The Town of Beloit and Town of Turtle voted Tuesday to merge their fire departments so they can operate autonomously but share equipment, facilities and staff, according to a release. The board members voted unanimously to approve the operational merger, which will also allow the departments to keep their own identities and budgets, officials said. Both of the departments currently share services and respond to each other’s calls frequently, and the merger formalizes the sharing of services that currently exists, according to the release. The merger also sets the stage to expand upon the shared operations to improve fire service for the region.