Affton Fire Chief Sees Positives in New Emergency Dispatcher

Chief Jim Fritz says better equipment is just one perk of joining other St. Louis fire departments on the same dispatching service.

Several St. Louis area fire districts are moving to a new dispatch service this year--and that's fine by the Affton fire chief. Affton, Fenton, Lemay and Mehlville fire districts, which currently use the South County Fire Alarm Association, will move to Central County Emergency 911, effective July 1. The network is expected to provide better communication between fire departments. Affton Fire Chief Jim Fritz recently told KMOV the switch will not only provide the department with updated equipment, but "better ways to do things than we are now."

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For Affton Fire Tax, Need Seen in the Numbers

The district says its ambulance will be overtaxed by new senior centers.

If you thought you heard more sirens than usual in Affton this year, you weren’t wrong. Affton Fire Protection District officials say Affton’s growing population of seniors put their single ambulance to work an additional 300 EMS calls in 2011. It is this trend—likely to continue as yet more senior living centers open in the area—that prompted the district to put a tax increase on the April ballot for voter approval. The $0.26 tax levy would bring in an additional $1.27 million in revenue, which Chief Jim Fritz said would be used to add an additional ambulance to Affton Fire's fleet and hire six new staff to man it. “This isn’t for the firefighters to get a raise,” Captain Ben Waser said. “This is for something that is desperately needed …

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Affton Fire District to Ask for 26 Cent Tax Increase

The district put the tax on the April 3 ballot in hopes of expanding ambulance services to deal with the increasing senior population.

Only Minor Fender-Benders in Affton

It was pretty slippery for a while, how are things in your neighborhood?

For the first snow of the season, it could have been worse. Chief Jim Fritz of the Affton Fire Protection District said this morning other than minor fender-benders things are running well. "There's a lot of minor accidents," he said. "I know the highways are having problems this morning. Some of the streets in the area have been closed off due to ice." The warm temperatures from recent days caused the first snow that fell to thaw and freeze into ice. Area highways all experienced accidents and slowdowns. KSDK reported that the Missouri Department of Transportation has 200 trucks out treating the roads. Interstates are being treated first, because they're used the most. Chief Fritz said it's getting better. "For the conditions, it seems …

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