JASON HIBBS
WPSD
Reprinted with Permission

OBION COUNTY, Tenn. - "It was a great plan, but it never took off."


That's what the creator of a comprehensive, countywide fire protection plan said about a resolution that could have prevented the controversy surrounding last week's Obion County fire.

Richard Chestean designed the detailed plan in 1987. It would have given everyone in the county fire protection. County commissioners liked it and voted yes.

And then nothing happened for 23 years.

About two years ago, county leaders voted to scrap the whole thing and start over. The creator of the plan said county leaders ignored because no one could agree on how to fund it.

So, the debate on whether to tax or offer subscription service has gone on for decades, while houses in the county continue to burn to the ground.

Chestean is a humble man but admitted the resolution he created is pretty good.

"We felt really confident we were going to be able to pull this off," he said.

So confident that back in 1987, he and other Obion County commissioners voted yes. They separated the county into districts and even appointed a fire chief but one thing divided the leaders, halting the resolution.

"It just stalled because of the funding," he said.

Obion County Commissioners wouldn't raise taxes to pay for a service that many were getting for free from nearby cities.

"Before, they never had to have a subscription. They came out anyway," said Chestean of the area fire departments.

But now times have changed. After the fire that destroyed Gene Cranick's home, the heat is on.

A new plan is in the works. Dean Jowers, Obion County's fire commission chairperson, will bring it before the commission in a few weeks.

Jowers said it's similar to Chestean's plan, but doesn't raise taxes and is a subscription service.

"No way to enforce that they pay it, if you charge everybody," Jowers said. "So, a number of people will not pay it."

But Chestean is against this newest proposal because of the effect it will have on stations like Hornbeak. They now respond to all fires in the area and didn't ask for a dime. Under countywide subscription service, all of Obion County will be just like South Fulton.

"You may only have 40 percent of people within Hornbeak's five mile radius that signed up," Chestean said. "Those 60 percent of other people, if they call Hornbeak, they're gonna say, 'Sorry, you're not on subscription."

He's afraid under that system, you'll see homes like Gene Cranick's throughout Obion County go up in flames, and firefighters forced to watch them burn.

Chestean said that something is better than nothing. That's because under the current system, those departments that don't charge to go out to the county are not obligated to respond at all.

Some are afraid that with all this bad publicity, the departments will decide to no longer cover the county at all.

If something is put into place, it would guarantee some form of protection to those who are willing to pay.

County leaders will vote on that proposal Oct. 18.