The Rexton Volunteer Fire Department has stopped responding to emergency calls.
They walked off the job at 7 pm Thursday.
Acting Fire Chief Warren Goodwin says this stems from a budgetary dispute and also because they were told by Five Rivers Mayor, CAO and Council that their fire chief couldn’t serve anymore.
Emergency services in Five Rivers normally come from two departments, the Rexton Volunteer Fire Department and the Beersville/Harcourt Fire Department.
RELATED: Rexton volunteer firefighters threaten to walk if conditions aren’t met
Goodwin claims in the first week of January, they were given a copy of a finalized budget and it was $63,750 less than the Beersville/Harcourt department was receiving, which came as a total shock.
The Fire Chief for Beersville/Harcourt has now taken to social media to express his thoughts. Mark Berry states the budget cannot be exact dollar for dollar, because the Beersville/Harcourt coverage area is twice the size if not more than the Rexton coverage area.
(Image: Beersville/Harcourt Fire Department Facebook page)
But Goodwin says the budget is at the lowest priority of their concerns right now,”It’s the lack of respect and the lack of communications, the lack of reaching out to us and having a conversation.”
He hoped the council would agree to a meeting to discuss their concerns.
“Such a big decision, such a hard hard decision to make, knowing it’s not just us that are affected, it’s all of our citizens,” Goodwin added.
On social media, the Mayor has reassured the community that they have been proactive and taken steps to ensure emergency services are available.
