By Renee Hunter

Providing fire protection for 567 square miles with only 20,400 residents is a challenge, but the Conway County Fire Department meets it.

Organized in 1969 by the CB Radio Communications Club, the all-volunteer department is unique in that it comes under the auspices of the county and is funded by taxes instead of subscriptions.
For the first 20 years, a voluntary property tax supported the department. Now, CCFD is supported by 15 percent of a 1-cent sales tax passed in 1989 and a designated ¼-cent sales tax passed in 2000.
“The reason we are established the way we are is that it’s the way we grew,” said Administrative Fire Chief Charles Gangluff. 
In the early 1970s, Winthrop Rockefeller funded three fire trucks and construction of District 1’s Central Station in Morrilton. Four other districts were added when their communities expressed a desire for fire protection. Then the department began a more systematic effort to cover Conway County thoroughly, according to Gangluff.
“We actually had a committee get together and map out where stations were needed,” he explained. “We have a few homes now that are more than five miles from a station, but very few.”    
Five additional stations were added in 1976, and another two, later. The communities provide a building and volunteers; CCFD provides equipment and operating expenses.
CCFD consists of 12 districts and 18 stations. It is governed by a five-person administrative board whose members are nominated by the district fire chiefs and appointed by the county judge, thus ensuring countywide representation. Board members serve five-year terms, and may only serve two consecutive terms. The current board consists of David Speights, chairman, owner of a Morrilton auto-parts store; Bill Hartman, Plumerville’s police chief; Steve Wear, who works for the Conway County Regional Water Distribution District; Jim Hensley, a retired forester and volunteer fireman, and Charles George, a retired firefighter.
“We have a really good board as far as diverse abilities,” Gangluff said. “The key to our department is a good board.”
The district chiefs serve as an advisory board. Both boards meet monthly, and the meetings rotate among the districts.
“The other key is a good county judge,” Gangluff added. “We couldn’t do what we do without the full support of the county judge.”
The support is mutual, according to County Judge Jimmy Hart. “We have a good working relationship,” he said. “They’re a great group of guys to work with.”
Besides fighting fires, the volunteers are an integral part of the annual countywide trash pickup, according to Hart.With CCFD’s help, the county is a cleaner place to live.
“It’s a great program; the citizens love it,” Hart said of the annual event. “It’s a great way to mobilize volunteers countywide.”
The department has about 100 pieces of equipment and about 220 firefighters. More than 50 percent of the volunteers are emergency medical responders; their training ranges from first-response to EMT and paramedic training. Some of the firefighter training, which fulfills state requirements, is done at the Arkansas Fire Academy in Camden, and some is done in-house.
“The districts are allowed to establish their training regiment to a certain degree,” said Gangluff.
The department responds to roughly 900 calls a year, of which the majority are medical emergencies, although grass fires are common.
The department’s ISO (Insurance Services Office) ratings range from Class 4 to 7, according to Speights. Not long ago, all 12 districts were rated Class 9, but District 10, the last district so rated, received a lower rating in January. This reduced the insurance premiums for the residents of Blackwell and surrounding area by over 50 percent.
“Once the department got its funding in order, we had one main goal in mind,” Speights said, “to lower our fire ratings.”
Several years ago, the department hired a consultant to show it how best to lower its ratings. One suggestion, which has been acted on, was to supply each district with tanker trucks, which carry water and pump it. Most of the districts’ lowered ratings are based on these trucks, and the goal is to provide two tankers per district.
The water from the county’s 11 square miles of ponds is also used to fight fires. “Dry hydrants,” which use a pumping action rather than water pressure to draw water from the pond, have been installed in several areas.
“That’s a necessity for a rural department,” Speights said, adding that the county’s water distribution district has helped get these hydrants installed where needed.