Peru firefighters soon will answer fire and rescue calls in Dalzell, as well.

Monday, the Peru City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Dalzell Fire and Protection District to handle most village fire calls (not ambulance calls: Dalzell will field those) starting Jan. 1.

“They don’t have the personnel to staff a fully functional fire department right now,” Peru Fire Chief Jeff King said.

Peru agreed to extend its services to Dalzell for $10,000 a year.

King said he foresees similar arrangements emerging between larger, paid fire companies and smaller municipalities that lack the personnel and budget. Volunteers are harder to come by, and training requirements are increasingly onerous.