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Fire inquest cost $180,000

Taxpayers footed a bill in excess of $180,000 to pay for lawyers and consultants hired to represent the city at a recent coroner?s inquest into the fire deaths of two children and their great-grandmother.
Taxpayers footed a bill in excess of $180,000 to pay for lawyers and consultants hired to represent the city at a recent coroner?s inquest into the fire deaths of two children and their great-grandmother.

Taxpayers paid for two lawyers during the inquest, one hired by the city and the second hired by Greater Sudbury Police, as well as paying for its own staff lawyer during the month-long inquest.

The costs were obtained through a Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act request.

The city also hired Donald Pamplin, former fire chief in Vancouver and a highly-paid consultant, who prepared a report on the fire, even though he admitted during questioning he never visited the fire scene.

It was also revealed at the inquest Pamplin works as a manager for a United States-based fire sprinkler association and one of his main recommendations to the coroner?s jury was that all new residential buildings be required under law to install new sprinkler systems.

Pamplin testified it was his opinion the fire, which claimed the lives of Asha-Jade McLean, 3, her brother Ellias, 4, and their great-grandmother Pearl Shaw, 75, was out of control within minutes of being ignited.

There was little fire crews could do to battle the fire that broke out around noon on April 21, 2001, said Pamplin.

Many people at the inquest, including professional and volunteer firefighters on the scene that day and members of the McLean family, were upset to find out the city had hired a Toronto lawyer and consultants on top of staff.

After more than four weeks of often emotional testimony, the jury recommended Valley East have at least two professional firefighters on duty around the clock at all three fire stations in Valley East.

The jury also recommended the city conduct a comprehensive review of all fire services and fire risk assessment for all of the former municipalities outside city limits.

The city should also formulate a master fire plan to amalgamate fire services across the City of Greater Sudbury within 12 months, the jury recommended.

Bobbi McLean, the mother of the two children who perished in the fire, and her father Robert, lashed out during final submissions to the jury on how much money the city spent to protect its own interests at the inquest.

The city should be ashamed for spending taxpayers dollars on lawyers and consultants, when there hasn?t been any new firefighters hired in Valley East for several years, said Robert McLean.


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