Wednesday, June 22, 2011
HIGHFILL — Kevin Higgins will be Highfill’s new fire marshal, replacing Rob Holland,who resigned his post and has returned to the Siloam Springs Fire Department. Higgins will begin his new duties in Highfill on July 11.
The hiring followed the June 14 town council meeting at whichHighfill Fire Chief Jeremy Jackson, with a room full of firefighters supporting him, appealed to council members to either: 1. Do a lateral transfer and replace Holland with Higgins and have the police department take overcode enforcement in the town - Jackson’s recommendation; 2. Fund an additional 24 hours of part-time employment to keep the fire station manned during daytime hours Monday throughFriday and to help with the maintenance work needed on trucks and hydrants; or 3. To leave the fire marshal position unfilled but also allow the department to quit doing biannual hydrant inspections, fireinvestigations, building inspections and the grant writing which Holland had been doing.
To leave the position unfilled could mean the ISO rating would go up, Jackson said, because the department receives points formany of the tasks Holland was carrying out for the department.
The fire district’s ISO rating is currently 5 if a structure is 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant and within five miles of a fire station. It is an 8 outside of those areas. Jackson said his department is working on improving the ISO rating with tanker shuttles to get all within the district down to a rating of 5.
“We want to get down to a 4, but a loss of equipment, training and personnel could move us up to a 6,” Jackson said.
“I need help,” Jackson said. “I’m asking you, please.”
“If money is tight, I make almost $6,000 per year and themayor makes $14,000. 'I’ll give up mine if you give up yours,'” Jackson said, looking to Highfill Mayor Stacy Digby.
Digby asked if the two positions - fire chief and fire marshal - could be combined as an option to save money.
Jackson suggested that he had every confidence Higgins could work into that position and do it well but said it would be overwhelming to take it all on at once.
Speaking of Jackson’s certifications, Higgins said Jackson had training and qualifications which few fire chiefs in the area have.
Following an executive session, Mayor Digby announced that he would be making an offer to Higgins regarding the fire marshal position following the meeting.
Higgins was offered the fire marshal position and has accepted the position, Jackson told the Westside Eagle Observer on June 15. Higgins will begin his new duties on July 11, Jackson said. Jackson will continue to serve as Highfill’s fire chief. It will take Higgins a minimum of a year to acquire all the certifications Holland had earned, Jackson estimated.
Higgins’ starting salary will be $28,000 per year. Jackson is hoping that it will be possible for the city to increase that salary in steps to reach the level of Holland’s salary - $35,000 per year - as Higgins takes seven classes and obtains needed certifications over the next year.
In other personnel changes in Highfill, Eric Jones became the town’s new police chief following the resignation last month of Highfill’s first chief, Jack Sanders. Sanders has returned to working full time as a patrolman for the Gentry Police Department.
Fire Department Report
During his department report to the council, Jackson sought to dispel rumors he’s heard regarding the fire department.
First among those rumors is the fire department spends too much money. The fact is, Jackson said, the bulk of the money used to purchase new trucks and equipment has come from grants. He said the city has paid only one sixth of the $600,000 the department has used for upgrades while he’s been chief, with the rest being from grants he’s applied for and received, donations, and funds from Benton County. Jackson said he and his department are thankful for the town’s support and what the town has paid for inequipment and training for the department. His department has had its budget cut the last three years, with a cut of $50,000 in 2011, Jackson said.
It’s true, Jackson said, that his department pays for training which also benefits other departments where many of his volunteer firefighters work full time; but the benefits Highfill receives from the training his volunteers receive in their departments is far greater he said.
It’s also true, Jackson said, that his department spends fuel and time assisting other departments, including the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. But, once again, he said, Highfill receives even more mutual aid from other departments. XNA has its own private fire department and depends on our department and departments from many surrounding fire districts to respond when an aircraft hasan emergency, but the town receives a large part of its sales tax revenue from XNA, he said.
Jackson explained that when he first joined the department 18 years ago, the majority of firefighters were farmers and were available to respond when called and to volunteer more hours. Now, most have other jobs - often working during the day - and many of his firefighters work several jobs to survive and don’t have as much time to volunteer to maintain trucks and equipment. This makes having some paid personnel more necessary than it was in years past.
Jackson said his department’s swift water rescue team is the premier team in the county because other teams are lacking in manpower and equipment, but he said the county provided the team’s truck, boat and motor and was paying the costs of repairs to equipment damaged during the recent water rescues.
Jackson said his team of 11 is down to 10 trained in swiftwater rescue and that he will be losing one more. He said he almost lost five members of the team in flood waters during recent rescues and needs to increase his swift-water rescue staff to 14 from Highfill’s department and another 16 from other departments so that he would have adequate trained staff to conduct rescues if needed in the future.
Jackson asked for and received permission from the council to spend $3,407.82 to send five people to swift-water rescue training at Malvern and another $3,463.25 for equipment, including the required wet suits. The money would come out of a fire department savings account with money from fire dues and from money designated for department training.
Jackson said he was working together with other departments and hoped to have other surrounding departments provide manpower and training to increase the special operations team to a total of 30 members.
Jackson also requested the city, with its attorney, establish a policy for Freedom of Information Act requests. He said a request was recently made to the city for his department, but that he was not notified until almost a month later. He also said notifications to employees should be made when information from personnel files is requested, giving employees a right to appeal the release of certain private information.
In regard to complaints received about any firefighter, Jackson said he launches internal investigations whenever he receives a signed complaint. On the other hand, he said he would not and could not launch investigations based on hearsay alone.
I need help.
I’m asking you, please.
News, Pages 1 on 06/22/2011