Grimsby, ON – The Town of Grimsby is putting $36,223.56 in new provincial funding toward better protection for its firefighters, aiming to cut the long-term health risks they face on the job. The money, announced June 17, 2026, comes from the Ontario Fire Protection Grant program and will go straight into the Town’s Firefighter Cancer Prevention Program.
Mayor Jeff Jordan and Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner were at Grimsby Fire & Emergency Services to mark the investment, which will buy additional personal protective equipment for crews. “Firefighter safety doesn’t end when the fire is out,” Mayor Jordan said. “This investment is about protecting the health and well-being of those who serve and protect our community, ensuring that they return home safely to their families after every call.”
The funding will cover footwear, protective balaclava hoods, gloves, and full firefighting ensembles. Each complete set of gear costs about $5,200 per firefighter, so the grant means several more sets can be put into rotation. That extra equipment makes it easier to clean and decontaminate gear regularly – reducing firefighters’ exposure to the hazardous biological and chemical residues that can lead to cancer down the road.
Firefighters across Canada die from cancer at rates up to four times higher than the general public. Each year, 50 to 60 Canadian firefighters lose their lives to the disease, and about half of those deaths happen in Ontario. Grimsby Fire & Emergency Services, which runs out of two stations and has served the town since 1879, will use the grant to improve on-the-job safety for its frontline crews.
The grant is part of a bigger provincial push: Ontario doubled its Fire Protection Grant from $10 million to $20 million for 2025-26, spreading support for cancer prevention programs and lithium-ion battery incident response across all 380 municipalities in the province. The Town of Grimsby shared details of the award on its website.
