Corman Park defends fire protection after resident saddled with massive bill

Not having the right home insurance coverage in a fire saddled a Corman Park couple with a massive bill and has reignited the discussion about fire protection in vast municipality.
 
The couple’s home burnt down this past May. The home was covered by their insurance company, but the policy had a $10,000 limit on fire suppression . That left the couple with a $20,000 bill to pay.
 
The municipality has agreements with surrounding departments, like Saskatoon to respond to fires, but the cost of firefighting services falls on the home owner.
 
“I think it’s working very well,” Reeve Judy Harwood said when asked if the municipality was considering changing its fire protection plan.
 
“I mean we are a huge area. We are 800 square miles so to have our own fire department would be just about impossible.”
 
Encouraging home owners to check their insurance policies is something the RM has been drilling year after year, Harwood said.
 
“I was on council in the 90s and back then we were telling people to add a rider to their home insurance for firefighting services.”
 
“Even for people now that have that rider, take another look at it and make sure you have enough coverage,” she said, adding they now recommend residents have at least $30,000 worth of coverage.
 
Harwood feels the RM has been diligent trying to get that message out to the public by pointing to the thousands of dollars spent on ads each year and the notices they put on their website and news letters.
 
Earlier this month, council rejected the couple’s request to have the municipality cover a portion of the firefighting invoice.
 
“We feel very badly about what has happened but again, it can’t fall on the backs of all the residents that have what they need to cover their property,” Harwood said.