LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen voted Tuesday to pay Jay and Livermore for responding to nonurgent fire calls.
They also approved the Fire Rescue Department sending a letter to community members, and received an update on the fire chief interviews.
Jay and Livermore will invoice the town on the calls their fire rescue departments assisted with from Oct. 1, 2022, until March 1 while the department gets going again. There had been limited turnout from local firefighters.
The money will come from the Livermore Falls Fire Rescue Department budget.
Jay put in a bill of $4,336 for calls from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, according to Jay’s information.
Livermore Chief Don Castonguay said Wednesday that his bill was under $2,000 from Oct. 1, 2022, to mid-January.
The committee to hire a fire chief has been holding interviews. The town received six applications and five of the people were qualified, interim Town Manager Alex Pawson said. He is hoping to have a recommendation for chief at the Feb. 21 meeting, he said.
Firefighter Tom Barker read a letter the department wants to send to residents through the U.S. Postal Service. There are 1,400 to 1,500 mailboxes in town, he said. The cost would be about about $600. Since the department had been inactive, there is money in the budget to cover it, he said.
“We could not do what we are asked to do without the integral support of all of you,” Barker read from the letter. Interim Fire Chief Bobby Cummins has been “a long-term and devoted member of the Fire Department” and has the support of the department to rebuild a Fire Rescue Department “that you will be proud of,” he read.
The department is considering holding public suppers at the station, as well as more community events that will hopefully fund the auxiliary, which can support more community functions.
There is an urgent need to have more people join the department and to update equipment and apparatus. The department will provide regular updates on the Livermore Falls website, Facebook page or through the paper to keep everyone apprised of the progress.
Sherman Lahaie, a consultant working with the Fire Rescue Department, said he is working to address concerns the state Bureau of Labor Standards had with the department after a visit in December. The report is not available to the public.
A 30-day plan has been submitted to correct the issues.
The department is also in the process of reapplying for its emergency medical service license, which expired Nov. 30, 2022.
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