Balmoral fire bill unpaid

The cost to control and extinguish the Balmoral Forest fire on December 14 last year totalled $65,504.17.

The Hurunui District Council, as a Rural Fire Authority, has the right to recover the costs for fire suppression activity, however the fire was inadvertently started by a 15-year-old boy.

At the current council’s final meeting on Thursday the matter was brought forward for a final decision to be made after a lengthy process.

‘‘The council deliberations went into public disclosed due to the nature of the discussions and to protect the privacy of the people involved,’’ chief executive Hamish Dobbie said.

‘‘Therefore a decision has not been released yet and due to the timing with elections it may be delayed.’’

Nine months after the fire, the council had to make a decision on how to pay-off the significant figure, with the difficulty in seeking the costs from a teenager.

The council had to pursue all possible avenues to recover the money before considering an insurance claim. The policy, with AIG, is the final option and unless the council has exhausted every available option, the insurer will not consider a Forest and Rural Fire Costs Reimbursement policy claim.

The boy was camping in the area with his grandfather when he lit the fire in a used fire pit.

The fire got out of control and resulted in the large forest fire.

Fourteen fire crews, three helicopters carrying monsoon buckets, and a Fire Service command unit from Christchurch worked into darkness to bring the fire under control.

After their investigations, police were confident the youth had no intention to cause damage or hide his involvement.

He was referred to the Youth Aid Section of the Police in January.

As part of the Police intervention programme he was required to undergo the NZ Fire Service safety programme, which he completed this in May.

The Police were satisfied with the outcome and didn’t believe him to be a risk and so his case file was closed.

However, the bill for the fire remained unpaid and council had to decide how to recover the funds.

As the rural fire authority, council is responsible even though the fire was not on its land. Liability sits with the person deemed to have started the fire but his young age makes it unlikely costs will be recouped from him.

Legal advice was that the parents had no liability, unless it could be proved the child had a propensity to light fires and the parents did not exercise sufficient control – something that would be difficult to show in court.

When the matter arose in June, Hurunui mayor Winton Dalley said the council was in a difficult position, as by not taking action it would be impacting directly on ratepayers and it may seem irresponsible to not send a message to a young person about accountability and consequences.

However, the council also did not want to create any long-term stigma or hardship on the young person.

The council’s final decision is now expected to be released when the newly elected council sits in October.