PARIS – Town officials have ended a mutual aid agreement with the West Paris Fire Department citing concerns about West Paris’s ability to respond to accidents or fires.

Vice Chairman Bruce Hanson said Paris selectman voted 5-0 on Dec. 13 to discontinue the mutual aid pact. He said the board voted after coming out of an executive session during which he had relayed concerns about the West Paris Fire Department.

The information Hanson relayed to the board, he said, came from his own conversations with “our fire chief, the town manager and the town of West Paris.”

West Paris Town Manager Don Woodbury on Thursday acknowledged a series of problems with that town’s Fire Department. Two successive chiefs resigned over the summer, he said, as well as several firefighters.

About a month ago, he added, “There was discussion about using South Paris to cover West Paris if there were a problem fielding an adequate fire department because of resignations and other stuff here.”

Mike Akers has since been appointed chief, Woodbury said, and has recruited new firemen and started a series of training programs

Without a mutual aid agreement, Woodbury noted, West Paris will be charged every time Paris is asked to respond to a fire or accident. Paris charges $250 for the first hour of aid, he said. And while the hourly rate then goes down, the town also may be charged fees depending on the type of equipment used.

Woodbury has received a letter from Paris “effectively saying that they don’t want us to back them up,” he said. He shared the letter with West Paris selectmen at a Dec. 23 meeting.

Woodbury said, “We have stated that we would like to sit down with the two fire chiefs – ours and theirs – and the selectmen and see what we can do to resolve the issue.”

He said he plans to call Paris Town Manager Sharon Jackson next week.

Hanson said the agreement may be reinstated if “new information” is brought forward. “You never close the door entirely,” he said.

Paris Selectman Barbara Payne already has requested the issue be revisited. At a Dec. 27 meeting, she said, “It appears we may have overstepped our bounds when we dealt with that issue when Fire Chief Brad Frost wasn’t here.”

The board took no action on Payne’s request.

At the Dec. 13 meeting, the Sun Journal was told the board would be discussing “liability” issues during the executive session. The agenda stated, “one Fire Department negotiations.”

According to Maine’s Freedom of Access law, boards must vote before going into executive session. The motion voted upon “must indicate the precise nature of the business of the executive session” and make reference to the statute under which the discussion is allowed.