NORWAY – Selectmen failed to give the go-ahead Thursday night for fire department officials to apply for a grant that would fund three full-time firefighters on the local volunteer department.

The Staffing For Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program is intended to improve manpower and staffing for fire departments. It could provide towns up to $100,000 for four of the five-year grant cycle, with the towns being responsible for full funding in the fifth year.

Board members hesitated to back the plan at this time without knowing if the program would be funded for the full four years or without knowing the financial ramifications for Norway in the future.

The Federal Emergency Agency grant application has not been released yet, leaving Deputy Chief Dennis Yates without all the answers about the program details.

The grant was created to provide funding directly to fire departments, including volunteer firefighter organizations, to help them increase the number of trained frontline firefighters. The end result is geared toward reducing the amount of response time to fire.

Town Manager David Holt, who said he favored submitting the application, said the board must keep in mind that the town’s financial ability to fund current endeavors is “in real jeopardy.”

“I’m worried about the money,” he said.

Holt and Yates met with the fire chiefs and town mangers of Oxford and Paris recently to discuss the grant.

“They thought it was a great idea if it didn’t cost anything,” Yates said. “No one has any money.”

Administrators on a regional basis have been looking at a combined fire department in Norway, Paris and Oxford, particularly if the economy continues its downward trend.

While Norway has 12 daytime firefighters, many of whom work in the Highway Department and town hall, seven of those are more than 50 years old, Yates said. Paris has no in-town available firefighters during the day. Oxford has several per diem firefighters.

A regional report released last year said Norway and Paris have not reached a staffing crisis yet. But it also stated that a structure fire requires no less than 13 firefighters, and fire officials say it is impossible for the three towns to assemble a sufficient number of qualified firefighters quick enough to stage and commence an aggressive attack. Firefighters must have special certification to enter a structure fire.

If the town does apply and is awarded a grant, town meeting voters will have to accept it.

The board is expected to revisit the issue once the application and program details are received.