SHEBANDOWAN FIRE SERVICES ARE IN DANGER

Dear Residents, Inhabitants, and Property Owners of the Shebandowan Local Services Board Area,

We, the Shebandowan Local Services Board (LSB), wish to take this opportunity to provide you with an important update on the status of the Shebandowan Volunteer Fire Department.

On May 7, 2025, Chief Tracey Johnson tendered her resignation as Chief of the Department, effective September 30, 2025. This date coincides with the end of the LSB fiscal year and the term of the current Board. Both current and previous LSBs acknowledge and sincerely appreciate the dedication, leadership, and many years of service the former Chief has given to our community. After more than 20 years, we understand her decision to step down, and we thank Tracey on behalf of all present and past LSBs, as well as the residents and property owners of our Board area.

Since the resignation, our efforts to recruit a new Chief have been unsuccessful, leaving the future of our Fire Department in a serious and uncertain position. The department is overseen and administered by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office (OFM), and for some time now the Volunteer Fire Department has been out of compliance. Our department requires a minimum roster of eight members, and without a permanent Chief, the Fire Marshal can rescind the Department’s certification at any time.

We are fortunate that Deputy Chief Richard Baxter has agreed to step in as Acting Chief for the immediate future. However, the recent resignation of two of the remaining five team members has placed us in even greater jeopardy. If the OFM rescinds our operational authority, the Fire Hall would be closed. The Province would remove the pumper truck, and our area would lose not only fire protection, but also First Response and highway traffic rescue services.

In response, the LSB has been actively pursuing alternative methods to satisfy OFM requirements, including exploring partnerships with neighbouring municipalities to provide the necessary administrative and regulatory oversight (Fire Chief services) while retaining and recruiting local volunteers to serve on the ground. In our new budget, passed on November 12, 2025, the Board has allocated contingency funds to support this arrangement if needed. Only the funds required to ensure safe and reliable fire and rescue services under our mandate have been allocated; the remainder is reserved to secure external administrative support. Should the Department or Board successfully recruit a local Chief, these contingency funds will be reallocated directly back to the Department through a future budget adjustment based on the new Chief’s needs and priorities.

This budget was reviewed during three separate open public meetings, where input from attendees was welcomed and incorporated. The final budget was passed in an open public session with near-unanimous support from those in attendance. Despite some misinformation circulating, please remember: as inhabitants and property owners, you all have a voice.

One of the core mandates of this Board is to provide the financial support necessary to “establish a fire department and for that purpose acquire, operate, and maintain a fire hall, fire engines and apparatus and equipment for use by volunteer firefighters in connection with fire suppression and other fire protection activities.”

All information referenced above is available on the Shebandowan LSB website. We encourage you to visit the site regularly, as postings of meeting minutes, announcements, and other updates will continue to be added.

In closing, we strongly urge you to get involved and help protect the future of our Shebandowan Fire and Rescue Service. Attend our meetings—either in person or online—to learn what is actually happening and to make your voice heard. The Board operates within its mandate and remains open to comments, concerns, and constructive criticism. Even better, consider volunteering for the Fire Team. Although it is a volunteer organization, training costs are fully covered and volunteers receive incentive payments for training time and responding to calls. The Department exists because of volunteers—and it cannot function without them.

To those who have recently been criticizing the LSB and the Fire Department online, we ask that you please refrain from doing so. These comments do not help improve the situation; in fact, they harm the very community you live in. The LSB recently submitted several very ambitious funding applications for long-needed equipment and improvements. Negative, misinformed commentary on social media can jeopardize these opportunities with just a single careless post. We are actively working with our funding partners and cannot afford public displays of unnecessary discord from individuals who have not attended—or even joined online—any of our meetings. If you wish to express concerns, please bring them where they matter: directly to the Board.

Please help us move forward together as a community. To receive meeting notices, Teams invitations, reminders, or to ask questions about anything related to the LSB, please email shebandowanlsb@gmail.com.

We encourage your active participation and input to the Board. Join or attend a meeting or just reach out to a Board member. This is your Local Services Board.

Sincerely,

The Shebandowan Local Services Board