AUBURN, Mass. – Mutual aid among fire departments has come up a lot recently in Dudley, where the town is dealing with a staffing shortage due to budget cuts. Other fire departments are helping respond to their calls.

The town is a part of Massachusetts Fire District 7, which is made up of 25 communities. It’s one of 15 fire districts in the state established by MEMA in the early 1900s.

Within those districts, departments build their own mutual aid programs to support each other. Mutual aid is when all of one town's resources have been exhausted at a fire scene and the department requires help from another community.

Auburn Fire Chief Stephen Coleman said there is rarely a fire scene which doesn't require help from another community.

"If there is a specific department that needs additional aid at this moment, we're here to provide it,” Coleman said. “It’s not a long-term solution, but we’re here to provide those short gaps in there when they need it."

Dudley has scheduled a special town meeting for July 24 to vote on a new, balanced budget, and a third override vote is set for Aug. 17. If the town voters don’t approve more funding, they could see even more cuts.