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Towns look to outside fire protection Eagle Point, Central Point eye annexation into Dist. 3 By Melissa Martin EAGLE POINT � Police Chief David Strand found a 30-foot-high fireball in the sky and a live powerline on the ground when he arrived at the burning tax office last summer. Fire consolidation is widening trend EAGLE POINT -- The Los Alamos fire that destroyed homes and threatened a national research laboratory in New Mexico serves as a reminder of how important fire protection is to a community, local fire chiefs say. One of Southern Oregon�s last big fires started in Ramsey Canyon near Sams Valley in 1996 and crossed from one fire district boundary to another, traveling eight miles in two days. "Those big fires threaten our entire county," said Fire Chief Randy Iverson of Jackson County Fire District 3. To fight a regional fire, Jackson County has 10 fire districts, seven city departments and the wildland specialists of the Oregon Department of Forestry. "We have a really good fire service in this county," Iverson said. "Everybody cooperates and provides automatic response." What the future may hold for fire protection is consolidation, said Bob Miller, chief of Fire District 4 in Shady Cove. His district is responsible for 5,200 people, $230 million worth of structures and property, the City of Shady Cove, Lost Creek Lake, 15 miles of the Rogue River and 19 miles of Highway 62. Fire District 4 is known for its swift-water rescue unit."There are a ton of advantages to consolidation," Miller said. His district took part in a consolidation study with five other districts in 1995. "There is increased efficiency and hopefully, a reduced cost of doing business," Miller said. Fire District 4 is doing a study of insurance ratings, assigned to districts based partly on the availability of water. Fire District 3 in White City is rated 4. But Shady Cove is rated a lower 8 because the city has no water system. (Residents rely on wells and the fire district draws water from the Rogue River, Lost Creek Lake, swimming pools or irrigation ditches.) "The ideal situation is to resolve these types of problems and work the (consolidation) issues out," Miller said. Strand, who is also a volunteer fireman, turned a 1 3/4 inch fire hose onto the leaping flames with the help of volunteer fireman Gary Shipley, the city�s public works director. "I wanted to check the building for occupants but we couldn�t because we didn�t have enough people," Strand said. Instead, Strand and Shipley kept flames from spreading to the tavern next door or the school district office in back. Last July�s fire at the 90-year-old former telephone office in downtown Eagle Point was a wake-up call for this rural, yet growing city that has relied on volunteers for fire protection. "What happens if Dave and Gary wouldn�t have been at City Hall when that call came in?" asked David Hussell, the city administrator. "Who would have responded so quickly to that fire?" The Eagle Point Fire Department hasn�t been entirely on its own. For the past year, the city has relied on help from Fire District 3, which also provides fire protection for the cities of Central Point, Gold Hill, the White City Industrial Park and $1 billion worth of property and structures in a 200-mile radius. The Eagle Point City Council on Tuesday extended its contract with Fire District 3 as a temporary fix for a community with $149 million worth of property. Next year, the city plans to ask voters to annex into Fire District 3, which would cost property owners between $2.75 and $3.12 per $1,000 of assessed value. If annexation fails, the city would likely ask voters for a bond to run its own fire department, estimated to cost about $300,000 a year. "Regardless of what happens at the ballot box, we need to do something different than we are doing now for fire protection," Hussell said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA