OK, folks, more on the topic of closing the Park Hill Fire Station (Company 5):

Local #35 has made itself available to the neighborhood group meetings, recently attending NLAN and the Park Hill Group meetings.  At this time, we are simply making ourselves available to you to answer any questions that the public may have about the Union position regarding Station 5.

It must be emphasized that this is the position of the Union, and not the NLR Fire Department in general.  The Department, operating as a government agency, continues to remain apolitical, and is an instrument used to carry out city policy.  The Union, on the other hand, which is a non-profit organization with a voluntary membership, is entitled have positions on these issues.  It's hard to do, but we try very hard to keep these two distinct and separate.

Local #35's official position on closing Station 5 is outlined in a separate article on this site.  We have developed what we think is the fairest strategy for working toward it's end:  PUBLIC EDUCATION.  We feel that there are some response issues that would occur from shutting down Station 5 that the public we serve are not aware of.  We are going to take steps to make the public aware of these issues.

After the citizens are made aware of these things, they may still agree with the concept of closing and relocating the station.  We're OK with this, because we'll know that the citizens have made an informed decision.  An informed decision is acceptable to us, regardless of what it is.  On the opposite side of that coin, an uninformed decision is an ugly thing that should never occur.

Look for these details in September.  And check in at our webiste frequently for updates.  We can also be contacted through this website if you have any questions.

Folks, the issue of Station 5 possibly being closed has generated some pretty spectacular rumors.  I'd like to take a moment to put some of them to rest.

I live in Park Hill!  If they close the fire station, my fire insurance will go up!   -   absolutely NOT.  For the largest part, your fire insurance premium is based on a numerical "fire protection" called an ISO Rating.  "ISO" is Insurance Standards Organization; they score your city based on certain criteria.  NLR is rated a 2 (lower is better), although the new east end development is getting a split rating of 9 from what I hear. 

It would take quite a string of events to get the ISO rating to change; and definitely something more significant than relocating a fire company.

Some insurance companies don't use ISO ratings; they use statistics based on zip codes.  However, ISO rating is the prevalent method.

Close the Fire Station?? We've got to do something NOW, before it's too late!!   -  Slow down!  Timing is not a critical issue at this point.  If the City began building the new Station today, it wouldn't be finished until Summer of 2009 (and that's being generous).  I'm estimating 4Q of 09, or even 2010. 

The Mayor can close, build or reorganize the Fire Department as he wishes - Not at all.  We actually had this issue cleared up at one of the Neighborhood Group Meetings I attended.  The Mayor himself made it clear to everyone present: reorganizing the Fire Department requires the approval by vote of the City Council.

Use a bit of common sense here, please.  The above statement will generally apply to things that involve capital expenditures.  When it comes to simple organizational changes (having Truck 1 operate out of Station 2 instead of Central as a fictitious example), this matter is the Department Chief's decision, and it's one he'll usually make after consulting with his senior staff.  No City Council vote would be necessary.

The following statement outlines the official position of IAFF Local #35 (the NLR Firefighter's Union) regarding the possible closing of Fire Station #5.

The citizens of North Little Rock are faced with a number of concerns recently.  This article addresses one of them: the issue of closing Fire Station #5 in Park Hill.

Since 1990, the City has almost doubled in geographical size.  However, the number of fire stations, firefighters and fire apparatus' (which is a fancy name for "firetruck") is exactly the same as it was in 1990.

City expansion caused the response time for the fire department to grow to unacceptable levels at the outer edges in the annexed areas.  With a need for fire protection in these outlying areas, the city administration was challenged to provide that protection.

Local #35 understands that the City's tentative solution will be:

1. Construct a new fire station at the far eastern border of NLR
2. Move Engine 7 out of Lakewood to the new station
3. Move Rescue 5 out of Park Hill to where Engine 7 used to be
4. Renumber the new station Station 5 and with Engine 5 (formerly E-7)
5. Operate Rescue 5 and Truck 7 out of the Lakewood station (Station 7)
6. Cease operations out of the Park Hill station ("old" Station 5).

In this manner, the Fire Department will simply be redistributed to cover a wider territory, instead of expanding the department to meet the needs of the growing city.

IAFF Local #35 firmly opposes any change in organization that calls for closing down any existing fire station.  It is our position that as the city expands, the size of the Department should be increased through the addition of stations, apparatus' and crew to meet the expanding needs of NLR.  We further believe that removing the regular first-in Engine company from Lakewood Fire Station #7 (leaving it with only a Truck company and a Rescue company) will have a significantly negative impact on the Department's ability to provide fire protection to the Lakewood area; and that there will even be a lesser impact on the fire protection for the immediately surrounding fire districts (notably, Park Hill and Indian Hills) which rely on Engine 7 out of Lakewood as a "second in" engine on structure fires.

In the future, IAFF Local #35 will take steps to ensure that the general public as well as the residents of these areas are made aware of the consequences of this change.

The information above is considered "public release", and as such, it is reprintable.  We ask that if it is reprinted that it be done so in it's entirety.

Local #35, working jointly with our cousins at the NLR FOP (aka "the policeman's union") will be holding a Mayoral Candidate Interview on August 20th.

These interviews are by invitation only; invites were sent to three candidates who have expressed intent to run for the office of Mayor and who were also considered viable candidates.

Each of the candidates will be interviewed using the same list of questions.  The Interview Panel will consist of two Local #35 officers, two NLRFOP officers and a representative from the Retired Uniformed Officers Association (which has both cops and firemen).

Regrettably, this interview will not be open to the public.  Members of the public safety labor organizations will be permitted (and encouraged!) to attend; however, only the interview panel will be permitted to interact with the candidates.

Through email, I have been advised by national headquarters that the International Association of Fire Fighters has formally endorsed Senator Barack Obama in his run for the Presidency.