PARIS – Norway, Paris and Oxford continued a series of discussions on shared services and equipment Tuesday, meeting with representatives of each town’s fire department.

Selectmen from the towns agreed the departments already work closely together.

“It’s all one unit,” added Norway Chief Michael Mann, commenting on joint training programs and mutual aid agreements through the Oxford County Regional Communications Center in Paris.

The town lines, said Oxford Fire Chief Fred Knightly, “don’t mean anything.”

But firefighting services are becoming more and more costly to provide, the towns and fire chiefs agreed.

“Is there anything the fire departments could bill for that isn’t being done now?” Oxford Selectman Dave Ivey asked.

Knightly said the towns could bill for the use of equipment and cleanup.

Paris Selectman Bruce Hanson agreed, and said his town is already working on setting up such a billing structure for motor vehicle accidents.

“Traffic accidents are taking a toll on our fire departments,” he said. “You go to a traffic accident and the guy with the wrecker, he gets paid … but the fire departments get nothing.”

Hanson invited representatives from the other towns to a Paris committee meeting at 4 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Paris Police Department, to discuss billing for accidents.

Paris Fire Chief Brad Frost said he hopes to have the new billing structure in place by the first on next year.

It was suggested that money collected from accidents in each town could go into that town’s general fund or capital improvements budget. Hanson noted that the idea is not to bring in extra money, but to offset the costs associated with accidents.

Frost said the fire departments are not typically called to minor “fender bender” accidents.

“We get canceled out,” Mann agreed.

Norway Selectman Bob Walker asked the Norway and Paris fire chiefs how long it will be before the towns are forced to create full-time fire departments like Oxford’s.

“The way the towns treat us right now and (with) the mutual aid between the fire departments, there’s no reason to even think about going to a permanent fire department,” Mann said.

Walker said that when he began working with the Norway Fire Department in 1963, “They gave you a rubber raincoat and a helmet that didn’t fit and you bought your own boots.”

He was paid $1.25 and hour to fight a fire.

The next joint meeting will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Paris Fire Station. The towns will discuss their recreation departments.