As has been widely reported in the media, on Friday evening, Feb. 21, 2025, a snowmobile accident occurred in the Poison Lake area of rural Cumberland County. A man in his 20’s was reported to be seriously injured. As part of the emergency response the Collingwood & District Volunteer Fire Department (CDVFD), along with other first responders were dispatched to the scene. Sadly, this young man passed away.
This incident and one that followed have sparked outrage in the community and created serious concerns regarding the leadership of the Collingwood & District Volunteer Fire Department.
Municipal council met in a three-hour closed session on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, to discuss a report from the CAO and Director of Protective Services regarding the actions of two of the members of the leadership group at the CDVFD.
Council held an emergency meeting earlier today, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, to consider a number of recommendations included in the senior staff report.
Fire departments in Cumberland County are operated as independent societies. Chiefs and other officers are not appointed nor approved by the Municipality. A bylaw does allow for the discharge of a chief in certain circumstances. Chiefs are elected by the membership of the departments and are responsible for the day-to-day operation of their departments. The Municipality provides operating and capital funding to these departments, but chiefs and members are not employees of the Municipality.
This report and these recommendations, while they are very serious, are relevant only to the actions of Jerrold Cotton and Andrea Bishop subsequent to the emergency response to the Poison Lake incident. All findings of fact, potential charges and liability related to the incident in Poison Lake are the responsibility of the police, the justice system and the courts.
At today’s meeting, Council accepted the conclusions included in the report that Chief Jerrold Cotton and Acting Chief Andrea Bishop breached the Code of Conduct in the Municipality’s Bylaw to Establish and Regulate the Fire Departments in the Municipality of the County of Cumberland and agreed that both should be discharged as Chiefs. Council also directed staff to ban Cotton and Bishop from the firehall property. Also, Council has asked for an external review of the department’s response to the call.
Mayor Rod Gilroy, speaking on behalf of Council, said “We are heartbroken for the family of this young man and we extend sincere condolences to his family and friends. We trust that the police investigation related to the incident will come to a just conclusion. As Council considered these recommendations, related to the actions of the two chiefs subsequent to the incident, I want to assure everyone that we had the principles of respect for the victim and his family, ensuring the safety of the community, ensuring continuity of service and upholding the integrity and good name of the fire service across Cumberland County in the top of our minds. The Municipality acted swiftly and decisively to deal with the actions and inactions of the Chief and Acting Chief.”
The senior staff report is available on the Municipal website.