Fruitland Fire District seeks tax vote for full-time staffing

Voters in the Fruitland Area Fire Protection District will vote April 4 on a tax measure that would provide added revenue to pay for full-time staffing.

The move would allow for quicker response times and lower the cost of fire insurance for residents and businesses in the district, fire chief Rob Francis said.

The district levies a tax of 26.93 cents per $100 assessed valuation.

Voters in the district are being asked to approve a 50-cent increase in the tax levy. A simple majority is needed for passage.

The district has more than 5,200 registered voters, fire officials said.

The district surveyed residents last year to see whether they would support a tax increase. Of 650 surveys returned, nearly 83 percent said they favored a tax increase if it would improve fire protection and lower insurance costs, Francis said.

Members of the fire district's board of directors said the tax increase is a small price to pay for improved fire protection.

Board member Andy Renner said the owner of a $150,000 home would see his real-estate tax increase by $98 a year, or just over $8 a month.

Renner said homeowners could see their insurance rates drop by 20 percent to 30 percent. Businesses also would see lower insurance rates, officials said.

The district, which maintains three fire stations and has 30 volunteer firefighters, operates on an annual budget of $264,450.

Francis said the tax increase would generate nearly $524,000, It would pay salaries, insurance and benefits for two staff officers and nine firefighters/medical first responders.

Plans call for having three paid crew members on each eight-hour shift. The three-man crews would be stationed at the main fire station in Fruitland. The remainder of the department's personnel would be volunteers, Francis said.

Having a paid staff also would allow the fire district to provide more in-house training for firefighters, he said.

The changes will take place once the district begins receiving the added tax revenue, the chief said.

According to Francis, some of the paid staffing could be in place by the end of this year with the rest coming on board in the first part of 2018.

The other two stations, one at New Wells and the other along Highway 177 near the Procter & Gamble paper products plant, would continue to be staffed by volunteers, fire officials said.

The department operates three pumper trucks, five water tanker trucks and a number of other pieces of equipment.

Board member Bill Doan said the fire district covers 110 square miles, extending north to the Perry County line.

The district has experienced residential and business growth, officials said. Plans are underway for a new sewer system in the Fruitland area that will add to the growth and the need for better fire protection, they said.

The fire district responded to 414 calls last year, nearly double the number a decade ago, Francis said.

The fire district annually ranks third behind Cape Girardeau and Jackson in the number of response calls, he said.

Emergency medical responses accounted for a majority of the calls. Fruitland firefighters responded to 44 fire calls, officials said.

Francis said 17 times his department could not respond to incidents because no one was available. Volunteers have regular jobs and sometimes are not available for calls, the chief said.

"Right now, it takes me six minutes to get to the station," Francis said. "In a medical emergency, that is way too long."

The volunteer firefighters first have to respond to a fire station to man the trucks. In the case of a fire, "it can take six to eight to 10 minutes to get a truck out the door," Francis said.

"By the time we get to the scene, that fire is way ahead of us," he said.

If the main fire station is staffed full time, a crew could leave the station within 60 seconds for a medical emergency and within 90 seconds for a fire call, Francis said.

Board chairman Chris Johnston said with a paid staff on duty, the department would "always have someone available" to respond to fires and other emergencies.

The area has had some type of fire protection for the past 40 years.

In 1976, two major fires in the Fruitland area destroyed a church and a feed store. The fires sparked the formation of a rural fire association in 1977, sponsored by donations and fundraisers.

It subsequently became a tax-funded fire district. Fire officials said fire protection has improved, but the volunteer department has been stretched to its limit and needs full-time staffing.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

7273 U.S. Highway 61, Fruitland, Mo.