FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 14, 2022

 

On January 1 of 2023, the North York Regional Fire Department will be dissolved, and fire stations will return to independent administration.

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To be clear: There will be no operational impacts felt by residents as we both will continue to respond to calls in our current fire boundaries and provide mutual aid as required.

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In January of 2016, the Keswick Valley Fire Department and the Millville Fire Department were formally joined to form the North York Regional Fire Department. This arrangement created a single fire department with two fire stations. Over the proceeding seven years, emergencies in either area saw firefighters respond from both fire stations, members trained together, portions of operations were standardized, and equipment was purchased with a regional mindset.

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As a Local Service District fire department, the North York Regional Fire Department reports to the Province of New Brunswick’s Department of Environment and Local Government. On January 1 of 2023, as a component of local governance reform, these two fire stations will be located in two different municipal entities and will administered by newly formed councils in those entities. As a result, the formal arrangement of the North York Regional Fire Department will be dissolved to reflect the local administration of each local fire service. The local fire service in Burtts Corner will be administered by Central York and will return to the name “Keswick Valley Fire Department”. The local fire service in Millville will be administered by Nackawic-Millville and will be named the “North York Fire Department”. Of note, the local fire service in the Millville area was formerly known as the North York Fire Department, before incorporating to the Millville Fire Department in 1982.

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Fire stations are anchors in their communities, and their membership are the lifeblood of the operation. The rural areas of the Province of New Brunswick are served by over 4000 volunteer firefighters. Every day communities across the Province rely on volunteers to provide responses for motor vehicle accidents, fires, rescues, and other lifesaving operations. Those local fire services rely on communities to stand up and provide support, and to join those volunteer ranks. It is a tremendously important and rewarding experience. We encourage you to consider joining our teams in Keswick Valley, or Millville, or one of the many volunteer fire departments across New Brunswick. Contact information is available here: www.nbafc.ca/map/

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To prepare for a return to local administration, the members in Keswick Valley have launched a Facebook page where you can follow and connect at: Keswick Valley Fire Department

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To reflect the name of the local fire service in Millville, this page will continue to be the contact point for operations and administration in Millville: North York Fire Department

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We would like to take a moment and extend heartfelt gratitude to membership and their families in Keswick Valley and in Millville for their hard work, sacrifice, and dedication over the past seven years. Tomorrow (October 16th), an event will take place for our membership, their families and invited guests, where we will present years of service awards, and to commemorate the history of the North York Regional Fire Department.

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Please feel free to reach out to Justin McGuigan with questions. Contact information is available at www.northyorkfire.com

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The attached photo was taken at the first formal meeting of our newly established team.

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We encourage you to help us share this information.