KENILWORTH – Wellington North and Minto Fire Chief Chris Harrow says he needs to focus more of his attention on the fire service.
Wellington North councillor Sherry Burke asked the joint chief at an Oct. 10 meeting where his priorities lie, following a fire service review conducted by a third-party consultant.
Wellington North and Minto entered an agreement in May 2020 to share a fire chief to make operations and the administration of the services more efficient and cost-effective.
“A greater focus definitely needs to be put on fire,” Harrow told Burke.
Delving into Wellington North’s fire administration and operations, Emergency Services Strategy and Solutions Inc. consultants noted results from a survey of 25 volunteer firefighters suggesting over half of respondents are displeased with the current staffing structure and leadership team, which includes two deputy chiefs.
Although the chief said he takes serious any indication of low morale, he downplayed the survey’s significance.
Only 25 firefighters had responded, Harrow said, which means the 68 per cent who are unsatisfied with the department’s staff structure and leadership team accounted for 17 people. The department has about 40 volunteer firefighters.
Less than half of Wellington North’s full roster had responded that morale was low, the chief told council.
Though township politicians and staff mostly gave Harrow glowing reviews when speaking with the consultants, firefighters said they haven’t seen much of the chief since the sharing agreement was inked over three years ago.
“The communication breakdown at the firefighter level has created misinformation and a lack of understanding of how the management team was designed to function,” consultants wrote in a report, adding job descriptions for the chief and deputy chiefs need to be refined.
Harrow is in charge of three stations in Minto and two in Wellington North, but prior to the shared chief agreement, Wellington North had its own fire chief.
Firefighters were resistant to the new management team and style, the consultants found, and a lack of communication has caused division between stations in Mount Forest and Arthur.
The pandemic certainly didn’t help with the communication breakdown, nor did Harrow’s role as co-interim CAO in Minto, consultants noted.
“I will be having conversations with Minto once this review [is] over … I will be making the decision with Minto to divest some of my roles there,” Harrow told council.
The review calls on the service to implement a plan to communicate more with firefighters about management’s “change in philosophy,” response models, technology changes, and management’s duties.
District chiefs at stations responsible for filtering information from management down to the rank and file will be provided with meeting summaries and talking points to communicate to firefighters, Harrow said.
He blamed the pandemic and the degree of change over the past three years for hampering an effective transition.
Since the study was done, Harrow said management has visited with firefighters and showed “what a management team is all about.”
“If that study was done again, I’m confident, and we’re confident on the management team, that that number would be different,” Harrow told council, speaking to the survey results.
Based on surveys, document reviews, and interviews with local politicians, township staff and volunteer firefighters, the consultants detailed successes and challenges with the shared service model, and suggested how the township could improve its fire service.
Consultants found no baseline assessment of the services was done before the agreement was put in place, and that duties of a deputy chief were not reassigned during two leaves of absence, causing projects to be stalled.
Ongoing issues include no formal mutual aid agreements with neighbouring services, “very old” operating guidelines, no response time expectations from council, a struggle to recruit (faced by many volunteer-based services), and lagging firefighter training and certification.
Harrow previously told the Advertiser that new mandatory minimum training standards required of all fire departments in Ontario would have little effect on the service, but the consultants’ findings about a lack of training records seem to contradict that sentiment.
“This will create issues for some Wellington North firefighters’ ability to certify as the mandatory certification of all firefighters approaches on July 1, 2026,” the consultants wrote.
On the other hand, the sharing agreement is credited with bringing about administrative supports, technology updates, significant financial investment, better two-way radio and dispatching systems, upgrades in digital software, better response times, access to Minto’s aerial truck, and coordinated training.
“Wellington North has benefited from the significant amount of time, energy and money spent to bring [Wellington North Fire Service] up to the level of its neighbouring regional partners,” the consultants wrote.
In a report to council about the review, CAO Brooke Lambert wrote “the partnership needs to go beyond being viewed as simply a cost-saving measure” and instead seen as a “critical investment.”
Lambert also noted the results from a community survey earlier this year suggest most residents were very satisfied with the service.
“The performance of the Wellington North Fire Service has been exemplary,” Lambert wrote, referring to what she called “extremely challenging circumstances” with water source challenges and multiple serious fires in the township this year.
Overall, the review found the township has benefited from the shared service agreement.
“We believe the shared fire chief agreement is working,” the consultants concluded, noting the model requires improvement for long-term sustainability.
Mayor Andy Lennox said the department has come “a very long way,” and the report would serve as a launching pad to grow the service and ensure its future.
Council voted 3-2 in favour of recommendations from Lambert, including:
- a revision of the current chief agreement to a formalized, shared management agreement;
- a review of the service’s budget;
- development of a fire services master plan, community risk assessment and facility review;
- strengthening of policy and procedure; and
- renewed focus on “internal unity, respect [and] cooperation.”
Councillor Burke voted against the recommendations and said she wants the current administration model abandoned.
Burke said the review affirmed reservations she had about the service model years ago, and wants Harrow’s focus to be on restoring “the leadership, the trust, and the unity with our dedicated volunteers for not only the fire service, but for their belief in the leaders that make the decisions.
“Firefighters are definitely dissatisfied with the current structure, and at what point do we make changes before liability becomes an issue, and I think we’re there,” Burke said, adding, “we’ve all heard comments.”
Councillor Lisa Hern abstained from voting.
Meanwhile, the service’s management will be interviewing “a large number of applicants” this month who want to become volunteer firefighters, Harrow said.
“We’re hoping to bring a significant number of firefighters on that will get us closer to full complement, which would be the first time in many many years,” the chief told council.
