NORWAY – Town departments have to fix a long list of safety violations – most of them are minor infractions – before a mid-December deadline or risk paying the state $10,200 in fines.

There are 22 for the highway department, 21 at the fire department, 15 for the sewer department, nine at the police department, eight for parks and recreation, seven at the library and four at the town office.

The state Department of Labor made a surprise visit to the town in September and sent its report on findings to the office in October.

Adam Fisher, assistant to the commissioner, said it is department policy to not confirm or deny any investigation while it is pending. But he said if the town makes a “good-faith” effort to remedy the failings, the state will waive the fines. The labor department checks on public and private organizations to ensure that employees, and whoever else happens to be in the buildings, are safe from workplace hazards.

Town Manager David Holt said one of the more serious problems had to do with volunteer firefighters missing deadlines for annual trainings.

“I don’t know if it slipped for all members. It slipped for some,” Holt said. “It’s hard to get these volunteers to keep their training up. It’s difficult to get firefighters now, and there’s a list of things for them to do.”

But he added, “I’m not complaining; it’s for everyone’s best interest.”

According to the state’s findings, firefighters who wear respirators need annual retraining, the members who deal with hazardous material must complete their training, and those who enter buildings must meet the minimum standard in interior structural firefighting.

Fire Chief Michael Mann said none of the lapses in training put the firefighters in jeopardy.

“They just came in and told us what we needed to fix. We had some links of hose that we had not yet done – they hadn’t been unrolled and pressure checked,” Mann said, referring to a required annual fire hose test.

At the library, state inspector Michael LaPlante said a damaged wooden stepladder in the boiler room needed to be removed, emergency lights need fixing, and stored items in front of fire extinguishers had to be shifted. He also wrote in the report that he found a children’s play set blocking a downstairs emergency exit.

“We have a story couch, and it is placed in a way that he thought was not acceptable by their standards,” Ann Siekman, director of Norway Memorial Library, said. “No one would have been in any way in danger. There are regulations, it is all about regulations.”

On the list for the town office were an outside outlet missing its weatherproof cover, a fire extinguisher and exit door blocked by storage, and the lack of an exit sign in the kitchen.

Holt said the cost of fixing the problems will be less than the fines.