Victoria Beach firefighters threaten to walk off the job after chief let go

Victoria Beach firefighters threaten walk out Firefighters in Victoria Beach are threatening to leave the force after fire chief, Brad Patzer was let go.

The acting fire chief of the Rural Municipality of Victoria Beach has concerns about the effectiveness of emergency firefighting services if members decide to walk off the job Monday evening.

Friday, the Rural Municipality of Victoria Beach announced its Fire Chief Brad Patzer had been fired.

The RM said for several months Patzer refused to communicate.

"This ongoing refusal to communicate and cooperate with the RM was not acceptable. This behaviour placed the RM at increased risk of liability and was not proper or acceptable in an employee/employer relationship," said reeve Brian Hodgson.

Sunday hundreds of people gathered at a rally in Victoria Beach to support Patzer.

Acting fire chief Wolf Kraft said on Thursday members were so upset they threatened to walk off the job, but he asked them to hold on and see if the situation could be resolved.

Kraft said come Monday evening fighters will decide to stay on with the department, take a leave or resign.

"Each member will have to make their own decision on whether they want to walk off or not. I cannot speak for every individual member right now. Based on our conversation last meeting, the majority will walk off," said Kraft.

Kraft said there are 22 fire fighters in the department, and it needs a minimum of 12 in the department to stay on to be viable. Any less, he said, emergency fire response times will be impacted.

On Friday, the RM said contingency plans are in place to provide emergency services and all calls will be directed to the appropriate agencies.

Tiffanie Lauze lives in neighbouring Rural Municipality of Alexander, which is serviced by the RM of Victoria Beach.

She started a petition to reinstate Patzer, and said losing any service would be terrifying.

"There's going to be houses burning down. Heart attacks, strokes, you name it … We're going to have to wait that much longer for the attendants," she said.

Kraft said as a short term solution, neighbouring fire departments will respond to fires, and the North East Regional Health Authority will respond to 911 medical calls.

CTV News reached out to Brad Patzer for comment through his family and the fire department. As of 6 p.m. Sunday we have not heard back.

CTV News also reached out to the RM of Victoria Beach, Reeve Brian Hodgson and area councilors. As of 6 p.m. Sunday we have not heard back.

The Victoria Beach Fire department said it services between 5,000 and 10,000 people.