NOTTAWA - Collingwood and Clearview Township have reached a four-month no-cost agreement that involves each municipality’s fire department.

Should there be a fire in Collingwood, where there are no water hydrants, Clearview has agreed to send a tanker and crew from Station 6 in Nottawa.

In return, should Clearview need it, Collingwood will provide its aerial truck for fires in the township.

Bob McKean, Clearview’s deputy fire chief, said the agreement is beneficial because both fire services get free access to equipment they don’t have.

He noted that aerial trucks are useful when fighting fires at buildings with more than one storey because firefighters can use the aerial to gain height, allowing them to better direct water.

For Clearview to buy its own aerial, the deputy chief said, it would cost anywhere from $700,000 to $1-million.

McKean said the two departments started talking a few months ago about the arrangement because Collingwood was asked to loan its tanker to the Barrie Fire and Emergency Service.

He said Barrie needs the tanker in order to respond to fires in an area of the city where there are no hydrants. Until recently, the area was part of Innisifil.

Clearview and Collingwood signed the agreement Dec. 18.

McKean said Clearview and Collingwood plan to enter a more formal agreement once the four-month period ends.

The deputy chief presented a report on the new arrangement to Clearview council last Monday night.

Elected officials were impressed that department staff is looking at ways to improve service without increasing costs.

“These are the kinds of things I want to see,” Deputy Mayor Alicia Savage said. “These are the things we need to do. This is great. Thank you for bringing this forward.”

Prior to the arrangement, Clearview and Collingwood had access to each other’s equipment and manpower through the Simcoe County Mutual Aid program but that came with a price tag if utilized.

Despite the new arrangement, the mutual aid program remains in effect.