New fire chief chosen for Isle Madame after dispute leads to shakeup

It was a spat that played out on social media and left some people on Isle Madame worried their fire department would not respond effectively to life-and-death emergencies.

The Isle Madame volunteer fire department on the island off the south coast of Cape Breton is fairly unique in that it has a board of directors. During a board meeting on Feb. 27, the fire chief, deputy chief, three captains and two safety officers placed their helmets on the table and said they would no longer act as officers for the department unless the board met certain demands.

Neither side has offered many details. Mark Skinner, who served as fire chief up until March 3, said on Facebook the board was trying to micromanage how the department operated in the field.

Board chair Michael Diggdon said the chief and his supporters wanted too much control, from the final say on standard operating guidelines to finances to building additions.

The department's standard operating guidelines cover everything from when a volunteer firefighter can use four-way flashers to how fire trucks are parked at a fire. Diggdon gave credit to Skinner and his officers for writing most of those guidelines, but said the board had to sign off on them.

"They didn't like the chain of command going to the top," said Diggdon. "They felt that their chief should have the final say. And you can't have that with a board. Otherwise, it's not effective."

CBC News contacted Skinner on Tuesday, but he said he didn't have time for an interview.

Ex-chief says he withdrew resignation

In a recent Facebook post, Skinner wrote that he submitted a resignation letter to the board in late 2021, but withdrew it on Dec. 31 after the board agreed to do a better job of working with the department's officers. However, Skinner said it proved to be a "false statement," which led to the officers laying their helmets on the table during the Feb. 27 board meeting.

Skinner said he received an email from the board on March 3 stating that he was no longer fire chief.

"In the email, it states they accepted my offer of me stepping down as fire chief, but I never offered," wrote Skinner. "I gave them the option and they made the decision."

Skinner had been chief since Sept. 27, 2020, and belonged to the department for 18 years.

Community members expressed concern on social media that the fire department had nobody to lead it in the event of an emergency.

However, the board met with the firefighters on March 5 to announce longtime member Nathan Boudreau as the new interim chief.

"It went very well," Diggdon said of that meeting. "The firefighters got, I guess, the other side of the story and felt a lot more at ease once they got it."

In the end, Diggdon said only one other member left the department along with Skinner, although Skinner said he may return as a firefighter one day.

"I hope [Skinner] does decide to come back as a firefighter," said Diggdon. "He's a great asset to the organization, but again there's guidelines and rules in place that the board and himself didn't agree on."

Board member resigns

More fallout from the dispute was board member Blair Landry's resignation due in large part to abuse on social media.

"To turn around and bash that director or any director to the point where they feel it's not worth their time to volunteer anymore, then it's disheartening," said Diggdon.

Diggdon said he wants to reassure community members the department is ready to respond to emergencies.

"One can't even imagine the amount of time that they put in," he said of the firefighters.

"Regardless of what they're doing and where they're at, when the bell goes off, they all go running."