NL

Victoria mayor and fire chief extinguish their conflict

A conflict between the Victoria volunteer fire department and the town has now been resolved, after the fire chief and mayor met with Municipal Affairs staffers on Friday. The fire chief publicly resigned alongside 20 firefighters on Tuesday, resulting in an exchange of verbal jabs in front of residents.

Both parties met with Municipal Affairs staffers on Friday

Two men sitting next to each other
Victoria Mayor Barry Dooley, left, and fire Chief Justin Parsons says their conflict has been resolved. (CBC)

The Victoria Volunteer Fire Department is back in action as tensions between fire Chief Justin Parsons and town Mayor Barry Dooley have been resolved.

"After some long consultations with Minister Pike and his delegation… we've come to an agreement," Parsons said Friday afternoon.

On June 26, Parsons and 20 other firefighters resigned from their positions after the town accused him of breaking into a heritage property during a wildfire in the nearby town of Adam's Cove. 

Parsons told CBC that the department was looking for a better water pump and broke the lock on the building to retrieve one from an out-of-commission fire truck. He said he replaced it and gave a new key to the heritage society.

But, a week later, the town sent him a letter asking him to apologize to council.

WATCH | Tensions were high outside Victoria's fire hall: 

Volunteer firefighters in Victoria, N.L., resign en masse as mayor shouts it out with protesters

9 days ago
Duration 3:40
There was a tense confrontation in Victoria, N.L., on Tuesday as the mayor, volunteer firefighters, and residents had it out at the town fire hall. A tangly backstory involving a broken lock exposed bitter divisions within the town. CBC News cameras rolled as the mayor, fire chief, and fire chief’s mother hurled accusations and competing narratives in front of a frustrated crowd.

Parsons and the other firefighters announced their resignation to a large crowd of concerned residents and the mayor, resulting in an argument and heated exchanges.

On June 24, the province stepped in and sent Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Pike to set things straight.

Friday afternoon, Parsons and Dooley sat side by side and said the conflict was over.

Dooley said they had a positive meeting with Pike.

"I appreciate where some of the concerns are coming from the fire department [and] the reason why they did what they did," said Dooley.

'Very proud day,' says fire chief

He said they still have some more consultations with Municipal Affairs, but otherwise are moving forward and going back to normal.

"We've come to an agreement that we're going to work together with Municipal Affairs to get these issues and concerns rectified," said Parsons, adding he is happy to have the department back in full service.

"All of our 24 members are fully reinstated and ready to answer the call," said Parsons. "It's very proud day here for us."

While Dooley said there are some regrets from the situation getting so intense, he said it might have needed to happen for a resolution.

"That's sometimes what it takes is … for the pot to boil over for everyone to come together and say, 'Look, we need to resolve this,'" said Dooley.

Parsons also said he doesn't regret how things played out.

"It had to come to something like that in order to get the full attention of Municipal Affairs and members of the public in the province," said Parsons.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abby Cole is a journalist with CBC News in St. John's. She can be reached at abby.cole@cbc.ca.

With files from Jenna Head

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the top stories in Newfoundland and Labrador.

...

The next issue of CBC Newfoundland and Labrador newsletter will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in the Subscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.