In 2017, the Britannia Wilton Fire Department (BWFD) will no longer exist.
In a press release issued on Friday afternoon, the council of the Rural Municipality of Britannia announced the end of the combined department. According to the release, the RM is currently in the process of creating the Britannia Fire Department, in order to serve the ratepayers of the area.
“In light of the recently developed Legacy Regional Protective Services (LRPS) in the RM of Wilton, the council of the RM of Britannia is moving forward with the creation of its own service,” reads the release.
“Council closely reviewed the proposal from the RM of Wilton to join the new service and made the motion to move forward separately based on quality of service and efficiency to its rate payers. This decision directly affects the current Britannia Wilton Fire Department, which will be dissolved effective December 31, 2016. “
The release also indicates a volunteer committee has been set up, and a budget is being developed to meet the start date for the new department, which is January 1, 2017.
The Reeve of Britannia, John Light, previously spoke about how the RM would handle the issue of the BWFD, saying Britania’s rejection was motivated by the inclusion of Lashburn and Marshall in the LRPS.
“When you try to explain to your rate payers that we’re going to put money into a fire department that is going to expand in these two areas, it just didn’t look good,” said Light, previously.
The BWFD was formed in 1990, following the merger of fire services from both rural municipalities. It currently has 30 volunteer members.