Kitchener takes over fire dispatch services in Stratford
Fire services in Stratford will soon be dispatched out of Kitchener.
Kitchener Fire Chief Bob Gilmore says the local department already dispatches for Waterloo, Cambridge and Waterloo Region’s four townships. Now they’re adding the City of Stratford to the list.
“The big reason it’s happening is the CRTC [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission] is implementing what they call Next Generation 9-1-1 and [for] a lot of the smaller dispatch centres, it’s an exorbitant cost to upgrade their technology,” Gilmore said. “And so it’s trending throughout the province actually that the smaller centres are being absorbed by the bigger regions.”
The province says Next Generation 9-1-1 will allow the public to share more information with 911 dispatchers including text messages and video. It will also give emergency operators and dispatchers the ability to identify the location of a call using GPS coordinates.
Emergency communication centres across Ontario have until March 2025 to transition to the new system.
Last month, the province pledged to spend $78 million on telecommunications infrastructure to help municipalities and emergency response centres make the switch.
Kitchener Fire will get just under $714,000 of that money.
Gilmore says it won’t be a problem for Kitchener to take on Stratford’s call volume.
“Their call volume is approximately 2,400 calls a year. So we’re currently about 32,000 in the region, so we’d go to 34,000 [calls per year].”
Gilmore says employees with Stratford’s dispatch centre have been re-assigned and will not lose their jobs. Kitchener Fire currently has 17 dispatchers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Repetitive partisan conduct': Conservatives to force vote on ousting Speaker Greg Fergus
The federal Conservatives have advanced a motion that will force MPs to vote on whether to oust Greg Fergus as House of Commons Speaker, after MPs' deputy adjudicator ruled Monday that the Liberal member's allegedly errant partisan event invite required urgent attention.
Teen was doing homework at family's Mississauga, Ont. restaurant when gunman opened fire: testimony
The 13-year-old sister of a young man killed in the attack on her family’s Mississauga restaurant in 2021 took the stand in a Brampton courthouse on Monday to describe the terrifying moments of coming under fire.
B.C. senior prepares to move due to devastating effects of fraud
A Courtenay, B.C., senior is downsizing and packing to move as she comes to accept she can no longer afford to stay in her home, after falling victim to a scam that robbed her of her life savings worth more than $100,000.
'Decades-long fight': MPs unanimously pass 'anti-scab' legislation
A bill that would ban federal employers from using replacement workers or 'scabs' during lockouts or strikes passed the House of Commons unanimously on Monday.
WATCH Alta. man rescues wild foal trapped on steep cliffside
A man's daring rescue of a newborn wild foal that was trapped after falling down a steep embankment was caught on video over the weekend.
What a CBSA strike could look like, according to an expert
Slowed or interrupted travel, the passing of goods and significantly restricted borders should be expected if Canadian border workers take upcoming strike action.
Israel close to approving Gaza reunification program before Rafah invasion: Miller
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Israel seemed to be on the verge of approving a program to get Palestinian relatives of Canadians out of the Gaza Strip before the country's invasion of the town of Rafah.
Netanyahu acknowledges 'tragic mistake' after Rafah strike kills dozens of Palestinians
Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Monday that a 'tragic mistake' had been made after an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah set fire to a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians and killed at least 45 people.
Severe thunderstorms, tornado watch in some areas of Canada. Here's where
Depending on where you live, you can expect to get a mixed bag of weather this week, as local forecasts predict heavy rain, strong wind, severe thunderstorms and even snowfall across some areas of Canada.