A Justice of the Peace has dropped the final charge against the Municipality of Meaford concerning the Reed's Restaurant fire a number of years ago.
Justice of the Peace Thomas Stinson released his final judgment on Tuesday, August 7 on the Reeds fire case. The final charge has been dropped. The municipality was originally charged with six offenses. However, five of the charges were dropped earlier during the court proceedings.
Meaford and its Fire Department were charged by the Ministry of Labour for failing to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers. Two Meaford and District Fire Department firefighters were injured in September 2009 while searching Reed's Restaurant for the owner, who they believed was inside the burning building.
In a lengthy written decision filed with Provincial Offences Court in Owen Sound on August 7, Justice of the Peace Thomas Stinson said: "because of the inherent unpredictable and dangerous nature of firefighting, defenses such as mistake of fact and necessity may well be more easily relied upon by fire departments than they might by other defendants in workplace injury cases that occur, for example, on an assembly line in a factory".
Meaford Fire Chief Mike Molloy was pleased with the decision.
"A charge resulting from us trying to save a life would have a negative impact on every fire department, and firefighter in this country, and could have resulted in jeopardizing public safety," said Chief Molloy.
"It would be very difficult for us to do our job in an emergency life or death situation knowing that legal proceedings may follow. What firefighters do has an inherent element of danger attached to the job at times, and that's part of the job. That's not to say we throw safety out the window.
"We do our job as safely as possible, when possible. There is not a chief in this country that would intentionally put a firefighter in harm's way. This has been tough on our guys, and our department, and I am glad to see the end in sight," said Molloy.
There is a 30-day appeal process.
