AUBURN – Fire Chief Wayne Werts isn’t happy.

He wants to know why Auburn’s Fire Department has been snubbed, not once but three times now, when it comes to the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

He doesn’t begrudge Lewiston’s success at landing nearly a half million in the grants, or Durham’s $369,596. He lauds Minot’s success, too, and that of Mechanic Falls.

But shouldn’t Auburn also be sharing a piece of the federal money pie?

Werts says yes, but adds, “I don’t know,” when asked why his fire department hasn’t yet scored a grant.

“We’ve applied every year,” he said.

Most recently, the city has asked for grant money to help it bankroll an engine company. Werts says his department could use between $200,000 and $400,000, depending on equipment, to replace an aging frontline pumper with 105,000 miles on it.

Program officials, who work under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responded to the city’s grant bid with a negative form letter sent via e-mail, Werts said.

The rejections are baffling, he says. He has sent fire officials to school on the federal grant forms to get specific training that goes far beyond crossing T’s and dotting I’s on the applications. Last year’s proposal was put together by a firefighter who successfully landed a grant for another fire department where he had worked earlier, the chief added.

“I would like to know why” Auburn hasn’t been successful at landing a grant, Werts said. “I understand that there are peer review committees” and other factors at play in determining who gets what, he added. But still, he says, a department such as Auburn’s that answers 4,000 fire calls annually should, it would seem, have a leg up on a department that might respond to 100 calls a year.

He also points out that Auburn is a hub community and home to scores of major industries, two railroad lines and transportation routes such as the turnpike and Route 4 that see hazardous materials move over them daily.

Werts said he has written to Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe asking for explanations as to why Auburn seems to be routinely snubbed when it comes to grants from this program. Their responses, he said, were much like form letters, too, discussing the peer reviews and other program details.

Auburn will continue to apply for the grants, Werts said, because if it stops, it’ll never be considered. And getting the money could mean a new fire engine for the city, something it desperately needs, he said. By using federal funds to pay for it, local property owners wouldn’t see their tax rates affected.

“We have to continue to try,” Werts says.