Fire truck burnout

Cape Girardeau's aging fleet of fire engines took another hit Tuesday in an already thinly stretched motor pool now down to just four engines for front-line response -- one of which is 29-years-old.

Though the department still meets the total engines needed for adequate fire protection according to recommended industry standards, interim fire chief Mark Hasheider said he is not satisfied.

"I don't feel comfortable with just four pieces of apparatus," he said. "That's not acceptable to us. We want to maintain a higher standard."

On Tuesday, the city's 1986 ladder truck was pulled from service for the second time in two weeks. Last week, a hydraulic fluid leak put it off-line. Now, "severe fatigue cracks" on the 75-foot ladder's rear cross brace are the problem, fire marshal Mike Morgan said.

Repairs could take five days -- meaning Cape Girardeau will be without a ladder truck unless one is called from Jackson, Perryville or Sikeston.

In October, the department's 1978 Warner/Swazey truck suffered an overheated engine and repair estimates were too high to justify fixing it, Hasheider said. And so, one of the reserve engines, a 29-year-old American/LaFrance, was pushed into the role of a front-line vehicle. The other reserve engine, a 1973 American/LaFrance, is now being repaired due to a leaking tank.

Mayor Jay Knudtson is greatly disturbed by the shrinking fleet.

"It's a huge concern," he said. "In my mind, it's tragic. I think the city has done a good job of working within its means, but that doesn't allow for an unforeseen emergency. If a major fire occurred tonight, the citizens of Cape Girardeau would be in jeopardy."

Firefighters anxiously await the Jan. 15 arrival of a new Emergency One fire engine ordered seven months ago from Ocala, Fla., Morgan said. The $362,000 engine will undergo a pre-paint inspection next week.

The department runs 2,800 calls annually and sends two engines and the ladder truck to structure fires and one engine to medical calls and lesser alarms. To keep the city's current rating from the Insurance Services Office, or ISO, Cape Girardeau must maintain four front-line engines, a ladder truck and one reserve engine at all times, Hasheider said.

But most of the city's engines have outlived their expected use. The National Fire Protection Association recommends an engine stay 15 years as a front-line vehicle and five years as a reserve vehicle and then be removed from service, Hasheider said.

The answer boils down to finding a new revenue source, he said. "But that won't be a quick fix," he said. "This will take time."

At the Monday night's city council meeting, members will take a "really hard look" at the revenue question and whether a fire tax should be added to the next election ballot, Knudtson said.

Hasheider has received several phone calls from residents since news of the city's public safety budget problems was addressed by an article in the Southeast Missourian Nov. 30, he said."The people that talked to me are always very positive in regards to a revenue increase to support the fire department and our public safety," he said.

Having both a 29- and a 30-year-old truck in the fleet makes finding parts a challenge. If the department can't find the exact parts it needs, it must modify similar parts to fit, Hasheider said.

"We have a full-time mechanic and we have to check our trucks every day," he said. "Why do we do that? Because we expect to find problems every day."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160