Kinloch Volunteer Fire Department
By Frank Wiley
Kinloch, MO (KSDK) - They are delinquent, and now the community is paying for it. The Kinloch Volunteer Fire Department is behind on its electric bill, and now they say it's hurting their ability to do the job.
Tax dollars and donations support the volunteer fire department. These days, those dollars aren't stretching as far. The firefighters say they feel powerless, because they don't have what they need to do their job: electricity. According to them, a generator is all they have.
"It only gives us enough electricity to run the radio system and maybe one light," said volunteer firefighter Edward Darden.
For now, the firefighters navigate through the station with flashlights. To keep warm, they bundle up in fire-fighting gear. Darden says it's been this way for about a week.
The fire department got behind on its payments late last year. They worked out arrangements with Ameren Missouri. Officials paid $1,000 to keep the lights on in January and agreed to be paid up by the end of February, but that did not happen.
The firefighters say they behind on bills because they were paying for expenses from the previous year. Since they service the community, Ameren agreed to limit them to 15 amps of power.
"It's just to provide power for essential functions," said director of Ameren customer service Bruce Fritz.
Darden says the power died about a week ago and Ameren Missouri refused to restore it.
"We would not jeopardize the safety of the public," said Fritz.
Fritz says he didn't know the power was off and that it should be working on the limited basis.
For now, firefighters say this is the only alternative. They just hope it doesn't hinder their response time.
KSDK