FRUITLAND WILL JOIN NORDENIA ON FIRE STATION

A $250,000 fire truck coming to Cape Girardeau County this summer is unlike any other in the region.

The foam-spraying truck designed to handle chemical fires will be the first of its kind at an industrial facility in Southeast Missouri. It is being brought here by packaging manufacturer Nordenia USA to safeguard its expansion after 10 years in the area.

The truck has also created some unusual headaches. With only a few months before its arrival, negotiations with East County Fire District about possible joint operations and construction of a fire station to house the truck are incomplete. The Fruitland Fire District has decided to go in with Nordenia on the project.

"Trying to get this worked out has been tenuous," said Paul Wiedlin, president of Nordenia. "We've just been trying to do what is in the best interest of everyone and benefit as many as we can."

Needed for expansion

The idea for an industrial fire station came up last year as Nordenia planned an expansion project that will add 117 jobs. Nordenia was one of several expansion options for its German-based parent company, Wiedlin said, and one of the selling points was bringing in a fire truck.

"We were told if we can't reduce the risk, they'd have to look at other sites," he said.

The variety of inks and chemicals used in printing are highly flammable, said Jeff Perry, chief financial officer at Nordenia. Quick access to a foam truck and 30 trained firefighters who already work various shifts at the plant make the plan a wise investment.

The truck would be located at Nordenia, but made available to any fire department in the county, Perry said.

The need for a foam truck in other communities is probably not high, said John Sachen of Delta, Mo., who was in charge of industrial fire safety for 10 years with an international pharmaceutical company based in St. Louis.

Fire departments in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City and Sikeston are among those with foam-spraying capabilities in Southeast Missouri, Sachen said.

However, having a foam truck at a manufacturing site with highly flammable materials instead of several miles away makes the business safer, he said.

"They can focus that unit on their specific needs," he said.

Funding for the truck comes mostly out of the same $17 million in industrial revenue bonds that are financing the expansion. Certain additional equipment not covered by the grant will be bought by Nordenia, he said.

The truck will belong to Cape Girardeau County while the bonds are paid back over 10 years, Perry said. Then Nordenia would own the truck.

Nordenia first began talking with the Fruitland Fire District about joining the project last year, since the plant is on the eastern edge of the district. East County Fire District was also brought into discussions, since the fire district's border cuts through the neighboring Procter & Gamble plant.

Divergent views

If both fire departments agreed, a facility big enough for the foam truck and other fire engines would be built.

The fire departments' viewpoints lean in opposite directions.

Fruitland fire chief Marty Schuessler sees it as a chance for better coverage of his district for a lower cost.

The district has been looking for land to build its own fire station in the area near Nordenia for the past seven years, Schuessler said. But locating suitable construction land of at least three acres, which is needed to install a septic system, has been hard.

Although Fruitland would pay for a part of construction costs for a new fire station, Nordenia has promised to pay for the land and allow free hookup to its septic system, Schuessler said.

Fire insurance rates in the district would also drop, since many residents do not currently live within a five-mile radius of Fruitland's two stations.

East County Fire District has been communicating most recently with Nordenia through an attorney in Columbia, Mo., said Jim Hanks, fire chief.

"We haven't got a lot of answers to our questions," he said.

The biggest question for East County is the value of participation in the project.

"It wouldn't be a big station, but we don't even know if we need one," Hanks said.

East County already operates from a fire station three miles away from Nordenia near Oriole, Mo. The district paid $90,000 to build it about three years ago, Hanks said. The new station gave East County a lower insurance rate.

If both Fruitland and East County participated, a fire station would cost approximately $600,000, Perry said. East County would only need office space and bays for vehicles, while Fruitland would need sleeping quarters.

Payment could be worked out on a lease-purchase basis, he said.

If East County doesn't participate, construction costs will fall by about $200,000, Perry said.

Fruitland is looking at the possibility of offering free housing to some volunteer firefighters at the station, since it would cut down on response time to fires, Schuessler said.

Regardless of what the two fire districts decide, Nordenia will be ready for the foam truck when it arrives in late summer, Perry said.

"At the very least, we will have a firehouse facility here and we will have a foam truck here," he said.