Saturday, January 23, 1999
Anderson could add firefighters
Recent blazes prompt panel to study issue
BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ANDERSON TOWNSHIP — The hottest issue in this township of 50,000 residents is too many fires and not enough firefighters.
There have been seven fires in the last six weeks, four of them started in garages.
“This is the first time in 20 years we have had this many fires,” said Russ Jackson, president of the Anderson Township Board of Trustees.
Residents, township officials and firefighters think it may be time to increase firefighting staffing.
A committee was chosen Thursday night to search out a consulting firm to study wheth er more firefighters need to be hired — a move that could cost up to $2 million.
The only way to get that kind of money is to go to the voters for a levy increase, Mr. Jackson said.
Several hours after the issue was discussed in a public meeting at the township's government center, a suspicious fire was reported in a vacant building in the Old Fort area of the township.
Assistant Fire Chief Craig Best said a neighbor reported the fire about 1:15 a.m. Friday at 27 Fort Lee Parkway. The building was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. No one was injured, and the blaze is being investigated.
“It was to be used for a fire class demonstration, so we don't consider it a loss,” Chief Best said.
He said the growing number of people and homes in the township may signal that it's time to increase the number of firefighters.
“I think this is a problem all over the county,” he said.
While Friday morning's fire did not cause injuries, the lack of fire hydrants in the area and the swiftness with which the fire spread before enough firefighters were available rekindled concerns about safety.
Those concerns reached a boiling point on Dec. 29, when an explosion in a garage caused $900,000 damage to the home of Dr. Gregory and Nancy Williams in the 300 block of Bishopsbridge Drive and neighbors on the dead-end street watched the early morning blaze.
Although the fire was under control within an hour and 15 minutes, the fire spread quickly through the house.
Barry Evans, who lives across the street from the Williamses, is heading the committee formed Thursday night.
The committee also will include township Fire Chief Dan Esslinger, an assistant fire chief, two firefighters and four residents.
Mr. Evans said the Bishopsbridge fire caused a lot of concerns because of its origin in a garage and how massive it was.
“When you look across the street at 4 a.m. and see a fire that big, it causes you to think about safety equipment in your own home and whether there are enough firefighters in the township and enough equipment to adequately fight fires,” Mr. Evans said.
But the immediate issue, Mr. Jackson said, is whether the township should have four firefighters on every truck. He said the staffing level now was established from a study in 1991 that recommended four firefighters at two stations and two at two other stations.
“This works well as long as everyone is in place. In the Bishopsbridge Drive fire, two firefighters were on an emergency run. They made it to the fire in good response time, but they were still in their EM uniforms and not ready to fight a fire,” Mr. Jackson said.
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