Charges Laid in Deaths of Yellowknife Fire Fighters

March 14, 2006 – The City of Yellowknife, along with its fire chief and a deputy fire chief, have been charged under the Northwest Territories Safety Act in relation to the March 2005 line-of-duty deaths of Lieutenant Cyril Fyfe and fire fighter Kevin Olson, who were members of Yellowknife Local 2890.

The charges were laid at the completion of an investigation by the Northwest Territories Worker’s Compensation Board (WCB), which enforces the Safety Act and ensures that workplace safety regulations are met and that proper safety guidelines and practices are followed.

The city is charged with failing “to take all reasonable precautions and adopt and carry out all reasonable techniques to ensure the health and safety of every person in its establishment, to wit the Yellowknife Fire Department” and is also charged with failing to ensure the adequate instruction of each worker in the safe performance of his or her duties.

The city’s fire chief and deputy chief of operations are each charged with the same two counts.

The tragedy occurred on March 17, 2005 when fire fighters responded to a fire at a hardware store. Fyfe and Olson were trapped under a roof that collapsed during the fire.

Olson, who was 24 and on the job just 10 days, died that day. Fyfe, 41, was in a coma for four days before being taken off life support. He had been a Yellowknife fire fighter for 18 years.

“This has been an extremely trying year for the entire local,” says Local 2890 President Craig Halifax. “With the charges against the City and the Chief's office and the WCB reports remaining confidential for the time being, it will mean further uncertainty of where the department is going. Also, for our membership, the healing period and search for closure will be that much more difficult."

The WCB’s investigation into the deaths wrapped up last month. On March 2, the WCB issued 12 orders to the City of Yellowknife, including orders to recertify its fire department’s managers and supervisors, and perform an independent review of fire department programs and practices, including management procedures at emergency scenes.

Local 2890 has established a memorial page for Fyfe and Olson at www.yellowknifefirefighters.com/Memorial.htm.

A tribute service for Fyfe and Olson is planned in Yellowknife on March 17, the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. The service is for family, friends and the public.

More information about the charges is available on the NWT Workers’ Compensation Board web site at www.wcb.nt.ca.