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Show Berry's resignation surprises Park City Fire Commission ! by NAN CHALAT Record staff writer "It is a fact of life that when there is a difference of opinion between a fire chief and his commission it is easier for the chief to leave," said Park City Fire Chief Jim Berry about his decision to resign Sept. 1. Berry said the disagreement centered around the media coverage following a Demolition Derby at Ernie's Rodeo Arena July 4. After the event Berry was quoted in the Park Record July 18 as saying that the fire department would no longer provide protection to demolition derbies. According to Fire District Commission Com-mission Chairman Jean Buchanan the department received several complaints about the comment as it appeared in the paper. "I was then advised by the fire district's attorney, Evelyn Saunders, that to protect the legal interests of the district I should go on the radio to clarify the district's intention to provide fire protection anywhere and any time it is needed. I said on the radio I believed the chief had been misquoted or misinterpreted. I did not then, nor have I ever apologized for Chief Berry." Buchanan said she believed Berry had been referring to the district's standby policy. Promoters of large . special events often pay the fire district to provide additional on-site protection at large gatherings but that the department had voluntarily donated its time to the demolition derby. After the radio interview, Buchanan Buchan-an said Berry called to inform her of his intention to submit his resignation at the next commission meeting. "I was extremely surprised. But at that time he said there were no ill feelings." In response to his reference about conflicts with the fire commission, Buchanan said she felt they were not significant, that they were a natural part of any chain of command. "I thought we had a good working relationship. Personally, I hoped he would stay with the district longer," she said. Buchanan said the Park City Fire District would be "forever grateful for the contributions Berry made to me Ut'pai'iiiiuiu. "He established the first full-time department in Park City. It is a credit to his perseverence and his intelligence that we have come so far. He freely shared his knowledge and experience with us and he is certainly leaving the department in a j lot better shape than he found it." "I hate to make this into a media : controversy because we are involved I with life safety, but we felt the ' inference in the article was of sufficient concern that we needed to reiterate our basic premise: We will continue to provide fire protection ;: anywhere within our 96-square-mile district it is needed," Buchanan said. Editor's note: .' In a departing interview at the Park Record, Berry said that he had told KPCW radio that he had been misquoted by the newspaper. But when ashed about what had been misstated, he told the editorthe author of the story that he had not i , been misquoted. I Berry said that the error in the inference made by the reader, and ' that he perhaps had not stated his j, position clearly enough. t |