Former Muskoka Lakes Fire Chief Jim Sawkins is shown at his MacTier home several weeks after he was fired by the township's council. The volunteers he used to command have threatened to withdraw their services if he is not reinstated.Bill Sandford
Several firefighters have quit a volunteer fire department in cottage country after their chief lost his job, leaving the 800-square-kilometre, largely rural Muskoka Lakes township without desperately needed volunteers in the high season.
Township councillors say Jim Sawkins's departure is a routine management issue, relating to communication and a new direction for the department. The spurned former chief says he bears no hard feelings, but maintains he turned the department from a "dinosaur" 5 1/2 years ago into a well-oiled, modern machine whose newest firefighting capabilities have helped lower homeowner insurance premiums.
And now that he's free, Mr. Sawkins is pondering another move - a run for mayor of the Township of Muskoka Lakes in this fall's election.
The new fire chief and the township's councillors say they have an easily executable backup plan, commonly used when they're short-staffed: The two fire stations with the most missing volunteers have other stations to back them up. Peter Long, the outgoing head of the Muskoka Ratepayers Association, whose family has owned land in the area since the 1930s, says he doesn't think cottagers are panicking.
"I suspect a number of people, particularly the seasonal folks, are not aware of it," he said. "It's not like we have tons and tons of fires but, I mean, it only takes one."
It's a reminder of the challenges of balancing the politics and practicalities of fighting fires in an idyllic wilderness whose population quintuples right when the weather can be at its most incendiary.
Mr. Sawkins, who has 30 years of firefighting under his belt - 20 of them with the military - was terminated July 8. He says he has been inundated with calls of support. "The phone has rung off the hook since that day," he said. "And I'm really humbled by the support I've received, not only from firefighters but family, friends and residents within this great township."
Despite an open letter he sent imploring the township's 160-odd volunteer firefighters to stick with the department, many of them are voting with their feet. New fire chief Jim Schneider said as of Friday that 10 had either tendered their resignation or asked for leaves of absence. Kevin Gonneau, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 17 years and is still with the department, said that two more turned in their pagers later in the day, and 15 to 20 more are contemplating doing the same.
"Yes, I'm concerned because I don't have the same number of firefighters today as I had two and a half weeks ago.… but I can't control people who want to resign," he said. He added that although the wildfire risk is low thanks to a wet month, firefighting can be more of a challenge with a population that's "humongously increased" compared to the off-season.
With a force made up entirely of volunteers with day jobs, Mr. Gonneau said, losing a dozen or so firefighters means "the situation is already becoming a safety issue."
For his part, Mr. Sawkins says although he's saddened to lose his fire chief post, it has freed him to pursue something he's long mulled: A seat in council - the mayor's seat. But he was quick to note he hasn't yet made up his mind.
"The important thing is I'm doing it for all the right reasons - not because I want to get back at anybody. I love this area," he said, adding that a major priority would be tackling the finances of an area where year-round residents and seasonal cottagers alike have yet to recover from the recession.
"I still have got a lot to offer the township.… I'm sitting with my strategy team right now to see if its a worthwhile venture."
Veteran township and district councillor Nancy Thompson says the dissatisfaction with change is nothing new: Several people resigned when Mr. Sawkins took over about five years ago, she says.
"It's not an uncommon situation, necessarily, when there's a change of leadership," she said. "Council just wants to go in a new direction. We need better communications, for one thing, between council and the firefighters. But it's not just that. … It's a human resources matter."