RUMFORD – Fire Chief John Woulfe outlined a proposed organizational statement for selectmen late Monday afternoon that he and the firefighters who attended the meeting hope will more clearly describe the tasks for which the department is responsible.

The draft, expected to be completed by November, was in response to telephone calls selectmen sometimes receive asking why firetrucks are occasionally seen around town when there is no evidence of a fire.

The report will also explain the tasks the Fire Department undertakes now, as opposed to the duties it once was charged with.

Woulfe said the department is proactive and not reactive, as it once was when the primary duties were responding to fire calls.

He said the organizational statement will also help selectmen and residents decide what level of service they want to fund.

The department responds to fires, accidents and medical emergencies. It also conducts educational workshops for schools on fire safety as well as inspects homes, among other things.

“This (statement) is a starting point,” he said.

He said for safety and liability reasons, two firefighters must travel together when going on training, inspections, doing preplanning or conducting other department business. A piece of fire apparatus is used each time firefighters leave the fire station.

Some people, including Selectman Mark Belanger, have questioned why the department employs 14 full-time firefighters when towns of similar size do not have full-time fire departments or operate with far fewer firefighters.

Woulfe said Rumford encompasses businesses and organizations that towns of similar size do not have, such as the paper mill, several nursing homes, and a hospital, as well as an older population and many multiunit apartment buildings.

Town Manager Steve Eldridge said the board plans to discuss the level of services offered by each of the municipal departments during the next few months as part of the budget development process.

“Then we’ll have a department head meeting and talk about it,” he said from home Monday night.

A separate meeting of selectmen with the fire department’s three deputy chiefs and Woulfe was held because of the telephone calls residents have made to selectmen.

Woulfe said once selectmen review the organizational report he plans to make a presentation for broadcast on the local access television channel.