Photo: Wayne Moore

North Westside residents Callie Simpson, Sylvain L'etoile and Wayne Nixon

Residents of the North Westside are angry, and they want answers.

More than a dozen residents descended upon Regional District of Central Okanagan offices on KLO Road in Kelowna after Fire Chief Jason Satterthwaite and his Lt. Rob Gajda were suspended indefinitely, and seemingly without warning Friday.

The group claim both men are under a gag order not to discuss the circumstances around their suspension.

RDCO communications supervisor Bruce Smith says out of respect for privacy, he can't comment on personnel matters.

Residents gathered in front of the RDCO offices, hoping they would be heard at Monday's board meeting.

"We want an independent investigation, not something done by the regional district," said resident Callie Simpson.

"We want our people back."

Wayne Nixon, president of the North Westside Community Association says the two men are a big part of the tight knit community.

"They aren't getting rich doing this, they are doing it purely for the benefit of the people in our community," said Nixon.

"It's a huge offence to our people in our community to be attacking people like our fire chief and others who have been suspended."

Volunteer firefighter Sylvain L'etoile suspects Gajda was suspended over a discussion about firefighting gear during a forcible entry course.

L'etoile says he asked why Peachland had better equipment than they did with North Westside.

"Rob was like, I don't really want to get into it," L'etoile recalled.

L'etoile said Gajda finally said Peachland funding was from a municipal level, while North Westside was regional.

He says he believes somebody from the course went to the RDCO and made what he said sound worse than it actually was.

L'etoile also points to a story Castanet published a month ago in which Satterthwaite and Gajda were at odds with the RDCO over an offer from a resident to to provide their rental home in La Casa as a quarantine home in the event a firefighter contracted, or was exposed to, COVID-19.

He believes those two issues are behind the indefinite suspensions.

Without answers, he says he may leave the department in support.

Despite the suspensions, Smith says it will be business as usual at the North Westside department.

"If (residents) need help and need the fire department, they will respond," said Smith.

Nixon said at the end of Monday's board meeting, Central Okanagan West Director Wayne Carson, who is himself a former North Westside fire chief, asked that an independent investigation into the matter take place.

He indicated board chair Gail Given nixed the request, stating it was an HR matter that couldn't be discussed openly.

Nixon did say it could be brought up in the future in camera.

"Needless to say, there was outrage from the community members that were there at the end of the meeting," said Nixon.