PALMER, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Palmer residents have voted and they favor a merger of the town’s four fire districts in a non-binding ballot, meaning the real work is just beginning.

Palmer has four distinct fire districts dating back to the four villages, Palmer, Thorndike, Three Rivers and Bondsville. At this time, Thorndike’s district is now being covered by Bondsville crews.

The final results of the vote: 421 in favor of a merger and 241 against.

Town officials say the vote supports commissioning a study, one that would further examine what this consolidation might look like in terms of the totality of equipment, budget, and fire taxes.

The town says a “professional study” is needed to see whether there is an overlap in services and that consolidation may “reduce unnecessary duplication while maintaining or improving emergency response services.”

Bondsville fire did announce on Sunday a new aid agreement that improves response times across the departments. Bondsville and Three Rivers will now immediately respond with backup units instead of waiting for each department to call for any necessary help.

Palmer Fire Chief William Bernat says that having everything under one umbrella could help with their efficiency.

“I think it would create a faster response times, lower what we paid in tax overall in the town of Palmer and get rid of a lot of duplicated equipment,” he said.

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