ROTTERDAM — Rotterdam planners postponed a vote on the town’s first E85 fuel pump this week after concerns arose over whether local fire departments would have enough flame retardant foam to battle a potential blaze.

Contractors representing the Cumberland Farms gas station off Duanesburg Road had initially sought a waiver of site plan review to install a pump and 40,000-gallon tank of the fuel mixture, which consists of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. If approved, the pump would be one of the first in both the town and county,

But members of the town Planning Board decided to table the waiver after a discussion over the tools local responders might need to battle E85 fires. Chairman Lawrence DiLallo said several members noticed an article in The Daily Gazette last weekend, in which Albany fire officials questioned their ability to fight a major alcohol-based fuel fire.

“It just clicked,” he said Thursday. “[The fire departments] should be the first to know before its brought in and they should be prepared to battle it.”

The board has since contacted South Schenectady and other volunteer departments to inform them the E85 is proposed for Rotterdam. Town Planner Peter Comenzo said the intent is to heighten awareness of the hot-burning fuel so that departments can prepare.

“It’s not that we’re against it,” he said. “We just want to make sure we’re covering all our bases and that the appropriate safeguards are in place.”

Water alone is insufficient to put out ethanol fires, and foam traditionally used to extinguish gasoline blazes is ineffective against grain alcohol fuel, which burns much hotter. Alcohol-resistant foam differs chemically from traditional foam. It is also nearly 30 percent more expensive.

Fire officials from South Schenectady said the department recently increased foam capacity up to 200 gallons, half of which is fitted to the main fire engines. Also, the company has a mutual aid agreement with the Air National Guard Fire Department stationed at the Stratton ANG Base, which carries a significant supply of foam.

South Schenectady Fire Chief James Delorenzo said the prospect of having an E85 tank near the Golub Corp. headquarters was enough to draw his concern, since the department might need to evacuate hundreds of workers. He intends to review Cumberland Farms’ plan to ensure the station has the proper fire suppression system in place and his department has the proper foam.

“I do have a general cause for concern,” he said.

The station recently upgraded its fire suppression system, said Mike Crandall, the vice president of Valley Petroleum Services, which is the contractor on installation of the E85 tank. He was unsure how much alcohol-resistant foam would be needed to battle an E85 fire at the station or if local fire departments were equipped with it.

“I haven’t had it come up in previous installations,” he said.