PARIS – Residents took a step toward bringing heat back to the fire station Monday night by approving the transfer of up to $30,000 from the town’s unappropriated surplus for a new boiler system.

They took the action during a special town meeting convened to approve the transfer of money for the project.

The station’s existing boiler broke down recently due to engineering problems. Selectmen awarded a contract to replace the system to RPH Inc. of Jay on Oct. 11. The company bid $22,422 to install a twin-boiler system, while Thayer Corp. of Auburn bid $26,312 for the same project.

Following the vote, however, selectmen questioned whether they had made the right choice.

“We’re not sure if we want to continue down the road where we went two weeks ago,” Chairman Ernest Fitts III said.

Fitts said Fire Chief Brad Frost had approached him with concerns over whether the RPH system could adequately heat the building. Fitts also said he had received concerns from the Oxford town manager over a job RPH did, that RPH did not have an engineer, and that RPH’s bid had come in at the last minute.

Fitts said Thayer had done work for the town before, had figured heat loss through gasket wear into their plans, and had an engineer with the company.

Selectman Raymond Glover motioned to reconsider the vote, which would negate the board’s earlier decision. Selectman David Ivey seconded the motion “for discussion purposes only.”

“I’m sure if we did some digging, we could find some things that Thayer hasn’t done right,” Ivey said.

Resident Troy Ripley accused Fitts of being influenced by someone “badmouthing” RPH behind the scenes, which Fitts denied.

“You haven’t brought up anything that wasn’t brought up last week,” Ripley said.

Resident Franca Ainsworth said the board should find an independent engineer to find the specifications for the project.

“Never mind the low bid or the high bid or whatever,” Ainsworth said. “Winter is around the corner.”

Austin Foss of RPH told selectmen he could restore heat to the building within two weeks.

When the motion was voted on, the board decided unanimously to retain the RPH contract.

RPH will remove the old boiler system and relocate a hot water tank to install the wall-hung twin-boiler unit. The company will also replace all piping, install 300 feet of fiberglass insulation, and cap the existing boiler vent pipe.

Foss said installation of the boiler will take three days, and that parts are available for delivery.