An offer to move the Fire Academy of North Dakota to Lincoln was met with interest and some skepticism as sometimes tense discussion led to the city council calling for a study of the issue.

Darrell Graf, chief of the academy, explained at Thursday's council meeting that he was interested at relocating from Medina to this area. The Academy is a private training school for firefighters which has been run by Graf for the past three years.

Since he lives in Bismarck Graf wants to locate the academy closer to this area. Seeing Lincoln's interest in fire protection Graf said it would be a good place to locate operations which would include two fire trucks and a hook-and-ladder truck.

Lincoln collects $38,500 annually through a dedicated mill levy for the the Bismarck Rural Fire Department which provides service to the community. Graf said he could save the city at least $5,000 which it could use to build a facility to house the equipment.

Graf explained there was enough interest from locals to start a volunteer fire department and students also would be enlisted to provide fire protection for Lincoln. Graf pointed to response times and unsure coverage because of the railroad separating the rural fire department station from Lincoln as areas that could be improved.

He also said that the students attending the academy likely would be spending money on food and fuel in Lincoln leading to economic improvement.

Graf also indicated he was trying to work with the local higher education institutions to put together a curriculum for firefighting.

"The Fire Academy is in a growth stage," Graf said. "With our long list of up-to-date equipment and the training we provide we can increase the fire coverage Lincoln is receiving three fold over what it is getting," Graf said.

The local fire department also would likely come with a service organization or club that could assist the community in a lot of other activities other than firefighting, Graf added.

Steve Inglish, an academy employee who lives in Lincoln, said they also could provide emergency medical response which will free up the city's police department to keep the public safe. Inglish also is a paramedic for Bismarck's Metro Ambulance.

Council member Bob Johnston defended the Bismarck Rural Fire Department services, saying that in his opinion they have done an excellent job and have good response time.

"I question your capability to provide response and setting up a department isn't something you do overnight. It takes considerable resources," Johnston said. "For myself I see no reason not to have Bismarck Rural as our responding entity.

Council member Andrew Horning, who holds the fire department portfolio, explained he had done some research and in the past four years the rural fire department averaged only about 10 calls a year to Lincoln. In those four years only one of the calls was a house fire.

Horning also was unsure of how the city could extricate itself from the rural fire district and even if it did the city would still be responsible for some of the district's current debt.

Four members of the Bismarck Rural Fire Department were in attendance at the meeting and questioned the offer.

Mike Stoltz, who works for the rural fire department, noted that it has full-time employees and he is concerned that the citizens of Lincoln and Apple Creek Township get the best fire protections possible.

"I have a hard time believing you're going to save Lincoln money. I don't know how you're going to be under $38,500 annually," Stoltz said.

Graf said the city of Ashley, with a population of about 1,200, nearly half of what Lincoln has, runs its fire department on about $6,000 annually.

"That fire department is poor and broke all the time. Our goal is not to diminish the services provided Lincoln," Graf said. "For what Lincoln is paying I couldn't believe it didn't have its own fire department."

Stoltz pointed out that the population of 2,100 that Graf spoke about for Lincoln, was actually much larger because of the residential development growing around the city.

"Actually I'm a little offended by your remarks," Stoltz told Graf. "We have good response times and we have full-time people at the station."

Other members of the rural fire department questioned the need for the academy in Lincoln and noted that several of the rural department's volunteers live in Lincoln.

Graf maintained that the rural fire department wasn't keeping up with the growth of Lincoln and is more geared to handle grass fires in rural agricultural settings. The trucks the academy has are designed for structural fires.

Mayor Glenn Christmann asked that the issue be studied by the council's advisory committee which has been waiting for something to do.

"My first concern," said council member Jon Wagner, is what effect will this will have on the Bismarck Rural Fire Department that has to play a part in the whole thing and cannot be overlooked."

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 701-250-8255 or gordon.weixel@bismarcktribune.com.)