A safe distance

A couple of men from an insurance organization are in Jackson this week, pencils and notebooks in hand, jotting down information that will affect homeowners insurance rates all over town.

They're looking at buildings, water pressure, fire hydrants, the fire department and everything that is safe and unsafe about fire protection in the city.

Already, they've come to one conclusion: Jackson could use another fire station.

This is not news to Jackson fire chief Brad Golden. Three years ago, he toted his own pencil and notebook around town and came up with the same solution in a detailed study that doubled as a research paper for graduate school.

In order to safely serve the town, Golden said, the fire department needs a station in the city's northeast section, where much growth has occurred in the last several years.

But safety also comes with a cost.

Golden estimated in 2000 that a satellite fire station would cost around $1 million to build with annual operating costs of $450,000 to $640,000.

Currently, there is not enough revenue to accommodate another fire station.

The most pressing issue is response time, Golden said.

Proper distance

The Insurance Services Office, an information-gathering organization for the insurance industry, recommends that all buildings be within 1.5 road miles from fire engines and no more than 2.5 miles away from a ladder truck. Many homes -- some of the nicest in town -- are almost four miles away from the fire station, located in the center of Jackson at the intersection of Hope Street and Jackson Boulevard.

Golden said the fire department sets a response-time goal of five to seven minutes. On one occasion during after-school traffic, it took more than 10 minutes to reach the northeastern end of the city.

Pat Schreiner, who lives on Ridge Road on the northeast edge of the city. She said fire safety is a concern for her.

"I made a note of the closest fire plug when we moved in," she said.

She didn't go as far as to say she'd support a tax increase to pay for the service, however. She said the city would need to explore a lot of alternatives to see how it could be funded.

Chris Benton, who also lives on Ridge Road, said he would support a tax increase to build a new fire station closer to his home.

City administrator Jim Roach said it would likely take a sales-tax increase to pay for an additional fire station, but he did not know how much of an increase would be needed, and an anti-tax mood is prevalent now.

An additional fire station should be higher on the city's list of priorities than the oft-discussed recreational center, Roach added.

Another fire station would likely lower the town's public protection rating, which the two Insurance Services Office men are studying this week. Currently, Jackson's ISO rating is class five on a ten-class scale, with ten being the worst. The results of the study won't be finished until the beginning of the year, but Golden has said he doubts the rating will drop until the city builds another fire station.

Stu Garrison, a Farmer's Insurance agent in Jackson, said home insurance rates would drop about 10 percent if the town dropped a class.

John Bertram, a senior field representative with the ISO who is in Jackson this week, said many factors are considered when determining a city's classification. He said it does not necessarily reflect the quality of the fire department

He said that his report will recommend a location for a new fire station, but his information is "a snapshot in time."

He said city leaders might have a better idea where a new station will be built, based on future growth.

Golden said computer software that calculates response times showed that the best location for a new station would be at the corner of Lacey and Main streets. But that was three years ago, when a Main Street connection with Interstate 55 was more of an idea than a reality. Now that the East Main extension is in the works, he said a location near the interstate would be a better location as the city continues to grow.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635