The town of Rosemere abruptly shut down its fire department on Monday. 

The town of Blainville is now handling fire services for Rosemere. 

Rosemere's fire department employed 38 firefighters and three administrative staff, with all but five firefighers being part-timers. It is unclear whether any of them will be hired by Blainville. 

The firefighters say they were in negotiations with the city for a new collective agreement, and had been without one for the last 28 months. They say they received the notice to head to city hall on Monday for the announcement of the station's closure three hours before it happened.

"It just happened so we're still dealing with the emotions a little bit, but basically ... they didn't tell us anything before it happened so we weren't expecting it to happen this way," said firefighter Alexander Kheir.

The town of Rosemere says its fire department operated on a part-time basis, meaning half the time, firefighters were on call but there was no one at the station. The new deal means the town will have full-time services at a better cost – over the next 20 years, Rosemere will save $30 million, the town says.

"In taking this decision, we had the best interests of the taxpayers at heart, in terms of both safety and cost efficiency. This is a highly beneficial agreement,” said Rosemere Mayor Madeleine Leduc.

"Instead of our firefighters leaving from home, getting dressed, coming here and putting on equipment, then leaving with the truck, all of that" will happen out of Blainville.

Rosemere is saving $1.5 million a year by outsourcing fire services to Blainville. The department's operating budget was $2.1 million.

The town says the deal will also improve response time, as there will be full-time firefighters working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The firefighters say it's too early to know how it will affect service.

"It's hard to take. Some guys have been giving their life in Rosemere for the past 20, 25 years, we had some guys who were here, who were proud to serve the people of Rosemere and they get one week of severance for year of service," Kheir said.

Residents can still dial 911 if they need help from firefighters.