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The Township of Warwick has announced the amalgamation of its Warwick and Watford fire departments, nearly 10 years after it was first recommended.
The single, unified Township of Warwick Fire and Rescue Department will continue to operate the two fire stations, with separate station chiefs at each site.
As part of this transition, Brad Goodhill has been appointed director of emergency services for the Township of Warwick.
He said combining the departments allows them to align training, share resources better, and better support firefighters.
"Most importantly, it strengthens our ability to provide reliable and effective emergency services to residents across the township," Goodhill said in a news release.
Goodhill served with the Warwick Fire Department for 40 years and most recently held the role of fire chief for 10 years.
The merger was recommended in the Fire Master Plan presented to council in November 2017.
Goodhill said council was satisfied with the model of having two separate fire departments and said it would look at the recommendation upon the retirement of one of the fire chiefs.
"Watford Chief Rick Sitlington retired on December 31, 2025, after 43 years of service, which led to the forming of one department, operating with the two stations," Goodhill said. "The Fire Prevention and Protection Act requires that there only be one chief fire official per municipality. We had operated for a long time with two and there were only two municipalities in the province of Ontario that operated that way."
As a volunteer department, Goodhill said they strive to maintain a complement of 50 firefighters between the two stations.
"We may need to increase that slightly in the future as everyone's lives are always busy with work, and family, and social events," he said. "But we still need to maintain a staff large enough to respond 24/7, 365 days out of the year."
Goodhill said ideally, he would like to reach a complement of 60 firefighters between the two stations but that would be a long-term goal, not a current priority.
In addition to Goodhill's appointment, Kam Turner has been named the station chief in Warwick and Ken Rops is the station chief in Watford.
Jim Hart will serve as the deputy chief of training and operations.
The township has extended its appreciation to its firefighters, officers, and volunteers for their continued dedication and cooperation during the transition.