Charlottetown Firefighters' Ball rescued from city budget cuts

Charlottetown's volunteer and salaried firefighters are used to doing the saving, but this time they've been rescued.

The City of Charlottetown Fire Department and Peake & McInnis Ltd. Insurance Brokers have formed a partnership to ensure the Charlottetown Firefighters' Ball can continue in 2016, a written release from the city states.

• Charlottetown Fire Department budget to increase $111K from last year

• Charlottetown firefighters' union upset with $200K budget cut

The ball, which costs approximately $22,000, was recently cut from the Charlottetown fire department budget. Now, Peake & McInnis has stepped forward with the funding.

"When the difficult decision was made to cut the 2016 Firefighters' Ball, we began looking for other ways we could recognize Charlottetown firefighters," said Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald in the release.

MacDonald said firefighters "really wanted the ball to go ahead." It has become a tradition, he said, for them and their families.

'Heartwarming'

"We're very appreciative," said MacDonald."It's extremely heartwarming to know that a local business is doing this out of the kindness of their hearts because of their appreciation of what firefighters do on a daily basis. We can't thank them enough."

The Firefighters' Ball, usually held in late fall for about 300 people at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, includes a formal dinner and awards ceremony.

David and Dan McInnis, brothers and co-owners of Peake and McInnis Ltd., said they wanted to see the eventgo ahead.

We're just happy to be able to help out,- David McInnis, Peake and McInnis Ltd.

"We understand that the city has budget issues and we understand that the chief has to maintain an operational fire department by making those tough decisions," said David McInnis.

"In the business that we are in, we know the commitment and the risk that the firefighters take every time that horn goes off, so we are quite willing to be a sponsor of this event. We're just happy to be able to help out."

The details of the ball will be confirmed once an event committee is formed to discuss the logistics.

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