The Town of Grimsby and the Town of Lincoln Shared Fire Service Review

UPDATE AS OF DECEMBER 4, 2025: Council Sets New Direction for Grimsby Fire Services After Third-Party Review

At a Special Council Meeting on December 3, 2025, Grimsby Council received EMG Consulting’s review of the recent joint fire services pilot between Grimsby and Lincoln. After careful consideration, Council has accepted several recommendations to strengthen Grimsby’s fire services — including the key recommendation to conclude the shared Fire Chief agreement at this time.

Both Grimsby and Lincoln Council emphasized that while shared services can offer meaningful benefits, the review showed that now is not the right time to move forward. This decision leaves the door open to future collaboration, while giving both departments space to focus on strengthening their own service models.

With this direction, Grimsby will transition back to a stand-alone Fire Department. Over the coming months, the Town will develop a detailed transition plan to support a smooth and efficient return to this model.

Council extends it’s sincere thanks to Fire Chief Greg Hudson for his leadership throughout the pilot and recognizes Deputy Chief Kay along with the entire Grimsby Fire team for their professionalism and dedication throughout this process.

As the Town looks ahead to 2026, efforts will focus on implementing the review’s recommendations and ensuring the Grimsby Fire Department remains well-positioned to meet the community’s needs now and into the future.

To view the final recommendation report, visit www.grimsby.ca/fireservicesreport

Project Overview

The fire services of the Towns of Grimsby and Lincoln are facing challenges posed by evolving demands for fire protection services as the community experiences significant growth while striving to sustain a cost-effective volunteer fire service model.

In 2021, the Towns of Grimsby and Lincoln embarked on a pilot project to undertake shared fire protection services in which the Grimsby Fire Department and the Lincoln Fire Department were to become one entity, the Niagara West Fire & Emergency Services. This year, a review of the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the fire service is being conducted, and your input is appreciated.

As such, the two municipalities have engaged the Emergency Management Group Inc. (EMG) to assist us with this initiative. EMG is a consulting firm that has worked with many fire departments to develop their fire master plans, station assessments, and fire service reviews.

We need your help to gather feedback successfully, so please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your confidential responses will help ensure a focused action plan that continues to meet the diverse needs of all residents.

Community Survey

The community survey is now closed. Thank you to all of you who participated and helped shape the future of your local fire service. If you have any questions about this project, please contact one of the project leads as noted on the right hand side of this page.