DETROIT – With the Detroit Volunteer Fire Department temporarily shut down, town selectmen are keeping their fingers crossed that the town doesn’t have any major emergencies.

First Selectman Joseph Cianchette admitted Monday that it could get very expensive if a major structure fire occurs while the town is paying for fire coverage from neighboring towns.

“They will be billing us by the hour and for the service,” Cianchette said. “We’re grateful that they are willing to do this for us.”

Detroit is being supplied with fire and emergency services from Pittsfield, Plymouth, Troy, Newport and Sebasticook Valley Hospital.

In the six days since the department was shut down, only two fire calls have commanded response. One was a permitted burning pile, and the other was a small brush fire on Buttons Road.

Pittsfield Fire Chief Bernard Williams said Monday that Pittsfield will bill Detroit at $10 per hour for each firefighter, $175 per hour for a pumper truck, and $125 per hour for a tanker truck.

If Pittsfield should “dump the barn” – which means all firefighters and equipment respond to a fire call – a three-hour structure fire easily could cost more than $2,000.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s 25 firefighters will meet this week to discuss their future.

On June 8, the Detroit selectmen padlocked the doors on the Detroit fire station, which houses the town’s fire and rescue vehicles and equipment. It was their way of taking control, they said.

The night before, voters approved a restructuring of the department by a 5-to-1 ratio. The selectmen said that process will begin from the top down. They will hire a new fire chief, rescue chief and assistant chief, and it could take up to three months.

“We have a long way to go,” Cianchette said. He said that although the selectmen have several candidates in mind, the hiring process has not begun. He said he hoped new leadership will be in place by August, and then the reappointment of firefighters can begin.

Meanwhile, it is unclear just how many of the former firefighters will reapply.

David Wright has been fire chief for a number of years and a Detroit firefighter for more than 20 years.

“They’re never going to see me again,” he said Monday. “I am just fed up with it. I have been fighting with [the selectmen] for years.”

Wright said the firefighters will meet later this week at a private home to discuss their options, one of which could be seeking legal advice about their standing as firefighters.

The locking of the station has left the 25 volunteers in limbo, still in possession of their firefighting equipment, such as pagers and safety gear but unable to respond to fires.

Wright said he is unsure how many other firefighters plan to resign officially from the department.

“A lot of them are talking about it,” he said.