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Cypress County looking to implement fire services bylaw

Sep 5, 2018 | 5:08 PM

 

DUNMORE, AB – From a new agreement with the City of Medicine Hat to a new fire station in Dunmore, fire service in Cypress County has seen plenty of change over the last year.

With their ducks in a row, the county is now looking to put its fire fighting framework into writing after passing first reading on a new fire services bylaw.

The first of its kind for the county, the proposed bylaw lays out rules and regulations for a variety of fire service aspects including deployment, chain of command, fire bans, and liability.

Reeve Richard Oster said it’s time to put a distinct policy in place that both council and staff members can revisit.

“Before there was nothing written down, so everybody had their own ideas on it,” said Oster. “Well now you actually have a policy to go back to, the staff has direction from council, what council would like to see, and now they can move forward with it.”

Also included in the bylaw is a clause proposed by district fire chiefs, that would place Cypress County under a fire restriction between March and December, while burn permits would only be available in January and February.

Oster said it’s something that not everyone will be on board with and is inviting those with opinions to a public hearing next month.

“Now with the public hearing, we can get other people’s thoughts on it,” said Oster. “That’s a long time not to have any burning. So, we need the ratepayers thoughts on it, how it would affect them positively or negatively.”

Penalties for violating the proposed bylaw have also been laid out, which include fines ranging between $250 and $10,000.

A copy of the bylaw can be found in Wednesday’s council agenda on the county’s website and Oster is encouraging residents to take a look.

He added when discussing a document that affects so many people like a fire services bylaw, it’s important to reach out to the public before making a final decision.

“We think a lot of times that we have got it all covered, but maybe there’s something we’ve missed,” said Oster. “Maybe there’s just one sentence or a paragraph that somebody is not comfortable with. And if we’ve missed it, we want to know about it.”

County residents will have a chance to voice their opinions about the bylaw on October 2 in Dunmore ahead of second and third readings.