Some still lack fire protection

The number of businesses on Nash Road that aren't officially protected by a fire department has gotten smaller in the past two years, though some businesses along the road still have no protection.

Nash Road has for years been a "no man's land" in terms of fire protection. The unincorporated area west of Interstate 55 in southern Cape Girardeau County falls between the boundaries of several districts' coverage, including the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, the Scott City Fire Department and the Gordonville and Delta fire protection districts.

Of 30 businesses in the unprotected area, 25 have $1,000 annual contracts with the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, said chief Rick Ennis. Those contracts mean the department will respond to any fire calls from the business.

Two years ago, 21 of 28 businesses contracted for fire protection with Cape Girardeau. The Delta district decided it would respond to calls from unprotected businesses on a temporary basis. That time has since lapsed, said Delta chief Alvin Frank Jr.

"We sent letters to businesses, gave them their options, and a lot of them we never heard back from," Frank said. Now Delta will respond to a fire at an unprotected Nash Road business only if the circumstances are "life threatening," Frank said.

Ennis said the Cape Girardeau department will respond to calls from an unprotected business only if the fire threatens a neighboring facility Cape Gir-ardeau has a contract with. If the fire department responds to unprotected businesses, the point of the contract is defeated, Ennis said.

"If we do take action, why would anybody contract with us?" Ennis asked.

Ennis declined to name the businesses in the area that don't have fire protection contracts.

Fire departments are reluctant to service the unprotected businesses for several reasons, including liability issues, since a fire department doesn't have legal authority outside its district boundaries or its contracts.

And fire response costs money. Departments don't want to respond to a call from an entity that isn't helping to pay the rising costs of equipment and other operating expenses.

Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout says his department will not respond to calls from unprotected businesses on Nash Road at all. The only time Scott City responds to Nash Road calls is if they receive a mutual aid call from Cape Girardeau.

Area fire departments all have mutual aid agreements to assist each other in firefighting if necessary. Nash Road is not the only unprotected area locally. The SEMO Port near Scott City also falls outside established boundaries. Cassout said Scott City has contracts with some of those businesses, but not all.

However, Scott City can respond to calls within a 3-mile radius of the city limits. Even though the department doesn't respond to Nash Road calls, it will respond to unprotected areas. A business or residence that doesn't have a fire protection contract with the city is charged $2,500 for the call. A contract for residential fire protection costs only $150 per year. The rate is $250 for businesses

Other unprotected areas are scattered throughout Scott County. Recent talks about consolidating the county's rural fire districts have addressed the need to bring unincorporated areas into a fire district, but the talk is still in the early stages, said Scott County developer Joel Evans, also a member of the Scott County Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors.

An unprotected area also exists in extreme southern Cape Girardeau County at the Stoddard County line near Advance, Mo. Currently, Advance and Delta respond to calls from residences in the area, but the problem of unclear legal responsibility and authority still exists.

Mitch Robinson, director of the Cape Girardeau Area Magnet industrial recruitment organization, said the lack of fire protection on Nash Road presents no problems when recruiting businesses to that area.

Robinson said the lack of fire protection is discussed, as is the contract arrangement with Cape Girardeau, in terms of a utility package. New businesses that have located there in recent years have signed contracts, he said.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182