Victoria mayor and fire chief extinguish their conflict

6 day_ago 8

A struggle betwixt the Victoria unpaid occurrence section and the municipality has present been resolved, aft the occurrence main and politician met with Municipal Affairs staffers connected Friday. The occurrence main publically resigned alongside 20 firefighters connected Tuesday, resulting successful an speech of verbal jabs successful beforehand of residents.

Both parties met with Municipal Affairs staffers connected Friday

Abby Cole · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 1:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The Victoria Volunteer Fire Department is backmost successful enactment arsenic tensions betwixt occurrence Chief Justin Parsons and municipality Mayor Barry Dooley person been resolved.

"After immoderate agelong consultations with Minister Pike and his delegation… we've travel to an agreement," Parsons said Friday afternoon.

On June 26, Parsons and 20 different firefighters resigned from their positions aft the municipality accused him of breaking into a practice spot during a wildfire successful the adjacent municipality of Adam's Cove.

Parsons told CBC that the section was looking for a amended h2o pump and broke the fastener connected the gathering to retrieve 1 from an out-of-commission occurrence truck. He said helium replaced it and gave a caller cardinal to the practice society.

But, a week later, the municipality sent him a missive asking him to apologize to council.

WATCH | Tensions were precocious extracurricular Victoria's occurrence hall:

Volunteer firefighters successful Victoria, N.L., resign en masse arsenic politician shouts it retired with protesters

There was a tense confrontation successful Victoria, N.L., connected Tuesday arsenic the mayor, unpaid firefighters, and residents had it retired astatine the municipality occurrence hall. A tangly backstory involving a breached fastener exposed bitter divisions wrong the town. CBC News cameras rolled arsenic the mayor, occurrence chief, and occurrence chief’s parent hurled accusations and competing narratives successful beforehand of a frustrated crowd.

Parsons and the different firefighters announced their resignation to a large assemblage of acrophobic residents and the mayor, resulting successful an statement and heated exchanges.

On June 24, the state stepped successful and sent Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Pike to acceptable things straight.

Friday afternoon, Parsons and Dooley sat broadside by broadside and said the struggle was over.

Dooley said they had a affirmative gathering with Pike.

"I admit wherever immoderate of the concerns are coming from the occurrence section [and] the crushed wherefore they did what they did," said Dooley.

'Very arrogant day,' says occurrence chief

He said they inactive person immoderate much consultations with Municipal Affairs, but different are moving guardant and going backmost to normal.

"We've travel to an statement that we're going to enactment unneurotic with Municipal Affairs to get these issues and concerns rectified," said Parsons, adding helium is blessed to person the section backmost successful afloat service.

"All of our 24 members are afloat reinstated and acceptable to reply the call," said Parsons. "It's precise arrogant time present for us."

While Dooley said there are immoderate regrets from the concern getting truthful intense, helium said it mightiness person needed to hap for a resolution.

"That's sometimes what it takes is … for the cookware to boil implicit for everyone to travel unneurotic and say, 'Look, we request to resoluteness this,'" said Dooley.

Parsons besides said helium doesn't regret however things played out.

"It had to travel to thing similar that successful bid to get the afloat attraction of Municipal Affairs and members of the nationalist successful the province," said Parsons.

Download our free CBC News app to motion up for propulsion alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to sojourn our landing page.