SPRINGDALE — People expect a quick response when they call 911 for a medical problem or a fire. Growing populations and larger city footprints, however, make that more difficult for some Northwest Arkansas cities.
“We know what response time the city expects and what we expect from ourselves,” said Mike Irwin, Springdale fire chief. “We need more facilities to meet that need.”
Springdale more than doubled in population between 1990 and 2010, from 29,941 to 69,797, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city added more than 2,000 acres through annexation since 2010, according to city records.
Officials in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale all have plans to add or improve fire stations in order to keep up with burgeoning growth.
The population of the Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area increased 33.5 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 347,045 to 463,204, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The area includes Benton, Madison and Washington counties in Arkansas and McDonald County in Missouri.
The population growth of Arkansas cities was not immediately followed with increasing fire department budgets, said Kevin Miller, first vice president of the board of the Arkansas Association of Fire Chiefs and Jonesboro fire chief.
When the economy slowed, Miller said, even cities with large population increases didn’t have the money to expand their fire departments. As the economy recovers, cities are starting to improve their departments, he said.
Bentonville, Rogers and Springdale are building more fire stations further from the center of the cities, as population and fire calls increase toward city limits. The main thrust for Fayetteville, however, is expanding its stations in the city center to cover its increasing density, said David Dayringer, fire chief.
“We are filling in more than filling out,” Dayringer said. “The number of students at the University of Arkansas is increasing and we’re getting more beds in that area. We have to expect to cover an increasing number of calls from those dorms and apartments.”
Springdale has the area’s biggest expansion under way. After city voters approved a bond sale, Springdale has $8.5 million available to use to relocate two old stations and build a additional station. Springdale added its last station, No. 6 on South 48th Street, in 1998.
After purchasing land, the department will have $8 million remaining to build the three stations, Irwin said.
Station No. 2 will move from Dyer Street, off Sunset Avenue, south to Don Tyson Parkway, Irwin said. The new station will be built east of the Tyson Foods Headquarters, on the north side of the parkway. Station No. 3 will move from Sanders Avenue behind AQ Chicken to Thompson Street near Cooper Drive, he said.
The newest station, No. 7, will be built on Har-Ber Avenue, west of Har-Ber High School and Hellstern Middle School. Har-Ber Meadows, a mixed-use planned development, is located east of the high school. Residents of the development are looking forward to having quicker response times to emergency calls, said Rob Frits, president of the Har-Ber Meadows Property Owners Association.
“All in all, our residents think it will be a benefit,” Frits said. “Any noise problem from sirens can be controlled with proper management. We’ll be happy when the station is good to go.”
Rogers’ is building a new Station No. 2, relocating it from 17th Street to a larger building with more bays on New Hope Road, said Tom Jenkins, fire chief.
“We were out of space,” Jenkins said. “We have more reserve apparatus and don’t have any place to store them.”
The new building will allow the department’s most centrally located station to reach all areas of the city faster, Jenkins said.
The next new station, No. 8, will be located near the intersection of Southgate and Rainbow roads, Jenkins said.
“Our growth in new stations slowed when our staffing became thin in our other stations,” Jenkins said.
Rogers’ Station No. 6 opened on South Bellview Road in 2004 and No. 7 on South First Street in 2007. Station No. 5 was rebuilt in 2009 because of mold problems caused by construction methods, officials said at the time.
Bentonville’s next Fire Department project will be Station No. 6, to be located in the 3300 block of Southwest I Street, said Curtis Sharp, battalion chief.
“We plan to open it in 2014 to 2015,” Sharp said. “We still have time to get it done.”
Bentonville opened its Station No. 5 in 2007, Sharp said.
“All of this is driven by our ISO rating,” Sharp said. “We want to maintain our Class 2 rating.”
The Insurance Services Office rates fire departments on staffing, equipment, dispatch, response times, water supply and other factors. Many insurance companies use the ISO rating to set insurance rates for home and business owners.
Bentonville officials have land for stations 7 and 8, Sharp said. The locations will be on Runway Drive and Artillery Road, he said. Both are on land annexed near Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.
BY THE NUMBERS
Fire Stations In Area Cities - 2012
Cities - Stations - Population
Bentonville: 5 - 38,284
Fayetteville: 7 - 76,899
Rogers: 7 - 58,895
Springdale: 6 - 72,123
Source: Staff Report
Springdale officials are planning for more stations and acquiring additional land for stations 8, 9 and 10, Irwin said.
One would be located near the intersection of Mountain and Monitor roads, Irwin said, to give the department another station east of the railroad tracks. The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, headquartered in Springdale, has switching yards that cross city streets.
Another is planned near the intersection of Wagon Wheel and Silent Grove roads. This would give the department quick access to Interstate 540 and the planned U.S. 412 northern bypass.
Property at the final location has been purchased. Land was purchased for a park in the northwest corner of the city, near Shaw Elementary School. A section of the land, near the corner of Downum and Ball roads, will be reserved for a fire station.
The order and time when the stations will be built depends on how the surrounding areas develop, Irwin said.
Fire departments use several factors to determine when a new stations is needed or an old station relocated. Those include population density, call volumes, response times and street connections, Sharp said.
Money is also a major factor, Miller said.
“Some cities in Arkansas have had to scale back their departments,” Miller said. “They’ve had to reduce their personnel and put new stations and equipment on hold.”