Fire Chief Herman May called attention Saturday to the fact that Marion firemen have no authority to use the city’s equipment to fight fires outside the city limits. Only in cases where provision is made to pay the city for use of its equipment and the services of the firemen is the fire department authorized to answer calls beyond the city boundaries, the fire chief pointed out. Under a system of reciprocity, local firemen answers call for help from other towns which also send their firemen to Marion when needed. May urged persons living outside the city to have their insurance companies include a provision for fire protection in their fire policies. Many persons who live near Marion already have such provisions in their policies, and when the services of firemen are needed, the insurance company pays the city’s charges. The fire chief said that each run made by the department entails the cost and risk of using firefighting equipment in addition to the services of firemen. The city many years ago set up a system of charging for out-of-town calls to keep Marion taxpayers from having to foot the bills for fire protection for property not taxed in the city. The fees collected for out-of-town calls go into the city treasury and firemen receive no extra pay for out of town work. May said that when a call is received from outside the city he is required to ask that someone guarantee the cost of the run unless the property threatened is covered by insurance which will pay the cost.

(Extracted  from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us )