Brewer councilors OK fire aid pact

BREWER – City councilors on Tuesday authorized fire Chief Richard Bronson to sign an automatic aid agreement with his counterparts in Holden and Eddington. Elected officials from Holden and Eddington are expected to follow suit in the near future.

Under the proposal, developed over the summer by a committee comprised of representatives from the three participating communities, all three fire departments will simultaneously be dispatched to structure fires in any one of the communities.

The agreement also spells out which apparatus each department would provide in the event of fires in a number of locales, how station coverage would be handled and who would be in charge.

Bronson said earlier that the thre departments have trained together for years, use similar operating procedures and regularly hold joint officers’ meetings. Those activities will continue as part of the pact.

James Ellis, Holden’s public safety director, said this week that the automatic aid agreement essentially puts on paper concepts that the three departments have been practicing for some time now.

“It’s a step forward. This is a win-win for everyone,” said Ellis, who along with Eddington fire Chief Arnold Grover attended Tuesday’s council meeting in Brewer.

According to Bronson, the link with Eddington and Holden makes sense on a number of levels. The three departments already are structured similarly, use the same personnel accounting system at fire scenes, train together monthly, and hold regular joint officer meetings. The county also dispatches all three departments, he said.

Ellis said earlier that the three departments share common approaches that go back decades, adding that working together helped them avoid the added costs of duplicating equipment.

Participating chiefs saw the agreement as a step toward true regionalization of fire services. Bronson said other communities, such as Orrington, might be brought on board in the future.