick is carried by him in respect to administration within our community. The council has not found a problem with him responding to fire calls," she said.

The next morning, Calliou sent out the e-mail critical of the fire department, and Morrison was upset.

In the e-mail, the SAO asks why there were not flag people blocking traffic as the fire truck left.

"To us, it raised the issue of what if something happened. How you read that e-mail depends on your point of view. He accused us of recklessness, increasing the risk of someone getting hurt," said Morrison.

The firefighters had given a deadline of noon Sept. 6 as the date of their resignation.

Starting at 10 a.m. on Sept. 6, council met in a special, closed session to discuss the volunteer brigade's issues. Firefighters were invited to that meeting.

"The meeting was held in-camera because it was trying to address the personal issues contained in the letter. Any time we are dealing with personnel matters, those are addressed in-camera," said Briscoe.

That meeting went on until 3 p.m., including a break for lunch. By the end of the meeting, council passed a motion unanimously accepted the resignation of the firefighters.

"I don't know if the members of council realize the situation. I know some very well, and I wonder if they know what my authority is, I mean was," said Morrison, who was invited in for part of the meeting.

Former fire Chief Peter Laube resigned in March 2006. He cited Calliou as a major reason for quitting.

"With this SAO, things are getting out of hand. He's trying to tell us how to perform our jobs, and is ignoring the fire marshall," said Laube at the time of his resignation.