Rochester Planning Board members on Thursday fielded a question about fire safety at a natural gas fueling station proposed for SEMASS.

Officials from the waste-to-energy facility said the station would accommodate commercial trucks and privately owned cars that use compressed natural gas instead of gasoline.

The planning board held the first public hearing on the station following months of informal meetings and research. A handful of people attended the hearing, which was continued to Friday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The board is expected to have reviewed an analysis of the site from the town’s engineer, Ken Motta.

During the hearing, the board heard from resident Charles Cleminshaw who asked about safety at the site.

“If there was a fire does the town need special equipment to fight a fire there and do fireman need any special training?” he asked.

Larry Swartz, of Covanta SEMASS, said a trained emergency response team is on the site ready to respond at all times. Additionally, he said natural gas stations are considered “much safer” than stations that pump gasoline. Natural gas is lighter than air and dissipates easily should a leak occur.

SEMASS partnered with Clean Energy for the project and Drew Drummond, business development manager for the company, was also on hand Thursday.

Natural gas compartments are fire tested to industry standards, emergency shut-off valves are installed that can be operated manually or be triggered automatically, and the stations are inspected regularly, Drummond said.

Chair Arnie Johnson noted the fire chief has been part of the discussion since the plans were announced and had no concerns.

Previously, Swartz said vehicles using compressed natural gas are becoming increasingly popular in waste management. Fueling up with natural gas is cheaper for waste haulers, he said.

Additionally, vehicles equipped to run on natural gas pollute less and aren’t as loud as gasoline powered trucks.

Because natural gas powered cars and trucks aren’t widespread, Swartz said he didn’t expect an increase in traffic in the near future.