The Town of Vermilion and the County of Vermilion River have entered into a fire services agreement.
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A formal agreement between the two parties has existed for nearly 30 years and their shared firefighting history dating back over 100 years.
The Town of Vermilion discussed the item at the June 23 regular council meeting.
“The fire services agreement between the town and the county does establish a five-year framework under which the town will provide 24/7 fire and emergency response to designated areas in the county,” Marilyn Lavoie, the town’s director of corporate services said.
“The town of vermilion and the county of vermilion river did start engaging in negotiations in January of 2026 and discussions have taken place through a series of administrative meetings as well as ILC (Intermunicipal Liaison Committee) meetings with our members of council who sit on that committee.”
Mayor Robert Snow said this is a long time coming.
“It was a long time coming where we really had to sit down and figure out how we can serve our two communities,” he said, taking the opportunity to thank the county for their work in this process. “The county and the town have been working together for a lot of years and coming to this agreement and understanding their needs in the county and understanding their bylaws and understanding our needs and our bylaws, I think we can say we really came to an agreement that serves both communities.”
Work has been ongoing for some time to reach a new agreement that benefits both parties.
“I think both committees put a lot of work into this agreement to get to a place where we can work forward from and a good agreement that benefits our town fire department and county residents,” Coun. Kellen Snelgrove said.
Under the terms of the intermunicipal framework, both municipalities were required to finalize a fire services agreement by April. However, at the March 6 ILC meeting, a motion was made to extend the agreement until June 30, giving the parties more time.
The county approved the fire services agreement at its June 9 regular council meeting.
“Together, both municipalities look forward to continuing their partnership and ensuring that residents receive reliable, responsible and professional fire and emergency services,” the municipalities said in a joint statement.
Council for the Town of Vermilion passed the motion to approve the fire services agreement with the county for a five-year term.
“This was a huge win for our region,” Snow said following the vote.
While the full agreement has not been made public, some details were provided. The agreement outlines clear service areas and responsibilities, with the town delivering operational services and the county contributing equipment, funding and cost recovery for applicable responses.
A joint oversight committee will support governance, cost review and continuous improvement.
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