Posted on

House fire raises Marion resident’s concerns about city’s fire protection

House fire raises Marion resident’s concerns about city’s fire protection

Share

House fire raises Marion resident’s concerns about city’s fire protection

Community may have outgrown current service capa-bilities, says homeowner

news@theeveningtimes.com

A Marion couple whose house burned are concerned that with the city growing the current level of fire protection isn’t enough to keep residents safe.

Sheila Babineau told the city council that it took over 30 minutes for firefighters in Marion to get to her home at 453 Beechwood Cove from the time she called 911.

“I don’t know how long it takes you to put your clothes on at 6 a.m. and then get to the fire station and put your gear on and get to a fire,” Babineau said. “But by our calculations it was 35 minutes until the first engine showed up.”

Babineau said the fire happened around 6 a.m. on Aug. 18 when her husband heard the smoke detector go off in the attic. The house was fully engulfed by then and she and her husband had about a minute and a half to get out of the house. They were unable to get their two dogs out in time, however.

She claims she called 911 five times and got no answer before finally calling the police department.

The call was answered by the Sheriff’s Department which handles all fire calls for the county except for West Memphis. “From the report I got from the Sheriff’s Department, it took that woman six minutes of talking to me before she ever pushed a button to alert the fire department there was a fire at my house,” Babineau said.

Babineau said the police got there before the first fire units arrived.

“We were all up in the cove wondering when we were going to hear the sirens,” Babineau said.

“And it turned out that the truck that came was the farthest

away.”

Babineau said she doesn’t understand why it took firefighters so long to reach her home when there are two fire stations close to where she lives.

“I sit between the school and Military Road on Beechwood Cove,” Babineau said. “I am sitting right between two fire stations which are no good if they aren’t manned with somebody to respond to a fire. My house burned to the ground. I don’t have anything left.”

Babineau said the city needs more full time fire personnel to ensure that the city is protected 24 hours a day seven days a week.

“I don’t feel safe for any of my neighbors,” Babineau said. “The city is on the grow. We were put up in the new hotel. And now there is going to be another hotel. How do we protect our visitors to this city when we can’t even protect our own citizens? I am here for the other citizens of this city. I want to see it continue to grow. But I also want it to be a safer town.”

Marion has three fire stations and four full time firefighters who work 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and about 30 to 40 volunteer firefighters at a time.

Fire Chief Woody Wheeless said while he is sorry for the Babineau’s loss, he disputed the time it took for firefighters to respond.

According to the time stamp on the dispatch report, the first fire fighters arrived on the scene in about 10 minutes.

“We go by the dispatch report. Those times are time stamped,” Wheeless said.

“From the time you called it in to the time we arrived on the scene and put water on your fire, it was 10 minutes. It wasn’t 35 minutes.”

Wheeless said although there are two fire stations close to the residence, the department has fewer volunteers available to respond at that time of day because people are on their way to work.

“If that call had come in at 2 a.m., she would have gotten that fire station right there beside her because everybody would have been home,” Wheeless said. “Unfortunately at that time in the morning when the call came in people were going to work.”

Wheeless added that the Marion Fire Department also has a Class 3 fire protection rating which is one of the highest ratings.

Fire Departments are evaluated by an independent agency, the Insurance Service Office, and receive a Public Protection Classification or ISO rating of one to 10.

The rating is based on factors such as the number of fire stations, type and age of its equipment, staffing levels, training, hydrant locations and maintenance, water flow, and fire safety control programs such as code enforcement, business inspections, dispatch services, and public education programs.

ISO ratings help insurance companies set fire premiums and also provides communities with a tool to evaluate the services being provided by the department.

“We didn’t get that because they like us,” Wheeless said. “We got it because of our training, equipment, and our response time.”

The national average response

time to a fire for full

time fire departments is five minutes and 20 second. Wheeless said Marion’s average response time is seven minutes.

“We had guys there fighting that fire risking their lives trying to save your property,” Wheeless said.

Babineau acknowledged that the city’s volunteer fire department does a good job, but said since the city is growing residents really need to have round the clock protection.

“All I am saying is we need four gentlemen on duty 24/7 in this city so that people are safe while the rest of the department is getting their gear,” Babineau said. “I am here for the other citizens of this city. I want to see the city continue to grow. But I also want it to be a safe town. I don’t like the fact that we aren’t safe except from 8 to 4 in the afternoon.”

Mayor Frank Fogleman said he believes the city’s fire protection is excellent.

“They (Babineau) have suffered a devastating loss and I certainly sympathize with them,” Fogleman said.

“I can understand her concerns but I don’t agree with her position that the town is unsafe. We are a Class 3 and that is hard to get.”

Fogleman said that the city doesn’t have the resources to have a full time fire department.

“I don’t think at this point we are capable of having 24/7 staffing,” Fogleman said. “There are losses even in the best departments. But I think Woody and all of the guys in the fire department have done an excellent job to get us where we are. We know we have weaknesses when people are going to work or are at work. That’s why we hired the guys who are there.

They can respond when we have the least potential for volunteers to respond.”

By Mark Randall

LAST NEWS
Scroll Up