Section 172. Consolidation of fire districts

Irrespective of the manner
  of their original establishment, whenever two  or  more  fire  districts
  adjoin,  the  town board of the town in which such districts are located
  or, if said districts be situate in more than one town, the town  boards
  thereof  acting  jointly  by a majority vote of the members of each such
  town boards, upon  a  written  petition  of  resident  taxpayers  owning
  taxable  real  property  aggregating  at  least one-half of the assessed
  valuation of all the taxable real property of each of the  districts  so
  adjoining owned by resident taxpayers thereof, as such valuations appear
  upon the latest completed assessment roll of said town or towns, or upon
  the  written  petition  of  a  majority  of  the members of the board of
  commissioners of each fire district proposed to be included  within  the
  consolidated  district may consolidate such fire districts and establish
  the same into one fire district after a  public  hearing  thereon.  Such
  petition or petitions shall be signed, and acknowledged or proved in the
  same  manner  as  a  deed to be recorded, or authenticated in the manner
  provided by the  election  law  for  the  authentication  of  nominating
  petitions.  Notice  of such hearing shall be given and such hearing held
  and the subject matters thereof determined in the manner provided herein
  for hearings upon the establishment of fire districts, except  that  the
  notice  of  hearing  shall  state  in  general terms the purposes of the
  hearing and specify each  of  the  existing  districts  proposed  to  be
  included within the consolidated district.
    In  the event that at the time of consolidation, any district included
  within the consolidated district shall  have  any  indebtedness,  either
  bonded  or  temporary,  such district shall continue to exist in law for
  the purpose of paying such indebtedness, and  there  shall  be  annually
  assessed  and  levied  upon and collected from the taxable real property
  within such original fire district, in the same manner and at  the  same
  time  and  by  the  same officers as town taxes are assessed, levied and
  collected, a sum  sufficient  to  pay  such  indebtedness  and  interest
  thereon  as  the same shall become due. All the real property within the
  consolidated district shall be liable for the  payment  of  indebtedness
  incurred  for the purposes of the district after such consolidation. For
  the purposes hereof, such consolidation shall be deemed  effective  upon
  the  adoption  by  the  town  board  or  town  boards  of the resolution
  providing therefor, unless such resolution shall specify some other date
  for  such  purpose,  in  which  case  such  consolidation  shall  become
  effective on the date so specified.
    * NB Repealed March 21, 2010