Quinte West Council has agreed to make a change to who dispatches firefighters to emergency calls.
Councillors decided on Monday night to transfer that responsibility to the Belleville Fire Department, who currently dispatch all calls in Hastings County, at a cost of $120,000 per year.
Quinte West Fire Chief John Whelan tells Quinte News that is significantly cheaper than what it would cost to keep the current system, because incoming upgrades in technology mean more staff hires would be needed and equipment maintenance and upgrade costs would spike as well.
Firefighters in Quinte West are currently dispatched by OPP staff and Whelan says no jobs will be lost with the switch, with the current dispatchers just focusing solely on police calls.
Whelan expects the switch to take place by the end of the month, with Belleville dispatchers staying on as a back-up for now.
