If you have water in your basement, many local fire departments will help.

In Paris, Chief Brad Frost is very clear: “If someone’s got a problem, we respond.”

His department answered 18 calls for water in basements on Monday, and another five Tuesday morning. “In my town, I’ve got tremendous support from the citizens, taxpayers and town fathers. If we can help somebody out, we’re going to help them.”

In Rumford, where the Fire Department has responded to two calls during the storm, Chief Scott Holmes considers pumping water out of basements more than a public service. “It’s a public safety issue,” he said, and his crews willingly respond to calls for help.

Same goes in Auburn, Lewiston, Norway, Jay and Farmington, among other departments.

In Lewiston, where 6.65 inches of rain had fallen by 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to Androscoggin County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Jim Bubier, the Fire Department has been busy.

“We go,” when someone calls, Lewiston Capt. Tim Myers said. “If we can help them, by all means we do what we can.”

In cases where water is minimal, the Lewiston department will respond with equipment, instruct the homeowner how to use a portable pump, and leave the pump in place until the basement is dry. Homeowners then call the department to pick up the equipment, and it gets delivered elsewhere.

That’s the case for finished basements only because the pumps will clog if used in basements with dirt floors.

Additionally, firefighters will check the safety of the basement to make sure rising water isn’t going near electrical panels or outlets, and to ensure the caps on drains are tight so water doesn’t backflow into the basement.

It can be a hardship for smaller departments.

In Paris, “we’re paid on call,” Frost said, which means “99 percent of our guys leave a higher paid job to work for nine bucks an hour” when responding to wet basement calls, but do so willingly.

In Jay, Chief Scott Shink calls Central Maine Power to accompany firefighters to wet basement calls in case of electrical hazards, but the power company crews have been too busy with outages in recent days to go with firefighters.

Fire officials respond to wet basement calls every spring, but fire chiefs and captains say the recent storm produced more than the usual number of calls for help because the water table is quite high and the water content in snow is heavier than usual.

Auburn firefighters responded to 34 calls Monday, and another eight by midday Tuesday. Even if there’s just a little water, fire Capt. Scott Hunter said the department responds to all calls “because there could be some other hazards; it could involve the oil tank, electrical issues.” And, he said, there may be ways other than pumping to get the water out.

In Norway, where the department has responded to more than a dozen calls since Monday morning, Chief Mike Mann is certain this spring is wetter than normal, partly because of the recent rains, but also because there was so much rain in the fall that the ground is saturated. “The water can’t go anywhere,” Mann said, and is showing up in basements.

Hunter said Auburn had crews out overnight Monday, and he expects the emergency calls will last another day or so.