PARIS – The Board of Selectmen accepted a bid Thursday for installation of a new twin boiler system at the fire station.

Selectmen awarded the contract to RPH Inc. of Jay for $22,422. RPH outbid Thayer Corp. of Auburn, which bid $26,312 for a similar system.

“We don’t want to be in this predicament in the wintertime,” Selectman Gerald Kilgore said in support of a twin boiler. “We were lucky this happened in the summer.”

Chief Brad Frost of the Paris Fire Department said the building was designed for a twin boiler system.

“I like the idea of a two boiler system, like it was supposed to be in the first place,” Frost said.

Under such a system, the task of heating the building is alternated between the boilers, and the second boiler may kick in as backup in the event of extreme cold.

Selectmen held a lengthy discussion over which option would better suit the town.

“I can find good and bad things with each one,” said Chairman Ernest Fitts III as the discussion neared a close.

Selectman David Ivey motioned to accept RPH’s bid, and Kilgore seconded to open discussion. However, Kilgore later withdrew the second after it was determined that an engineer had reviewed Thayer’s plans but not RPH’s.

“I think it’s very important that we have an engineer,” Kilgore said.

Town Manager Sharon Jackson said the town has a maintenance contract with Thayer and a satisfactory relationship with the company.

“I believe it does make a difference that one has had engineering specs done to it,” she said.

Resident Robert Ripley said that while Thayer could be trusted, he supported the less expensive option.

“It’s not really a guarantee, with an engineer, that we’re not going to have problems,” Ripley said.

Ivey later repeated his motion, and Kilgore repeated his second. When a vote was called, the board voted unanimously to award the contract to RPH.

According to a letter from Austin Foss of RPH, the company will remove the boiler, ductwork and piping and move the hot water tank to make room for a wall-hung system. The company will also replace all piping and other accessories necessary for proper operation, install 300 feet of fiberglass pipe insulation, and cap the existing boiler vent pipe.

According to the letter, equipment for the system is available and delivery could take less than two weeks. Foss said Thursday that it will take three days to install the boiler.

Selectmen also approved a warrant for a special town meeting in which residents will decide whether to transfer up to $30,000 from the unappropriated surplus toward the new boiler.

The special town meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Paris Fire Station.