It will be the end of an era next week as Belleville Fire and Emergency Services’ in-house fire dispatch takes its final call.
The city has entered into a five-year agreement with the City of Peterborough to provide all fire dispatch services effective April 16.
Previously, Belleville Fire and Emergency Services provided dispatch services for the city, as well as all departments within Hastings County. But with the onset of new regulatory requirements that would involve expensive upgrades, the city decided to outsource the service.
Over the last year, the other local departments have moved on to new services, many of them utilizing St. Catharines.
Belleville Fire Chief Dan Smith says residents will see no change in service and no actions are required by any alarm monitoring agencies.
“Belleville Fire and Emergency Services is excited to partner with Peterborough on this initiative,” according to Smith. “Since the establishment of the Belleville Fire Department in 1878, when fire calls were announced by the ringing of the bells in the clock tower of City Hall, to the present day, Belleville firefighters have been on the other end of the line, answering countless emergency calls across Hastings and Prince Edward Counties and sending the appropriate assistance. Today we pass this responsibility to our friends at Peterborough Fire. This new bond has already opened doors for more collaborative work in the areas of training initiatives, peer review and purchasing power. We know they will continue to provide our citizens and firefighters with quality and reliable emergency dispatch service, and we look forward to building a long-standing relationship.”
