East Jewett officials seek talks on dissolving department; town to consider taking on district

Board members reported that East Jewett officials approached the town to discuss dissolving East Jewett’s volunteer fire department and transferring coverage to the town as a substation. A board member said the matter will be the subject of a joint meeting in February with East Jewett and other neighboring departments to review boundaries, insurance, heating and recruitment needs. “They've came to us at our fireman's dinner... and they're gonna come and have a meeting with us in February... about talking about dissolving East Jewett's fire department,” one board member said.

The discussion covered practical hurdles including insurance, ensuring station heat, volunteer recruitment challenges in an aging volunteer pool, and infrastructure improvements such as installing dry hydrants near ponds and roads (a DEP permitting process). Board members agreed to continue discussions and to support measures that preserve fire protection for the affected areas; no formal consolidation vote occurred in the meeting.