Four months after the Fort McMurray wildfires devastated the surrounding areas, the municipal council voted Tuesday night to direct staff to draft a plan to reimburse roughly 50 homeowners whose properties were bulldozed and/or damaged to create fire guards that protected other properties.

The plan is set to be presented to the council by October 09.

The compensation plan is the council’s way of helping those homeowners who reported difficulties getting their insurers to cover the damage to their homes, particularly when their properties were taken down purposefully to save other homes from the fire.

One such homeowner, Bilal Abbas, shared how frustrating it was to deal with insurance companies.

“The ordeal that we are going through I don’t wish it upon anyone else,” Abbas told CBC News.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, most homeowners’ insurance policies cover damage caused in order to stem the spread of fire.

“There is legislation in place to address situations like this and insurers work directly with governments and local authorities on a fair approach to ensure the property owner is covered appropriately,” said Insurance Bureau of Canada Western and Pacific vice president Bill Adams in a statement.

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