Southwest N.B. volunteer firefighters resign, cite amalgamation trouble

The majority of firefighters in a southwestern New Brunswick volunteer fire department have resigned citing problems with amalgamation.

The fire chief, assistant chief and other Oak Bay fire department members resigned this month, according to a resignation letter, Facebook posts and interviews.

The department, with about 14 members, serves an area east of St. Stephen. The unincorporated area was amalgamated with St. Stephen by the province as part of local governance reforms on Jan. 1.

The volunteer department, previously overseen by the province's Department of Local Government, now falls under the control of the St. Stephen municipal government.

"This process of amalgamation has been fraught with behind closed door actions, no communication, and what feels like more of a hostile takeover than an amalgamation," the resignation letter states. 

James Brown posted on Facebook he resigned as fire chief of Oak Bay, located around 10 kilometres from St. Stephen, on March 8 after more than 25 years with the department.

A lengthy resignation letter, shared Tuesday, says George MacLeod, the assistant chief, and Capt. Bob Barrett are resigning March 24.

The resignation letter says Oak Bay's firefighters felt left out of discussions about their future. It also blames the provincial government for not providing more clarity on what would happen following amalgamation. 

Barrett told CBC News in an interview that the "vast majority" of the fire hall's members are resigning.

Barrett said it wasn't something they wanted to do, but they felt like they could no longer trust community leadership because of some events in recent months, some of which CBC News could not immediately verify.

A January report to St. Stephen's municipal council says the community's bylaws allow chief administrative officer Jeff Renaud in consultation with council to create, eliminate, merge or divide departments as long as it doesn't result in a lower level of service to the community.

It says based on that, the decision on the fire department is Renaud's responsibility.

"As there is absolutely no desire on the part of Administration to reduce the level of Fire Services, despite misinformation disseminated during the election campaign period, this requirement will be met moving forward," the report states. 

The report says two proposals by the current fire chiefs of Oak Bay and St. Stephen for the future of fire services were being considered. The St. Stephen website says its department is crewed 24/7 and that it has six career firefighters, including a chief, and about 24 volunteers.