DOCTOR WANTS CITY FIRE PROTECTION

Dr. Chris Jung wants city fire protection for his home outside the Cape Girardeau city limits, and he is willing to pay for it.

Jung used to pay $500 a year for city fire protection, but the city stopped providing protection outside the city limits last year. He wants the city to resume fire protection outside the city limits for a fee.

Jung made the request to the City Council this week after a fire last month destroyed a nearly completed house in his neighborhood.

City officials are reviewing the request, but they question if the city legally can provide fire protection to Jung since he lives in the Gordonville Fire District. There also is a liability issue, they say.

Cape Girardeau Fire Chief Robert Ridgeway said the city provided contractual protection to homes and businesses just outside the city limits for years. But that was before fire districts sprang up all around the city.

The city still has fire protection contracts with industries along Nash Road, but that area isn't in a rural fire district, Ridgeway said. "Our first responsibility is to the citizens of Cape Girardeau," said Ridgeway.

Even if it isn't illegal, City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said "it doesn't make much sense" for the city to provide fire protection to areas that are already served by tax-supported fire districts.

Ridgeway said annexation offers the best approach for Jung and others who want city fire protection.

Jung lives in Wind Wood, a subdivision about a mile west of the city limits off Bloomfield Road, west of Interstate 55. The 2-year-old subdivision has about 10 large homes, all in the $200,000 price range.

Jung said he and his neighbors could get better fire protection from Cape Girardeau than from the Gordonville Fire Department.

Wind Wood is two miles west of Cape Girardeau's Mount Auburn Road fire station, meaning that city firefighters could respond within minutes. In contrast, the Gordonville fire district's two pumpers and three tankers are housed in Gordonville, and must travel 12 to 13 miles to reach the subdivision.

Gordonville Fire Chief Pat Jett said that while the Cape Girardeau Fire Department could respond more quickly, it isn't equipped to deal with rural fires where there are no fire hydrants. The city would have to make use of Gordonville's tanker trucks in fighting such fires. "There are no fire hydrants out there," he pointed out.

The subdivision has a flush hydrant, but that provides only about 250 gallons of water a minute. A fire hydrant needs to provide a minimum of 500 gallons of water a minute, Jett said.

He said there is a pond there. "The best thing that subdivision could do is put in a dry hydrant so we could bring water out of the pond. It wouldn't cost them much more than $1,000."

Jett said the real issue isn't quality of fire protection. "The bottom line is money here."

On a $200,000 home, Jung would pay about $200 a year in property taxes to the fire district, Jett said.

Still, Jung would prefer Cape Girardeau city fire protection because of fire insurance savings, Jett said.

Cape Girardeau has a considerably better fire insurance rating than the Gordonville district. Jung said Cape Girardeau fire protection would save him $650 a year on his home insurance.

But money isn't the only issue to Jung. He believes Cape Girardeau can provide better fire protection.

As a case in point, Jung cited a 3 a.m. fire on Jan. 17, which destroyed a house being constructed in his subdivision. Jung said the house was about two weeks from being completed when the fire struck.

Some volunteer firefighters arrived on the scene within 10 minutes, but it took 21 minutes for the fire trucks to arrive.

"By the time it is to the hot dog and marshmallow stage, it is a little bit late," Jung said.

Jett said such criticism is unfair. The fire was initially reported as a grass fire.

Jett said he probably would have called for assistance from the Cape Girardeau Fire Department had he known immediately that a house was on fire.

He said his firefighters are volunteers, but they are well trained. "This is a good department."

Jung said the volunteer department does the best it can, but the fire district encompasses 120 square miles.

"It is a pretty tough situation for them," he said. "We are about as far away from Gordonville as you can be and still be in their fire protection district."