So far so good with Greater Sudbury Fire Services Chief Rob Grimwood, according to the union which represents local volunteer firefighters.
“It’s early days, but our initial disposition is that we’re optimistic with the approach the chief is taking with our members, specifically with training," Christian Labour Association of Canada provincial representative Matthew Walchuk told Sudbury.com.
Grimwood met with volunteer firefighters on Thursday evening to discuss the upcoming training calendar, which Walchuk said included "meaningful engagement where our members felt that they could provide some really good content and constructive suggestions. … It helps create that sense of collaboration and ownership.”
There was some discussion about introducing a monthly daytime training session for volunteer firefighters who work night shifts, which Walchuk said marks a step in the right direction toward adding more flexibility to mandatory firefighter training requirements.
“The fact that we can at least explore those opportunities is different from what we’ve unfortunately become accustomed to,” Walchuk said.
In addition to better recognizing that firefighters typically have full-time jobs and lives outside of firefighting, Walchuk said Grimwood’s pledge to add flexibility is “more appreciative and acknowledges the commitments that volunteers are making through training, and just in general.”
Grimwood pledged to add more flexibility to volunteer firefighter scheduling right out of the gate, citing it as a key priority in conversation with Sudbury.com shortly after starting his new role with the city on Oct. 27.
He reiterated this pledge during this week’s community and emergency services committee meeting of city council, during which he said he has “heard a lot about the training, a lot about the repetition, the pattern, the scheduling, the need for flexibility.”
“At this point, I can commit to you that I’m looking at a very wholesale comprehensive cultural change that involves and engages the volunteers in mapping out how that training is going to look,” he told the committee.
“I can assure you that I’ve been actively engaging with the volunteer firefighters to better understand the history, and we’re committed to ensuring a training plan and a training process in 2026 that maximizes and respects their time, but ensures the core skills are there for what is ultimately a risky and dangerous job.”
Training requirements have been an ongoing topic of conversation in recent years, and accompanied a significant hike in provincially mandated minimum standards the city has been striving to achieve.
In the past, the firefighters’ union has argued that the city’s inflexibility when it comes to training has been at least partly to blame for dwindling numbers of volunteer firefighters, though it also follows a broader international trend wherein fewer people have been signing up as firefighters.
The city’s collection of volunteer firefighters has dropped significantly during the past decade, from 339 in 2012 to dip below the 200-member mark which it has since exceeded.
Overall, this means Greater Sudbury is “slipping behind,” Walchuk said, later reiterating that he’s optimistic the new fire chief will find a way to reverse this trend.
These dwindling numbers contributed to the city’s decision to amalgamate some emergency services stations as part of a broader revitalization plan they’re still working to roll out.
Although called “volunteer,” firefighting is a paid job, with members paid for both training and the time spent responding to calls, beginning at $18.33 per hour and hitting $26.19 after probation.
More information on becoming a volunteer firefighter, including qualifications, can be found by clicking here.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.