Fire tax set to go on June 8 ballot

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department is struggling to keep most of its life-saving vehicles rolling to meet the demand for emergency services as Cape Girardeau grows. Voters tentatively will be asked June 8 to approve a quarter-cent sales tax to support the department.

At a Feb. 17 meeting, all seven city council members approved the first reading of an ordinance setting an election on the proposed quarter-cent fire sales tax, in which half of the tax would expire after 10 years. The other half would be a permanent tax. The final vote on the ordinance will be taken March 1.

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.

On Feb. 20, firefighters finally received the new fire and medical response engine ordered nine months ago from Ocala, Fla. It is housed at Station No. 1 on South Sprigg Street, allowing the department to shift a 1998 Pierce Quantum to Station No. 2 on Kingsway. It was bought through a 10-year, lease-purchase agreement.

The department had wanted to purchase the truck for at least two years but couldn't afford the expense, said assistant chief Mark Hasheider.

"We waited as long as we could wait," he said.

But most of the city's other fire vehicles 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. Two of the city's engines are at least 30 years old.

A new source of revenue is sorely needed, Hasheider said.

"It has everything to do with the facilities we have, our apparatus. Our equipment is needing to either be updated, repaired or replaced."

In addition, the department struggles to recruit and retain quality hires, Hasheider said.

"The other item that is not referenced as much ... is the salary issue," he said. "We are competing for a very highly educated work force now ... The big four issues to me are apparatus , facilities, equipment and manpower. "

$2 million per year

The proposed tax would raise an about $2 million a year for the fire department -- including money to replace an aging fire station -- and indirectly help the staff-depleted police department by freeing up money in the general fund to boost salaries to recruit and retain officers.

The city's new fire chief, Richard Ennis of Perkins Township, Ohio, will begin his duties March 8. He replaces Michael Lackman, who resigned in August 2002.

To reduce city expenses, the council also approved spending cuts, fund transfers and user-fee increases totaling $534,246 to help the city's general fund, which pays most of the municipal operating costs. Those budget moves will take effect in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Once the measure is on the ballot, presentations will start being made to civic organizations. The department expects to play a role in those.

Financial relief can't come soon enough for firefighters. In December, the department's 1986 ladder truck was pulled from service for the second time in two weeks. Hydraulic fluid leaks and "severe fatigue cracks" on the 75-foot ladder's rear cross brace were the problems.

In October, the department's 1978 Warner/Swazey truck suffered an overheated engine. Repair estimates were too high to justify fixing it, Hasheider said. 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.

Modifying parts

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.

The department is facing equipment problems, as well. Engine 2's radio system went down during a call earlier this month, causing the truck to be taken off line until the radio was repaired.

In addition, the aging "Jaws of Life" extrication tools used by firefighters to spread apart and cut vehicle metal aren't as powerful or fast as they used to be, and firefighters worry they won't last much longer. Hasheider said there are no plans to replace them in the current budget.

Cape Girardeau has used a 1986 Hurst model as the frontline extrication tool in the county since the department took on the responsibility several years ago. There is also a smaller and slightly newer model used as a backup, but it doesn't have as much spreading width. To replace both could cost $60,000 to $100,000, Hasheider said.

Most experts recommend using such a tool for 10 years as a frontline device, then moving it to backup status, Hasheider said. Cape Girardeau's apparatus is approaching 18 years in use.

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160