GREENWOOD – A vehicle that the Greenwood Fire Department has been trying to replace has failed inspection, Capt. Jeff Harren told selectmen Tuesday.

Town Manager Kim Sparks said the 1982 school bus, which the department uses to transport equipment, needs a $150 repair to its exhaust system. Sparks said selectmen approved the repair and a reinspection for another year while the department seeks a replacement vehicle.

The department’s other vehicles passed inspection.

In August, residents voted 44-30 against purchasing a surplus 1992 Ford command rescue and equipment vehicle from a Maryland fire department. In 2006, voters rejected a $225,000 request for a new vehicle to replace the bus.

Selectman Fred Henderson said in an August meeting that the bus was unlikely to pass inspection this year. Chief Jim Owens has said the bus, which was purchased from SAD 44, is not designed for equipment transportation, is overloaded and unsafe, and has steering problems.

Greenwood is part of the Northern Oxford Mutual Aid Association, in which different departments bring pieces of equipment to larger fires. Greenwood’s bus carries an air cascade system to refill firefighters’ air bottles.

Chief Jim Owens said after the vote that the department is raising funds to replace the bus with a vehicle more suited to carrying equipment.