FARMINGTON — Farmington Fire and Rescue and Chesterville Fire Department will apply for a grant to purchase and share a 2014 tanker truck.

Farmington’s Board of Selectmen approved the request Tuesday for Farmington Fire and Rescue to participate and jointly apply for a federal 2014 Fire Act grant for the estimated cost of the truck, $250,000.

Now it’s “wait and see,” Farmington fire Chief Terry Bell said of the application process.

If the grant is received, the two towns would split the 5 percent match for the $250,000 grant. Half of that $12,500 would not exceed $6,250 for the local department, Bell said. The amount will be taken from the department’s reserve account.

The apparatus would be housed at the Farmington Falls fire station and costs for maintenance shared by the two departments, Bell said.

Joint purchases between departments are likely in the future, he said. The departments already participate in mutual aid.

If the truck was needed north of Farmington Falls, Chesterville would bring it and if south, Farmington would bring it to the scene, he said.

‘There are no hydrants to speak of in that part of town,” Bell said. “We’d use, they’d use and we’d share costs.”

While Farmington has not owned a tanker truck for quite a few years because the previous truck wasn’t used much, there is more growth in outside areas where there are no hydrants, he said.

“It’s a rare opportunity,” Town Manager Richard Davis said of the chance to jointly purchase the apparatus and house it in a station so close for both towns.

“It’s not the end of the world for us if we don’t get the grant,” Bell said. “But we can help out our neighbor.”

With rural departments experiencing shrinking personnel and apparatuses, it’s worth the application, Board of Selectmen Chairman Ryan Morgan, said.

abryant@sunjournal.com