Kingsville firefighters will no longer perform boat rescues on Lake Erie.
Council accepted staff's recommendation Monday night to pull back and adjust service for the Kingsville Fire Department.
Staffing levels and competing training demands were cited as reasons.
Fire Chief Scott Moore told council the department has responded to six water calls since 2020, and the boat was only deployed half of the time.
He said discontinuing boat rescues would avoid an estimated $250,000 expenditure for the purchase of a new compliant boat and trailer.
"Maintaining a safe, effective marine program will require a dedicated vessel, specialized equipment and ongoing training for a sizeable team. Requirements that cannot be met given the current staffing and the competing training priorities," Moore said.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Canadian Coast Guard have primary jurisdiction for marine rescues and Moore said Kingsville firefighters will support those agencies from the shore.
"You're talking to the person, seeing if they can self rescue, reaching, throwing an object too, and when those things fail, we would enter into the water, if we were tethered to a platform type of thing. For an ice rescue for example, we use our Polar 75, which is an inflatable craft that we tether to shore," Moore said.
Councillor Larry Patterson said this was a wise move.
"We have what most municipalities have is a volunteer fire basis, and if we are going to try to continue and get larger, we need more staff. This is almost an area that needs its own fire hall, boat rescue," Patterson said.
The move is expected to save $64,000 annually.