WILTON — The Board of Selectpersons agreed Tuesday to house a rescue truck for the Livermore Falls Fire Department.

The truck is not in service and has been sitting outside, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said.

The department asked if the vehicle could be stored at the Wilton Fire Station.

The board unanimously agreed to allow the town manager to enter into an agreement to store it.

The board also agreed to join with neighboring Jay and Livermore Falls to hold a Household Hazardous Waste Day on Sept. 9 at the Jay Transfer Station. The cost to set up for the collection is $750, Irish said. This amount will be split among the three towns.

The board also agreed to a request from the Jay select board to discuss police department considerations. Selectpersons Ruth Cushman and John Black volunteered, along with Irish, to meet with the Jay representatives at 4 p.m. March 1.

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Irish said she was not sure what the police considerations were but likened it to a meeting of local fire departments held in Farmington.

Two board members and Irish have recently met twice with selectmen and town managers from five towns to discuss issues each town faces with fire coverage. After discussions on several items, including ideas for recruitment of firefighters, the group consensus was to meet again in about a year, Irish said.

One big issue, said Selectperson Jeff Rowe, who is also a firefighter, is the lack of available firefighters during the day.

Years ago, businesses such as G.H. Bass and Forster Manufacturing would allow employees who were firefighters to leave their jobs, he said.

Selectpersons discussed how to engage businesses in that practice, he said.

A lack of people trained to do interior fire attacks was also discussed, Rowe said.

While students in the fire program at Foster Career and Technical Education Center in Farmington are trained as certified firefighters, most move to places with full-time departments, he said.

Wilton Fire and Rescue has recently added three new members who are available during the day, he said.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

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