'This is a huge problem': Saskatoon firefighters can't issue fire-pit fines
Fire department issued 10 warnings but no fines in 2016
The Saskatoon Fire Department says it's considering allowing firefighters to issue fines to people using shoddy fire pits or burning the wrong materials in them.
Firefighters can't do that currently. Only fire inspectors can, an enforcement roadblock that came under fire earlier this week by one city councillor.
"This is a huge problem," said Bev Dubois on Monday, after being told the fire department issued 10 warnings but no fines in 2016.
Monday's debate ended with city councillors narrowly endorsing a new evening-only burning window for fire pit owners.
That decision — sparked by concerns about the health and environmental effects of exposure to smoke from wood-burning fires — has not sat well with many.
Not a done deal
Though allowing firefighters to share in inspectors' fining duties is being considered, Saskatoon's assistant fire chief, Wayne Rodger, says that's no guarantee it will actually happen.
"We haven't made any commitment to that," he said.
They are hurdles to overcome, money being one of them.
Fire inspectors typically work Monday to Friday, whereas firefighters work shifts spanning all days of the week, including weekends.
So if a fire-pit ticket ends up in court because the accused refused to pay the fine, the firefighter who wrote the ticket may have to be paid overtime if the court date is on their day off.
"There's a cost associated with that," said Rodger.
Court challenges
Working hours also account for why so few fire-pit rule violators are ultimately convicted. Only one was in 2016.
That's because most complaints are responded to by firefighters, and inspectors can't speak for firefighters in court.
"That's hearsay and that would not be admissible," said Rodger. "The courts wouldn't accept it."
What's stopping the fire department from allowing firefighters who did witness things first-hand to testify in court?
"That potential is there for that. We just never pursued it," said Rodger.
Number of warnings up
One councillor, Darren Hill, wondered whether ticket writing is the best use of firefighters' time.
But Rodger says even if the change is made, the fire department's top priority will remain clear.
"Responding to a fire-pit complaint does not take precedence over an emergency," he said. "That complaint will sit in the queue until that truck, or a truck from another district, can come in."
Though they can't currently issue fines, firefighters can and do hand out warnings. And those slips are piling up: so far in 2017, 56 tickets have been written, compared to 10 last year.
Rodger attributes that hike to the training firefighters have recently received in interpreting the city's Fire and Protective Services Bylaw, recognizing fire pit defects and writing tickets.
Dubois — who ultimately did vote in favour of the new burning hours — was disappointed the firefighter training hadn't come earlier.
'Their backyard is their holiday'
"To me and to the every day citizen, they say, 'Well why can't our fire department issue a fine and shut down a fire of my neighbour who is burning inappropriate material?' " she said.
But there are several factors for a firefighter to consider when dealing with a complaint, according to the president of the union local representing Saskatoon's firefighters.
"We kinda look at how it effects everybody," said Morley Desmarais of the change being considered. "We all know that a lot of people can't afford to leave town so, some people, they stay to have a vacation; their backyard is their holiday."
Time limit won't stem complaints
City council still has to officially amend the bylaw before the new burning window becomes legal. That's expected to happen in early 2018.
Rodger says that if the ticket-writing change happens, too, it's expected to come into effect at the same time as the new burning hours.
The new time limit isn't going to change one thing, though.
The fire department received 192 complaints in 2016. This year's not over yet and the fire department has already responded to around 230.
"As long as we allow burning in the city, we will receive complaints," said Rodger.
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