Firefighters schooled on legality of fires

Electric City firefighters had a sensitivity training session last Wednesday night at the firehall.

It all came about because of Fire Chief Mark Payne’s issue with illegal burning on two separate occasions recently.

Mayor Jerry Sands made the announcement at a city council meeting Tuesday night and stated that firefighters were going to hear about what is a legal fire and an illegal fire.

When asked if he was going to put a letter of reprimand in Chief Payne’s file, the mayor said “yes” but didn’t elaborate.

Payne had been turned in for burning illegal materials at his residence on two different occasions and pleaded in a meeting with the mayor and others that he didn’t know he couldn’t do so.

City hall had been the recipient of several calls about the fires and the mayor also received a couple of complaint calls while he was in Nevada.

A handout at the city council meeting explained what a recreational fire was and how it was regulated by Department of Ecology rules.

Payne had claimed his fires were “recreational” in nature.

“We’re going to get everyone on the same page and have a training session on fires,” Sands told the council.