Pulaski County residents in the in the northeastern part of our fire district are generating ground roots support from local residents and from WPFD leadership with hopes to develop a new fire station that can serve the eastern part of Pinnacle Valley north of Hwy 10 to the Arkansas River. Many residents in this area have seen large increases in insurance rates or have trouble getting insurance since our last Insurance Services Office (ISO) evaluation (Oct 2012) that showed improved fire protection rates to most of our fire district but many in this area live further than 5 miles from the closest station on Hwy 10. The ISO ratings are require structures to be located no more than 5-miles distance from their closest fire station and no more than 1, ed 000 feet from their nearest fire hydrant. Residents in this area have fire and rescue coverage from WPFD, troche however this distance from the fire station has impacted insurance costs the most for this area, even though they are paid members of the volunteer fire department. As recent developments and housing growth has risen over the past several years the community has now organized to help WPFD improve our response times to meet services for increased population numbers and higher local traffic to local state and city parks in this region. This local support from the community and is critical as we evaluate options and hope to find ways to finance a suitable property, equip it with fire apparatus, acquire protective gear and develop more community volunteers that will train and respond to calls from this new station area. A recent commitment from a property owner has helped get the ball rolling with a donation of approximately 1 acre of land in the vicinity of Pinnacle Valley and Beck Rd. Additionally, community volunteers area expressing interest to join the planned station as volunteer firefighters and first responders. With planning for building design, commitments of labor, and recent progress with the Little Rock Planning Commission, we are glad to see progress being made toward helping achieve better fire and rescue service from WPFD and, hopefully, better insurance rates for those that live in that desired 5-mile distance from the planned station. For more information, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette did a story recently that has more information. If you would like more information about how you will be affected by this planned station or would like to contribute, please contact West Pulaski Fire Departments Business Office at 501-821-9320.