NORWAY – Better maintained roads, better access to water sources and mixed stands of trees are just a few of the things Norway Fire Chief Michael Mann would like to see.

Mann on Thursday went before the Norway Board of Selectmen with a request that the town consider stepping up fire protection methods while it continues to grow. He presented the board with books and a video on wildfires.

“I’m just bringing it down so everybody can see what’s going to come,” Mann said, referring to new fire prevention theories.

Mann’s materials mainly concerned forest fires in the western United States, but he said many things could be applied locally.

Planting a variety of trees can slow the progression of a fire toward a home, he said. “If you mixed a maple and an oak, with the conifers, now you’re not going to get that crown,” he said, speaking of fires that spread through the tops of trees.

Mann added that in his travels to other states, he has seen fire ponds in many subdivisions. “We have none in a lot of our developments,” he said, noting concerns about being able to reach water when responding to fires.

Also, Mann said, there are many new roads that are not maintained by the town and not passable for firetrucks.

After watching Mann’s video, several board members and Town Manager David Holt said such issues should be looked into. The board briefly discussed the possibility of requiring fire ponds in subdivisions with more than five homes. Norway Planning Board Chairman Dennis Gray also suggested the town consider charging developers impact fees in order to pay for installing fire ponds.

Holt said communities in southern Maine have “devised ways to cover roads and facilities,” and Gray agreed to look at Norway’s codes and ordinances to see what jurisdiction the Planning Board has in the area of fire prevention.

Selectman Bill Damon urged the town to act soon.

“When we’re talking about fires, we’re talking about the safety of people that live there and not just the house,” he said. “I’d just like to see it done correctly and not wait until there’s a catastrophe and say, Well, we wish we had done something.'”

Gray asked Mann to lend his forest fire materials to the Planning Board, and also accepted a copy of a form regarding fire standards in Poland.