There are 13 houses at the end of Lakeshore Drive about to lose their fire service.

Monday afternoon, Kelowna city council reluctantly decided the risk to the municipality is too great to provide the service of its fire department—unless something goes drastically wrong.

“If there is a life at risk our trucks go out,” city manager Ron Mattiussi assured councillors as they weighed the threat involved.

The homes in question sit outside the City of Kelowna’s boundaries on a scantily paved, windy strip of road said to be too far from the nearest fire hall for fire crews to reach in a time frame acceptable to the department’s insurance company.

In 2004, the City of Kelowna came to an agreement with the homeowners and regional district to provide fire service at a cost of $15,400 per year.

The agreement represented the solidification of a gentleman’s understanding that the fire department would come to the neighbourhood’s aid if need be, Mattiussi said, pointing out it was struck right after fire ravaged the area in 2003.

But in the years since, the contract has expired and city staff have reluctantly decided the litigious nature of city politics makes the risk of providing service too great to remain involved.

In the wake of the Barriere fires, the Kamloops Fire Department was sued for its attempt to help, Mattiussi noted. That got at least one councillor questioning whether the city was capable of providing the service it had agreed to in the first place.

“I guess in a way we’ve been taking money under false pretenses. Did we just learn that we couldn’t provide that service?” Coun. Robert Hobson asked.

It was explained the agreement struck was effectively part of a long evolution of decisions over the area, and the latest decision that the homes no longer meet the insurance requirements is the same.

The decision means Lakeshore homeowners will likely need to contact the Central Okanagan Regional District to discuss their options at this point.

jsmith@kelownacapnews.com