Apology Accepted

The Oliver fire department has accepted Mike Hagel's apology.

Hagel, a former member of the department, has confessed to starting a series of grass fires around Oliver in 2003.

Fire Chief Dave Janzen was suspended from his duties after RCMP questioned him about the fires at the beginning of July. He has since been cleared of suspicion and will return to his job later this week.

Acting fire chief, Lance Soare, says Hagel’s written confession was read at a special meeting over the weekend.

“At the request of Mike Hagel, our members were called to a special meeting and I gave them the news that David Janzen was cleared and read to the membership the letter of apology from Mike Hagel,” says Soare.

He says long discussion followed the meeting, including a phone call with Chief Janzen, who is away visiting family.

“We as the Oliver Fire Department have sent a message to the Hagel family that we would try to help them in what ever way we could. We have accepted Mike Hagel’s apology and wished the family the best in the days, weeks and years to follow. One very profound comment that came from our discussion was, ‘we do not abandon one of our own,’” says Soare.

He says Janzen and his family agreed without hesitation with the membership’s decision.

Hagel’s confession stated he started suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing death scenes as part of his job on the department.

He wrote that, combined with a drinking problem, led him to start the fires.

“With my mind mixed up and soaked in beer, sometimes a thought would pop into my mind, ‘start a grass fire.’ I honestly cannot say why this would enter my mind or worse why I would act on it. I can honestly say if my mind was clear and sober, it would have been the last thought on my mind,” reads Hagel’s confession.

RCMP have not yet confirmed the existence of Hagel’s confession, but say they do have a suspect and have forwarded a report to Crown counsel.