Mississippi Valley State University is asking the city of Greenwood for help fighting high-rise fires on the Valley campus.
Donna Oliver, president of Valley, appeared before the Greenwood City Council on Tuesday to ask for greater cooperation between the two bodies.
She said Valley’s enrollment growth over the past 61 years has led to phenomenal growth on its Itta Bena campus. It now has a number of buildings that are three levels or more instead of just one or two.
“As our campus has grown, so too has the need for the university to be adequately protected from catastrophic events, specifically the outbreak of a fire,” she said. “We have the lives of over 2,500 young men and women on our campus on a daily basis.”
The city of Itta Bena doesn’t have the fire equipment or manpower to deal with a building more than two stories tall, she said. Valley has five student residence buildings and four academic and administration buildings — including the Sutton Building — that exceed two stories.
“We are currently working with the city of Itta Bena, with the Fire Department, with the mayor,” she said. “We’re looking at how we can secure the necessary equipment and training for personnel in Itta Bena. We’re looking at grant opportunities.”
Oliver requested that the city of Greenwood enter into a formal agreement with the university to provide equipment and personnel “on an as-needed basis” — especially for fires above a building’s second floor.
“We would be responsible for reimbursing to the city whatever the specific costs would be,” she said.
Greenwood Fire Chief Marcus Banks expressed concerns about a formal agreement.
“I’m not in disagreement. I’ve been working with the university for some time,” he said.
Banks said he was concerned about the city’s two ladder trucks and how responding to Valley might jeopardize the city’s Class IV fire rating. Valley is five miles beyond the range permitted under the existing mutual aid agreement with Leflore County, he said.
In addition, the agreement specifically covers only residences.
“If the manpower and the equipment were available, we would go,” Banks said.
The ladder trucks also serve as frontline pumper trucks in the city, and they respond to most house fire calls, he said. Removing one or both of them could make them unavailable if called in the city, Banks said.
The Greenwood Fire Department is one of only six departments in the state with a Class IV rating. The only Class III jurisdictions are Southaven and Jackson.
If the city were to slip to a Class V rating, homeowners and businesses would pay more in property insurance premiums, Banks said.
Oliver said it wasn’t her intention to damage the city’s fire rating.
Banks suggested that the city consider scaling back fees for fire runs made to the university.
Both sides pledged to continue to examine the issue and report back to the council at its Nov. 1 meeting.
• Contact Bob Darden at bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
