Wiscasset fire officers have declined selectmen’s request to meet again over the car-washing issue, and a petition for a town vote will soon be circulated, Fire Chief T.J. Merry said Thursday.

Merry informed Selectmen’s Chairman Judy Colby in an email Wednesday night. It reads in part: “On behalf of myself and the officer core we respectfully decline attending any more meetings as they are not getting us anywhere! We are going to go ahead and move forward with our petition at this time!”

Merry said Thursday the next step is for the petition to be printed; it may be in circulation as early as Monday, Aug. 22, he said. He expects no trouble getting the 179 signatures to take to the town. Rather than a special town meeting, as fire officials had first eyed, they will likely now ask the vote to be part of the November elections at the polls, he said.

In the meantime, based on selectmen’s statements at the Aug. 9 meeting, firefighters can wash their personal vehicles at the station after a fire call, Merry said.

Colby on Thursday said she was disappointed at the fire officers’ decision. “I think they are hurting themselves ... But if they choose to take it to the town, and if the townspeople realize the liability they would be opening up, I would have to support what the town wanted.” The liability for someone being hurt remains her concern, and residents need to be aware of that jeopardy to the town, she said.

The selectmen may have been close to a possible majority favoring the car-washing, had an agreement been worked out, she said. The consensus of the board was that the proposal fire officers submitted after the meeting left a couple of points to address, Colby said. She had expected the proposal to address only the fire department, but the proposed wording have also allowed police and Wiscasset Ambulance Service personnel to wash their personal vehicles, Colby said. In addition, the proposal did not free the town from liability, as had been discussed at the meeting, Colby said.

The proposal states in part: “The Emergency Service Department Heads will allow and monitor the ability to care for the personal vehicles at the station as long as such activities do not interfere with the daily activities of the Department and are performed in a safe manner consistent with the Departments Safety Policies.”

The fire officers felt that wording the proposal differently would have left open the issue of when it was okay to wash their vehicles, Merry said. “It didn’t add up.” If the weather was poor after a fire call, it would make more sense to wait and wash the vehicle the next day, Merry said.

As for the decision not to limit the car-washing to the fire department, Merry said there are times when police and emergency medical service workers might also go directly to a scene in their personal vehicles, so they should be able to wash theirs, also. “A blanket policy makes more sense,” he said.

The petition already drafted for the town vote on the personal vehicle washing will address only the fire department, Merry said.

Referring to the deal fire officers proposed to selectmen, Merry said, “That was a failed attempt.” Meeting again with selectmen over it would be wasting everyone’s time, he said. “So a town vote will take care of that.”