NORWAY — With some of the Fire Department’s self-contained breathing apparatus tanks nearing the end of their 15-year lifespan, the Select Board on Thursday unanimously authorized buying five new cylinders with money from the fire equipment reserve account.
The cost will be $4,975.
The tanks on the air packs provide compressed air that protects the user from harmful particulates and toxic gas while inside a burning building. According to Fire Chief David Knox, the Bureau of Labor and The National Fire Protection Association require fire departments to have one cylinder and one spare for each air pack.
The Norway Fire Department has 22 air packs.
Of the department’s 54 SCBA cylinders in house, 20 of them will reach their 15-year lifespan within the next two years, Knox said. The expiring tanks were purchased in 2009 and 2010.
Departments face a severe fine if they are caught using an expired tank, he added.
Knox proposed using reserve funds to purchase five new ones now, with money for seven additional tanks included in next year’s budget. That would give the town two more tanks than the minimum required.
Board Chairman Russell Newcomb and Selectmen Dennise Whitley, Sarah Carter, Ryan Lorrain and Danielle Wadsworth voted in favor of the purchase.
In other business, the board granted an outdoor festival license to the Cancer Resource Center of Western Maine for its sixth annual Turkey Trot 4 Hope on Thursday, Nov. 23. More than 250 people participated last year in the run/walk. Organizers will use the Fire Station for registrations that morning.
The board has completed the first round of interviews with six candidates for town manager. The board will meet soon to determine its next step. Bradley Plante is interim manager following the retirement of Dennis Lajoie in April.
The crosswalk warning light in front of Dunkin’ across Fair Street from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School is still not back up because the company that maintains it cannot get the necessary parts, Plante wrote in his report. The town is looking at other options.
The Norway/Paris Solid Waste Board will hold a public hearing in the high school forum Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. to discuss changing the Transfer Station days of operation. The meeting is for residents of Norway and Paris, who use the Brown Street station.
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