Lincoln, Grimsby look to merge fire services

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Published June 24, 2021 at 7:42 pm

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In an agreement hammered out on June 23, the Towns of Grimsby and Lincoln created a master plan where they would share fire protection services.

The two municipalities, both located at the western end of Niagara Region, are neighbouring and have similar populations – 27,300 in Grimsby and 23,700 in Lincoln.

A joint release issued by the Towns said, “The approved plan for a shared fire service allows both municipalities to maximize their collective resources and reduce costs, resulting in administrative efficiencies and additional support for frontline services.”

The project came together in part with a Provincial Modernization Grant which allowed the municipalities to further investigate the opportunity and a working group made up of the Fire Chiefs and the Chief Administrative Officers, Deputy Fire Chiefs and Finance teams from both Lincoln and Grimsby.

“Strong partnerships such as the one Grimsby and Lincoln share are the cornerstones of community progress and success. This shared fire service pilot program will preserve the excellent services that our fire department team provides, and also capture efficiencies and opportunities through partnership and teamwork,” said Grimsby Mayor Jeff Jordan. 

The project will be rolled out in two phases.

Phase One, the pilot project, will start around October 1, 2021, and is expected to continue for approximately 24 months. During this phase, a single fire department will be created, with a Joint Advisory Committee established to oversee to provide governance to the service area, and a Fire Master Plan will also be carried out through a third party.

Phase Two would proceed to full implementation of the partnership, further addressing alignment of staffing, cost-sharing and capital property.

The Mayors of both Towns were happy to see the project come to fruition.

Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton said, “Lincoln Council strongly supports a shared fire service with Grimsby in alignment with our priority of being a Resilient Community, by planning for continued public safety and ensuring responsible and sustainable financial management., as we nurture and grow our partnerships while continuing to provide this crucial service to the community more efficiently.”

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