BlackburnNews.com file photo. BlackburnNews.com file photo.
Chatham

County Chief Unsure Of Regional Fire

The idea of a regional fire service floated during a Windsor executive committee meeting is news to fire chiefs in Essex County.

Leamington Chief Chuck Parsons says it's the first he has heard of the idea, and says it would need a lot of study. "We would have to take a very fine look at is there would be any savings and what the benefits would be to our communities."

Leamington fire fighters work part-time, all others in Essex County are volunteer based. Parsons says they'd have to know how the firefighters would be rolled into a potentially full-time service without increasing costs.

He says county departments already have mutual service agreements to handle backing up each other across borders, among other things. "We have had discussions for sharing costs on bulk equipment buying and sharing some training costs and services."

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens raised the issue, with Fire Chief Bruce Montone elaborating on his experiences with regional fire in the Ottawa area.

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