NLR outlines expanded fire coverage

Plan covers eastern edge with temporary station, but study comes first

Homeowners on North Little Rock's eastern edge who have worried about fire coverage in their neighborhoods heard some welcomed, although still unsure, news from city officials Thursday night.

Mayor Joe Smith and Fire Chief Jim Murphy outlined a plan to about 60 residents during a joint neighborhood meeting to possibly have a temporary fire station on the city's east end by spring.

The city has an agreement to rent a house big enough to serve a firefighter crew, and Smith said the city will spend up to $150,000 to renovate it, its garage and driveway to accommodate a firetruck. A fire crew to man the station would be rotated out of the Central Fire Station downtown, said Murphy, who began as fire chief in August.

But the plan will depend on a study of citywide fire coverage and response times that isn't expected until January, Smith said.

"The study may come back and say that's the dumbest idea they've ever heard," Smith said. "So it [the proposal] is tied up until that report comes back."

In late July, the city hired TriData Division, System Planning Corp. of Arlington, Va., to conduct a review of the city's fire response times and services at a cost of $31,315. The request came in April from Aldermen Linda Robinson and Maurice Taylor, who represent the Ward 2 area that includes the east side neighborhoods of Willow Beach, Stonelinks, Cypress Crossing, Faulkner Crossing, Deer Meadows and Ashley Downs.

The closest station is about nine minutes away. Murphy said that while response times vary because of factors such as weather and traffic, a response reaching its destination within four minutes 90 percent of the time is ideal.

North Little Rock bought 2.2 acres in 2008 in the area for a fire station, but the cost to build, equip and staff the station has been out of reach of the city's budget, officials have said.

"It's all about money," Smith told the crowd, explaining that the station's future could be affected if his plan causes too much overtime by firefighters having to fill in there and at other stations.

Jerry Yanker, a Willow Beach resident who said he has been critical of the city's lack of a fire station in that area, told the mayor that he appreciated the city's attempt to fill that void with "a very good step, in my opinion."

John Santoro, president of the Willow Beach Neighborhood Association, also liked the idea.

"Like the mayor said, it's baby steps, and they're definitely steps in the right direction," Santoro said. "It's all positive."

Smith credited Robinson and Taylor for pushing to remedy the lack of coverage. He put extra emphasis on Robinson, who is being challenged by Ida Emerson in Tuesday's election. Robinson has repeated pleas during City Council meetings to put a fire station in that area.

"Every time Linda would call me, she'd end with: 'Don't forget the fire station out east,'" the mayor said. "Y'all give Linda a big hug tonight."

Robinson said after the meeting that the new plan was "temporary, but it's better than nothing."

"I'm happy about it," she said. "I'm determined that we'll get something permanent."

Emerson, though, said the fire response study should have been completed before making the announcement, if the city plans are dependent on that.

"They've been wanting a fire station for a long time out here," Emerson said. "They're still waiting on the study. There should have been a plan for what they are going to do right now."

Metro on 10/31/2014

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