CRITTENDEN COUNTY, AR - The town of Jericho, Arkansas seems to have as many problems as it does people these days. The fire chief was shot by a cop in court and fired from his job. The rest of the department stood behind him and quit. So who's left to put out any fires? The town may be looking for help in the wrong direction.
"It's bad by this town not having a fire department,” said Jericho resident Andre Winston. “We really need one up here. Town people need to get together and make the best of it."
Marion Fire Chief Woody Wheeless says people who live in Jericho should be concerned.
“I would think anywhere you're at,” Wheeless said. “If you don't have fire protection, you should be concerned."
The fire house in Jericho sits empty. Mayor Helen Adams told us Monday that the situation is under control.
“We’re working it out,” Adams said. “We’re working on it now."
We stopped by the mayor's house today to see what they worked out. Her car was there, but no one came to the door.
"When the Mayor of Jericho says that,” Chief Wheeless said. “I believe it's assumed that we're going to help them out because we have in the past."
Woody Wheeless says no one from Jericho has contacted him, but folks in town told us exactly what Wheeless assumed.
"If my house caught on fire,” Winston said. “The next closest fire station is Marion, and so Marion 9 times out of 10, they would respond to the fire. They always have been."
However, Chief Wheeless says times have changed.
"The calls are a lot more expensive than they were years ago,” Wheeless said. “There are payroll issues you have today, and I don't think it's fair for the citizens of this town to pick up a bill to help somebody else out."
He says he wants to help, but his department has priorities.
"I don't think it's a good idea to always depend on your neighbor,” Wheeless said. “Because I can't guarantee to them that we can come and help them today. Our number one obligation is to the citizens of Marion."
Chief Wheeless says it costs them about a $1,000 every time they make a run to a town like Jericho.
According to a sign sitting at the town limit, 184 people live in Jericho. Still, they get the same amount of state money for their fire department as a city the size of Marion with more than 10 thousand people.
Arkansas gives every county money for emergency services based on population. It's up to the county to divide that up. In Crittenden County, the money is split between all 13 fire departments.
"The money is split equally,” Wheeless said. “From the smallest department to the largest department. We all receive roughly between $8,000 and $9,000 a year out of this money."
Wheeless says some of these fire departments like Jericho's and Sunset's don't even meet the requirements to get the money, so it just sits in an account.
"If they don't qualify for that money,” Wheeless said. “I'm asking that they turn that money over to us and let us have that money, because we are the primary responders there helping their community out and we're getting nothing in return for it."
The mayors in Crittenden County are the ones who recommended state money be split equally. Chief Wheeless says the number of small town mayors in the county outweighs the number of those in larger ones, and he's had trouble getting anyone to agree to part with that money.
