AREA FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE WILDFIRES NEAR POTOSI AS PART OF MUTUAL AID PACT

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- A statewide, fire service mutual aid pact - created last fall during a Cape Girardeau emergency preparedness conference - was activated Wednesday to help fight a series of major wildfires in east-central Missouri.

It was the second time this year that the aid plan had been put into operation.

The pact provides a method for fire departments to request assistance from other fire departments in the state.

Missouri State Fire Marshal John Coburn made the request for help after the day-long wildfires, fanned by strong winds gusting up to 70-75 mph, threatened property and lives in parts of east-central Missouri. Coburn was notified of the emergency in a telephone call Wednesday night from state Public Safety Director Richard Rice.

Over 250 firefighters from 17 fire departments and fire districts stretching from the Lead Belt westward to Cuba and northward to Columbia were called to assist firefighters in Washington, St. Francois, and Crawford counties.

Wildfires also were reported in Jefferson, Franklin, St. Louis and St. Charles counties, but Coburn said the most serious fires were concentrated near Potosi.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Coburn called for mutual aid assistance from several Southeast Missouri fire departments in an effort to relieve weary firefighters who had been on the fire lines in the Potosi area most of the day.

Gov. John Ashcroft said the local fire departments in the Potosi area needed help in battling the wildfires.

"Through the mutual aid program, 80 additional firefighters and 15 pieces of equipment were dispatched to help," he said.

Fortunately, a drop in temperature and subsiding winds allowed firefighters at the scene to bring the wildfires under control. The Southeast Missouri firefighters were en route to the scene when they were notified to return to their stations.

Firefighters and fire-fighting equipment from the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, Jackson Fire Department and Cape County rural fire departments responded to the call. The Poplar Bluff, Butler County and Bollinger County fire departments also responded to the call for assistance.

The Jackson Fire Department provided seven firefighters and a four-wheel-drive wildfire vehicle.

Two Cape Girardeau firefighters and 12 firefighters from the rural Cape Girardeau County fire departments also answered the call for assistance.

Coburn said five or six wildfires burned a 3,000-square-mile area near Potosi, but only six outbuildings were damaged, and no homes were lost. Three firefighters suffered minor eye injuries.

The mutual aid pact was first used on Feb. 22 after a Union Pacific freight train derailed in Cooper County, east of Sedalia.

Coburn explained the mutual aid pact was drawn up during the earthquake preparedness conference held last fall in Cape Girardeau to prepare for the possibility of an earthquake along the New Madrid Fault.

But he said the pact has proven to be an extremely valuable tool to respond to other man-made or natural catastrophic situations.

"The conference showed that we had some weaknesses in our emergency planning system, as far as the fire service is concerned," Coburn said. "The fire service leadership came up with a response program for any catastrophic event in the state, such as an earthquake, tornadoes, floods, or major fires."

The pact sets out in writing how each participating fire department will respond with men and equipment.

Coburn said the mutual aid pact is coordinated with the Department of Public Safety and the fire marshal's office.

Drew Juden of the Sikeston Department of Public Service is the regional coordinator of the mutual aid pact. It was Juden who contacted the Southeast Missouri fire departments Wednesday night after receiving the call from Coburn.

"The big thing is the pact does work, and we are continuing to fine tune it," Juden said. "If we get any kind of major incident anywhere in the state, it's going to be very beneficial."

Coburn noted that as late as two years ago, a statewide fire service mutual aid pact would have been impossible because of liability problems. But he said legislation - backed by the fire marshal's office and local fire departments - resolved the problem.

Rice said the mutual aid pact is already attracting attention from several other states, including California, where emergency officials have expressed an interest in monitoring Missouri's program.

Rice said the mutual aid plan is still undergoing refinement, but added, "I'm pleased with the way the system worked last night. It proved to be a valuable resource for providing much-needed assistance."