NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County supervisors received complaints Monday from volunteer county firemen about having to be subordinate to Natchez’ professional fire fighters when called into action.
The agreement the Adams County Board of Supervisors has with the city calls for the Natchez Fire Department to be in charge when it and county volunteers are combating fires. “That’s very demeaning, insulting and almost offensive,” said Everett Baker, who noted he was speaking on behalf of other volunteer fire fighters. He said several of them are just as experienced and well-trained as city firemen.
With Adams County only having a volunteer fire department and four small stations not fully equipped, residents outside Natchez rely mostly on city fire fighters. This is through a compact supervisors have with Natchez going back to 1994. That arrangement was renewed last year with the county paying the city more than $900,000 a year, which includes the salaries of 16 NFD firemen.
Baker urged the county Board of Supervisors to spend more money to expand the county fire department’s capabilities to ensure it can respond quicker than the NFD in the county’s outlying areas. He noted better fire protection coverage for the county should reduce insurance premiums property owners must pay.
County board President Kevin Wilson said supervisors will continue to consider Baker’s concerns as they prepare the budget for funding county government operations in the coming year. “We got a budget coming up, and things are going to change a little bit,” he told Baker.
Adams County does annually get a share of state funds distributed throughout Mississippi for local fire departments.
The Adams County Board of Supervisors in recent years has discussed plans for establishing a full-fledged county fire department but hasn’t followed through with funding. About $500,000 would be needed at the outset, county Emergency Management Director Brad Bradford said Monday. About $100,000 from the county’s state fire protection money would pay for upgrading Adams County’s fleet of fire trucks, he said.
Bradford pointed to plans for two fully-manned fire stations in the north and south parts of Adams County that could better serve residents living outside the city and reduce their house insurance costs.
Potential fire station sites reviewed by the board in 2018 included the old Washington school property on U.S. 61 north and a location near the Beau Pre residential subdivision south of Natchez.
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