December 20, 2007
County Commissioners Planning County Fire District

Photo by Dave Maxwell County Manager John Lovelady telling Commissioners about fire district boundaries.

By Dave Maxwell

Forming a countywide Fire District was discussed at the regular meeting of the County Commissioners December 17. County manager John Lovelady said that both Pioche and Pahranagat Valley are not interested in expanding their boundaries and “Panaca has already stretched their boundaries as far as they can go.”

Thus, in order to provide fire service to all areas of the county not already covered, the Commissioners will need to form their own district.

County residents who are not within the boundaries of an existing town fire district are sent a bill for the time and use of equipment if a fire occurs on their property and a fire unit needs to respond. Residents living within a fire district are taxed for fire protection service as part of their property taxes.

With the formation of a countywide fire district, Lincoln County would be able to bring in a small amount of money from people living in the outlying areas who are not in an existing district. Those districts would have an arrangement with the County to handle fire calls and then be paid back from the County’s Fire District Fund for the firefighter’s time and use of equipment.

Commissioners thought this would help those outlying areas of Lincoln County a little better. However, Commissioner Hornbeck raised the question: in case of a fire in an outlying area, how much can first responders do, liability wise, as they wait for trained fire fighters to arrive on scene? She wondered if a type of auxiliary fire department could be established which might allow a water tanker truck to be taken to the site of the fire and used as they wait for the trained fire fighters to come.

The process of establishing a countywide fire district is expected to take at least a year, giving time to set up the tax structure. In the meantime, Mrs. Hornbeck said she wants to have some public hearings on the matter. She said a countywide fire district “might be a tough pill to swallow when you haven’t had to pay a fire tax all these years and then all of a sudden you’re being asked to pay a fire tax if you live on the outskirts. It’s like insurance. You hate to pay it, but when you need it, it’s nice to have.”