Holyrood terminating emergency services to Deer Park

Fire protection services in the Deer Park-Vineland Road Local Service District are about to be downgraded dramatically following a heated dispute over fees between property owners in the local service district and theHolyrood town council.

In a recent letter to property owners in the LSD, the town announced thatfire protection services will be discontinued effective Feb. 28.

St John's Morning Show6:25No fire trucks for Deer Park

The local service district will no longer have access to fire trucks, because some residents refused to pay a $45.00 annual fee.

The town had proposed charging a $45 annual fee to property owners forwhat it calleda "cost recovery" measure after several years of providing the service at no cost.

"Maintaining fire and emergency services is a costly venture," Holyrood's chief administrative officer, Gary Corbett, saidin the letter .

Theplan was discussed at a Jan. 24 information session hosted bylocal service district committee members, but it drew an angry response from some of the 60 people who attended.

Three members of the committee,including former chairman Bill Hammond, the co-chair and treasurer, resigned after coming under harsh criticism for endorsing the plan.

"It went on for 20 minutes, maybe an hour,and I said no, I'm going to resign and walk away with my head up," Hammond told CBC News.

Worried about fires, insurance rates

Deer Park is about a 25-minute drive from Holyrood.

It consists of nearly 500 properties, including a combination of year-round residents and those who visit their cottages on weekends and during vacations.

Some of the properties are quite impressive, with values of up to $750,000, said Hammond.

It went on for 20 minutes, maybe an hour and I said no, I'm going to resign and walk away with my head up.- Bill Hammond

It's uncertain why some property owners were opposed to the fee, or why emotions got so heated at the meeting.

Hammond said he's received many phone calls from people who are worried about their properties, and the prospect that insurance rates will surge all for the sake of $45.

In the last two years, the Holyrood fire department responded to 23 calls for service in the Deer Park area, ranging from a house fire to a brush fire.

The department also responds to motor vehicle accidents outside its jurisdiction.

Hammond is now having second thoughts about whether he wants to keep his property.

"I have to call my insurance company and say I don't have fire coverage. And depending on what that cost will be, depending on if I'm keeping it or will it sell it," he said.

Holyrood Mayor Gary Goobie declined an interview request.

The local service district, meanwhile, issued a news release Monday afternoon in an attempt to clarify the situation.

The committee, it stated, increased the annualfee to property owners this year by $200, and planned to absorb the fire protection fee in that increase.

The consensus of those at the meeting, however, was to reject the fire protection fee.

The release said the four remaining members of the committee will carry on in the interim, with an election to replace the three vacancies scheduled for April 11.