FARMINGTON — An increase of $32,979 over last year’s budget would allow Farmington Fire and Rescue to hire four full-time firefighters for the rest of the year, Fire Chief Terry Bell said.

“The estimated effect on a home valued at $100,000 would be $7.20 per year,” Bell told around 40 residents, firefighters and town officials who attended an informational meeting Wednesday at the Community Center.

That is an estimate for the Fire Department budget and does not include potential school or county increases, he said.

The meeting was to provide information and let residents ask questions before the town meeting on March 28.

The Board of Selectmen recommend a budget with no increase. Some want to hold off hiring full-time staff for another year to study the problem.

Bell admitted he is not as confident as he was when he started as chief in 2000 that he has enough of a crew to provide protection and coverage in an emergency.

“Firefighting is a young man’s profession,” Bell said.

His department is aging with fewer members handling more calls. There were 434 last year.

Three of the department’s 25 members are in their 70s, seven are in their 60s and six are in their 50s.

For most residents at the meeting, paying a little extra in taxes seemed worth it.

“I’ll gladly pay an extra $10 to have someone come save my home, my animals,” Bridgette Gilbert said.

For others, the necessity and costs are not justified.

What action has been taken to talk about regionalization, Ryan Morgan asked Bell and Town Manager Richard Davis.  

Local departments collaborate with mutual aid but remain independent, Davis said. “It won’t happen overnight but we’ve not given up.” 

The biggest issue is the aging of members and the amount of training required. It is a lifestyle commitment, Davis said. 

A selectman from Alfred told Davis that that town, with a population of about 3,000, is seeking to hire six full-time firefighters at a $300,000 increase. That’s just one example, Davis said, of communities across the state facing the same issue.

The proposal is for four full-time firefighters this year but will the numbers change in the coming years, Nancy Porter asked. 

“I don’t know what is going to happen,” Bell said. Every organization is struggling to attract members, he said.

The average turnout per call in 2006 was 11 firefighters. The average in 2015 was six, he said. Some members are not available due to work or family, fewer people are interested in becoming a firefighter and there is a lack of trained, capable firefighters to fill per-diem shifts, he said.

Porter also asked if other towns would rely more on Farmington because the department has full-time firefighters.

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