Municipalities are responsible for providing fire protection within their boundaries; however, in most municipalities this service is not provided directly by the Municipality. In order to provide these very important services, the Municipality of Lunenburg has registered twenty-four Fire Departments within our boundaries to carry out this service. The Towns of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg also register and provide these services to some areas adjoining their boundaries. These Fire Service providers are staffed fully by volunteers who respond to numerous emergency calls such as fires, traffic accidents, rescue type and other emergency situations, and as Medical First Responders.
To assist these departments with their financial needs, the Municipality collects money separately from the general tax rate. The amount of money collected is based upon a budget that has been submitted by the individual Fire Service Providers. This money is shown on your tax bill notice and is referred to as your “Fire Area Rate” charge. The money collected by the Municipality is then forwarded to the individual Fire Service Providers so that they can maintain and purchase equipment; upkeep their facilities; train their volunteers; pay for subcontracted providers; and, pay for insurance. These are some of the larger costs these Fire Departments have in order to operate an effective volunteer fire service.
The Municipality also has a Fire and Emergency Services Committee that consists of four representatives from Fire Service Providers, four Councillors and two Members-at-large. The Committee meets on a regular basis to review fire service matters and appropriate rules and regulations.
If you have any questions related to fire services in your community, please contact the appropriate Fire Department. You can see a pdfmap of the Fire Departments here (5.28 MB) . Or you can contact Chris Kennedy, Fire Services Coordinator, at (902) 541-5309, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Important Links
- FireSmart Canada
- Fire Restrictions
- Forest Protection - About burn restrictions
- Fire Services Minutes
Historical Fire Tax Rates
- 2023/2024 Fire Tax Rate Report
- pdf 2022/2023 Fire Tax Rate Report (49 KB)
- pdf 2021/2022 Fire Tax Rate Report (103 KB)
- pdf 2020/2021 Fire Tax Rate Report (103 KB)
- pdf 2019/2020 Fire Tax Rate Report (75 KB)
- pdf 2018/2019 Fire Tax Rate Report (87 KB)
- pdf 2017/2018 Fire Tax Rate Report (96 KB)
- pdf 2016/2017 Fire Tax Rate Report (95 KB)
- pdf 2015/2016 Fire Tax Rate Report (87 KB)
- pdf 1993-2016 Fire Tax Rate Report (67 KB)
- pdf 2003-2020 Fire Tax Rate Report