By Toni Lepeska
The Commercial Appeal
OLIVE BRANCH, Tenn. — The Olive Branch government has officially taken over the volunteer Summershill fire district and soon will begin renovation of one of the two fire stations it acquired.
City residents covered by Summershill have for years received double coverage — from volunteers and from city firefighters.
With the takeover, full-time firefighters will be on hand around the clock. Also, residents on the south side of the city, nearest the station in unincorporated DeSoto County, will receive improved fire coverage.
To disband the Summershill fire district, the city had to get the approval of at least half of the property owners within it. The city acquired Summershill’s cash, equipment and fire stations.
The Summershill area will become District 5, fire Chief Johnny Eason said, and will be manned by three paid firefighters. They will be based at the Summershill fire station at Pleasant Hill and College roads.
The station will undergo renovations for the crew, Eason said. A bed hall will be added to the station and a place for a dishwasher and washer/dryer will be added. Volunteer crews who reported from their homes had no need of those things.
The renovation is expected to cost about $43,000, much less than construction of a fire station.
The Mississippi Rating Bureau had calculated in 2007 that Olive Branch would need an additional fire station to keep its lower fire rating, which impacts homeowner insurance rates.
The city estimated that it would cost at least $1.8 million to build a new fire house. By acquiring the fire station at the south end of the city in the Summershill deal, the city was spared the construction expense.
The Summershill fire station on Pleasant Hill north of Goodman Road will be used for storage only, Eason said. Firefighters responding to the immediate area will come from stations 2 and 4.
Olive Branch also acquired a fire truck in the agreement. The city assumed the debt on the truck and got Summershill’s “cash on hand,” $123,000.
The city will get another $30,000 after Summershill’s final bills are paid and obligations met.
The amounts of cash will offset payment of the debt, to be made in full, confirmed city attorney Bryan Dye.
“At closing, the city paid off that truck,” Dye said.
Copyright 2011 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.