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Additional fire engine repairs needed; fire department regionalization discussed

3 mins read
Selectpersons Tim DeMillo, Terry Bergeron and Tom Goding were in favor. Selectperson Stephen McCourt and Board Chair Justin Merrill
Jay Selectpersons, from left to right: Tom Goding,  Terry Bergeron, Stephen McCourt, Tim DeMillo and Board Chair Justin Merrill at Monday night’s meeting.

JAY – The Board of Selectpersons at their meeting on Monday night discussed the additional costs needed to repair a fire engine and were open to participating in looking at fire protection options with Farmington selectmen.

In January, selectpersons voted 3 to 2 to appropriate up to $35,000 to repair the Fire Department’s Engine 3, a 2006 E-1 rescue pumper.

Replacement railings in the frame had corroded. Fire Chief Mike Booker recommended having the railings replaced by Greenwood Emergency Vehicles of North Attleboro, Mass., an E-1 dealer. While the railings are no longer covered by warranty, E-1 agreed to provide galvanized replacements at no cost to the town. The cost of removing the corroded railings and installing the new ones is $29,565.

Since the engine was taken apart more things were found in need of replacement, Booker said Monday night. Included are rear suspension repairs, new fuel tank and straps are in need replacing due to rust issues. Even with these additional repairs, Booker said the total cost will “hopefully” stay under the $35,000 appropriated for the repairs. The funding will come from the Fire Department’s Capital Account, which currently totals about $365,000.

Booker said he thought Engine 3 would be back in service by June 1.

In other fire department matters, Farmington Selectman Matt Smith attended the Jay selectpersons meeting to ask if they would be interested in joining in on discussions about finding ways for the towns’ fire departments to try and restart the regionalization efforts for fire protection services. The difficulty of getting enough trained fire fighters responding to an increasing number of calls is seen in many towns.

Board Chair Justin Merrill talks about keeping the discussions on cooperating fire protection coverage small at Monday night's meeting.
Jay Board Chair Justin Merrill talks about keeping the discussions on cooperating fire protection coverage limited to a few neighboring towns at Monday night’s meeting.

Smith noted the talks on fire coverage regionalization “for whatever reason fizzled out. We thought maybe if the selectmen could try to put something together, then we can involve the fire fighters.” Smith added he and Farmington Selectman Chair Josh Bell had hoped to involve a few neighboring towns to help ease the towns’ volunteer staffing shortages.

“It’s a problem that’s not going away,” Smith said.

Jay Selectperson Tim DeMillo said they are “never against gathering information; we’re willing to participate.”

Jay Selectperson Justin Merrill noted they had all been to the meetings to discuss regionalizing fire protection a few years ago and noted that every town in Franklin County was in attendance. But, he said, Rangeley’s needs probably won’t realistically be met by Jay’s department.

“Sometimes the scope gets so wide it makes the task too big,” Merrill said. “We should start small and stay small. If it works, then grow it.”

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4 Comments

  1. GREAT idea. The answer is to ask the police, how this is working for them. longer response times..Seems to be the true issue,And they have county/state. Backup you do not.

  2. It seems to me that livermore, livermore falls, and wilton are more likely partners. Farmington is a little far away. And besides, Farmington is discussing hiring full time fire fighters, something jay does not want to get mixed up with as the costs will skyrocket and Jay has a major budget problem.

  3. Farmington is looking to hire full time fire fighters because they are not getting the response needed. The regionalization talks are happening because people do not want that cost. Sounds like the same problem everywhere if you ask me.

  4. I am only interested if it saves Farmington money. Farmington residents should not be subsidizing neighboring towns and then listen to them brag about their lower taxes!

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