Fire stations and a fire engine are the focus of upgrades in three small, rural towns that received a total of $4.14 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development for the projects.
The Oxford County town of Brownfield will receive $2.9 million to construct a new public safety building that will replace an existing fire station, which has structural issues and no longer meets the needs of the town, according to a news release.
The new building will accommodate larger modern fire trucks, include meeting and training space and have adequate storage for other firefighting equipment. It’s expected to provide quicker and safer ingress and egress routes to the building, resulting in quicker emergency response times.
The Penobscot County town of Springfield is receiving $750,000 to finance the construction of a town office with a fire station. The current town office and fire station are separately located and in residential areas, and have aged beyond their useful lives.
The new municipal facility will be located farther away from residential areas and near the town transfer station, which will eliminate noise and traffic concerns for residents, as well as create more space for town employees and patrons to work and use the facilities safely. The fire station section of the facility will be built to accommodate larger modern fire trucks and provide ample space for training and equipment storage.
The Hancock County town of Surry is receiving $492,000 to purchase a new fire engine. Its existing fire engines, built in 1985 and 1992, don’t meet current standards and lack many of the safety features and tank capacity of new fire engines.
The investment is considered critical for structural and wildland firefighting operations in rural Maine, where fire hydrants are virtually nonexistent. The coverage area includes Surry, Ellsworth, Blue Hill and Orland.
The town of Surry took delivery of one new fire engine in December 2025, after putting in the order in 2022, Bryan McLellan, the local fire chief, wrote in the town’s annual report.
“Many different kinds of supply chain and political issues contributed to the delays, but we’re very happy with the final result,” McLellan wrote.
The fire department trained drivers and pump operators on the new truck and moved tools, ladders and hoses over.
The second truck, 75% funded by the USDA grant, could take up to 12 months to arrive, he said.
In the past year, he said, the fire department also had an air compressor and fill station installed for the breathing air bottles used for firefighting.
