BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead councillors voted 6-1 at their Aug. 17 meeting to reduce a firefighting invoice from $22,000 to $10,000 for a landowner whose actions led to a small fire that spread over three hectares due to his insurance not covering the full amount.
On April 21, 2021, Barrhead Regional Fire Services (BRFS) responded to a report of a wildfire just off of Range Road 41 about 10 minutes southwest of Barrhead.
The fire, which endangered two homes, ultimately required the efforts of 21 BRFS firefighters and eight members of the Fort Assiniboine department.
The cause of the fire was an old brush pile that was being moved by a landowner, indicated county manager Debbie Oyarzun.
As the brush pile was being moved, the landowner realized that there were some old embers in there, so he attempted to load the brush on to a trailer and move it to an old dugout a short distance away.
Those sparks ended up falling off the trailer and sparking the wildfire, which spread across three hectares, Oyarzun said.
“Really, all good intentions, but perhaps not the right thing to do,” she added.
The county’s normal procedure in this case is to invoice the three landowners on whose property the fire spread. They each received invoices totaling $3,000 each, which as per county policy is generally the maximum the municipality will charge.
However, those three landowners reached out to the county and provided some information that allowed the county to determine that a fourth landowner — the one moving the brush pile — was actually responsible for the fire.
More often than not, the county is unable to invoice the person actually responsible for a wildfire, which could be the result of something as innocuous as a lit cigarette flicked out a window.
“We were, in this case, able to determine the cause of the fire,” Oyarzun said.
Oyarzun also pointed out that there was a fire restriction put in place by the County of Barrhead only a few days before the April 21 wildfire.
After looking over various policies and legislation and even checking with legal counsel, Oyarzun submitted the $22,612.33 invoice to the responsible landowner. The previous invoices sent to the other three landowners were cancelled.
He in turn reached out to the county and, after accepting responsibility for his mistake, explained that his insurance would only cover up to $10,000.
Oyarzun said that in discussions with the insurance company, they stated that they capped the landowner at $10,000 because of their understanding that the county caps firefighting invoices at $3,000.
However, as Oyarzun pointed out to the insurance company, the county’s actual Prevention and Control of Fires bylaw states they can charge a landowner the full amount.
Oyarzun said she thinks some work needs to be done with insurance companies to help them understand what kind of bills landowners may be looking at for wildfires.
That said, when considering all the factors, her recommendation was to reduce the firefighting invoice to $10,000.
Coun. Bill Lane said this fire occurred in his division and he had discussed the situation with the responsible landowner.
Noting that the landowner didn’t try to shed his responsibility, Lane said he was in favour of reducing the invoice, adding that this is “a tough year” for farmers.
Coun. Darrell Troock, who voted against the motion, voiced his frustration at the situation and suggested that insurance companies are not being very community-minded.
“Sooner or later, the taxpayer is going to get tired of paying the bill for mishandling of fires,” he said.
Oyarzun said administration would be having a discussion regarding firefighting and the invoices sent to landowners with the new council following the election.
Kevin Berger, TownandCountryToday.com
