Many fire departments will be looking to change how their firefighters are dispatched.
The Canadian Radio Television Commission has mandated that fire dispatch systems be upgraded to next generation 911 technology by March 2025.
Upgrading to those systems is costly and adds manpower, and smaller fire departments are starting to look at other options.
Wednesday Quinte West council voted to have the City of St Catharines perform its fire dispatch instead of the Belleville Fire Department which will be phasing out of the dispatching business over time.
Hastings County Warden Bob Mullin says there’s more to the issue than just cost.
” … and it’s about the….it’s like everything else the same old same old has to be changed because of the new services and cell phones and so on, so it’s a change that has to happen.”
Prince Edward County and other local municipalities will be looking at fire dispatch options in the near future.
The change to next generation 911 is expected to lead to having larger organizations providing dispatch service for a large number of communities.
St. Catharines dispatch centre already has over 35 people working full time.
