Owen Sound's mayor says consultants continue to work on a fire services review for the city.
In the spring, KCB Inc. was retained to complete a $42,000 assessment with a written report expected by September.
Mayor Ian Boddy says consultants have been talking to fire chiefs and deputy chiefs, city councillors, city hall management and members of the public in conducting their review.
The assessment will study the possibility of switching to a composite fire department, which uses a mix of full-time and part-time firefighters.
Recently, Orangeville announced the hiring of eight new full-time firefighters to raise the number of full-time staff in its composite department to 20.
Orangeville is one of the municipalities viewed as a comparable to Owen Sound.
It has a population of 28,000 people serviced through full-time and volunteer (part-time) firefighters.
Owen Sound currently has a higher staffing level to service a smaller population, with 31 full-time employees -- 26 of those in fire suppression.
"If anything, I think it supports the way we're thinking," says Boddy of Orangeville's move to increase full-time staff. "It is a population around 28,000, so more than Owen Sound, and they've gone from 12 to 20 full-time, plus volunteer staff."
"I believe they're covering a bigger area around Orangeville too, not just the (urban) site of Orangeville."
Owen Sound initiated a review of fire services in early 2018 after council ordered a cost comparison report be completed by the fire chief in late 2017.
Owen Sound Fire Chief Doug Barfoot said in his January report it's time to look at the fire department and see if services can be provided in a more cost effective manner while maintaining an adequate level of safety.
As of 2016, Owen Sound was one of only 32 full-time fire departments in Ontario out of the province's 449 total fire departments.
The Owen Sound fire department budget for 2018 is $4.98-million.
Link to original article in Bayshore Broadcasting.ca: Owen Sound Fire Services Review Ongoing