Brockville to consider renewing fire dispatch agreement with Renfrew

The City of Brockville will consider renewing an agreement for the city’s Fire Communications Centre to continue providing emergency dispatch services to the Town of Renfrew for another 5 year term.

The matter is on the agenda for the Brockville General Committee meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, with staff recommending that Mayor Wren and Fire Chief Melanie Jones be authorized to execute a new agreement between Brockville Fire Services and Renfrew for fire dispatch communications.

According to the report going submitted in advance of the meeting, Brockville has been providing fire dispatch services to Renfrew since 2023, when the two municipalities entered into a three-year contract that is set to expire at the end of this year. Now, Renfrew is asking to continue using Brockville’s dispatch centre under a new agreement.

As outlined in the report, the proposed agreement would see Brockville’s Fire Communications Centre continue providing dispatch services to Renfrew around the clock. The centre operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and handles public reporting, dispatching, telephone systems and radio communications between public calls and responding fire departments.

Should the agreement move forward, Brockville would also be responsible for maintaining appropriately trained communications staff, including ensuring coverage during any potential labour disruptions. Dispatchers must be able to receive emergency calls from Renfrew and surrounding municipalities, dispatch Renfrew Fire Services and maintain communication with responding crews throughout an incident.

The agreement would also require Brockville to maintain detailed records of calls, including when a call was received, its location, information provided by the caller and when that information was passed to the fire department. Dispatch records and time-stamped transmissions would be retained for at least seven years. According to the report, 80 percent of alarms must be answered within 15 seconds, 90 per cent within 40 seconds and 95 per cent of emergency dispatches must be completed within 60 seconds.

For Brockville, continuing the agreement would provide another source of revenue to help offset the cost of operating the Fire Communications Centre. An agreement with the Town of Renfrew would start in 2027 with a fee amount of $51,988.56. From 2028 to 2031, the fees would respectively be $53,236.29, $54,513.96, $55,822.29 and $57,162.02, according to the report.

Should the motion not be approved, Renfrew would need to find an alternative provider for its fire dispatching needs. Fire Chief Melanie Jones and Deputy Fire Chief Chris Paul say Brockville has the capacity, experience, and infrastructure to continue providing the service, noting that renewing the agreement would continue strengthening regional partnerships with neighbouring fire departments.