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The Mayor of Saskatchewan Beach says he’s feeling surprised and disappointed by the sudden loss of nearby fire services.
Corey Livingstone, the mayor of the resort village northwest of Regina, said he was given no advance warning that the Silton Fire Department will not be responding to calls until Sept. 15. The suspension of service comes after Silton Council fired its volunteer fire chief and former fire chief amid an ongoing dispute.
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“It was a total surprise to us,” Livingstone said.
He said the Village of Silton contacted him only after he got the information from former fire chief Corey Coons.
“We received a letter from the new interim fire chief, Steve Wallace, just instructing us that they are going to put a three-week suspension on the fire hall here,” he said.
“What he states, though, is that he hopes that in the next three weeks emotions can cool down and we can try to move forward.”
Livingstone said he doesn’t know what led to the dispute in the first place.
“We don’t know what emotions are involved,” he said.
“We have no idea what’s going on.”
Livingstone said Silton Council has since sent him a letter asking when the municipalities would be available to meet. As of Thursday morning, however, that meeting had not taken place.
“We’ve notified them that we are available at any time,” he said.
“It’s just a matter of them getting back to us. We’re hoping it’s quite quick. Like, literally, I wanted the meeting that night they sent that letter out. Time is of the essence here.”
Livingstone said the lack of communication is particularly frustrating because Saskatchewan Beach pays into the Silton Fire Department for the peace of mind of having fire services available nearby.
“No one likes surprises, especially when it comes to something like this,” he said.
“I think we should have been involved quite a while ago.”
In 2026, Saskatchewan Beach taxpayers paid $8,250 to the Village of Silton for fire services.
“We pay yearly for this, and without any notification it just stopped,” the mayor said.
“This is an essential service. Firefighting is most definitely an essential service for a community, especially seven communities.”
Concerns about response times
With the Silton Fire Department not responding to 9-1-1 calls at the moment, nearby fire departments, including those in Earl Grey and Lumsden, will step in to fill the gap through a mutual aid agreement.
Livingstone said those communities aren’t very close to Saskatchewan Beach, and would have to prioritize 9-1-1 calls in their own municipalities. He said that means it could be at least 30 minutes before a fire truck arrives.
“We’re just hoping if anything does happen that they’re available immediately,” said Livingtone
On top of that, he said a lack of fire hydrants in the resort village makes quick emergency responses particularily important.
“When something ignites, time is of the essence,” Livingstone said.
On Wednesday, Mayor Murray Wild told 980 CJME the decision to remove both the fire chief and deputy fire chief was due to an “inability to work with council anymore.”
“Silton Council, of course we’re being quite vilified by this,” he said. “But had we not done something, I felt we weren’t serving our levy holders or our ratepayers. We weren’t doing them any justice; we had to make a change, and we did.”
Wild also said delayed fire response times are a serious concern.
“That’s why this department was started 40 years ago,” Wild explained. “It’s a long way from Earl Gray or Strasbourg or Lumsden or what have you, so it’s always a concern. We don’t make our decisions lightly. There’s always a lot of thought, just like every council should think about things and not make rash decisions.”
Wild emphasized that the Silton Fire Department isn’t shutting down forever, and the plan is to get it back up and running around mid-September.
Fire ban in effect
Livingstone said Saskatchewan Beach has put a fire ban in place because the Silton Fire Department isn’t responding to calls, while dry conditions in the area create an increased risk of fire.
“Residents are complaining about that, because we are a resort community, so it’s like a big campsite with houses,” the mayor said.
He said his message to community members is to be patient while he tries to gather more information from Silton Council.
