Town officials and fire and rescue chiefs in Casco, Raymond and Naples will move ahead with preliminary plans to merge public safety departments by compiling an inventory of assets and looking for an outside consultant.

With this information, selectmen, town managers and fire and rescue personnel will come together again on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Naples.

Officials from the three towns met to discuss regionalization of public safety services for the second time Tuesday, joined this time by fire and rescue chiefs. The chiefs pointed out some of the difficulties of regionalization, as well as potential benefits.

“The goals you guys have set are lofty,” said Raymond Fire Chief Denis Morse, a longtime proponent of regionalization. Morse said joining fire and rescue departments within a town is hard, let alone joining departments in different towns.

“It’s great to talk about it,” Morse said. “It needs to happen locally.”

Casco Fire Chief John Small said he thought Casco would end up paying more money up front, as theirs is the only of the three departments without a full-time paramedic.

“I know we’re very frugal and it is going to cost us more money,” Small said, adding that Casco would likely experience savings in the long term.

Naples Fire Chief Chris Pond pointed out that there are close to 150 people in the fire and rescue departments between the three towns, and they cover fire and rescue needs for a summer population close to Portland’s with a combined property value probably more than Portland.

Pond was worried about alienating volunteers by requiring more training. Pond emphasized that volunteers are an important asset to fire and rescue departments.

“Our volunteers are the most important piece of this puzzle,” Small said.

Executive director of the Greater Portland Council of Governments Neal Allen, who moderated the meeting, agreed. “The biggest challenge is how you handle personnel,” Allen said.

“We’re used to working together,” said Casco Rescue Chief Holly Hancock, adding that they might encounter different methods and personalities, but all of the departments have the same goals.

Hancock said the departments could save time and effort by sharing administrative tasks.

Morse brought up the topic of large cost increases for equipment such as fire trucks as a driving force for regionalization. “Those price tags are staggering,” Morse said.