Volunteer fire protection districts in Warren County might expand by year’s end to pick up longstanding gaps in coverage.

A public hearing will be set Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors in advance of a renewed effort to collect signatures from 25 property owners in three of four districts with a taxing district, volunteer fire coordinator Jerry Briggs said.

“That’s my next step,” Briggs told supervisors during a work session Monday. “As long as you’re happy with my doing this, I’ll go ahead and get the petitions done.”

Supervisors meet Tuesday due to the federal President’s Day holiday on Monday.

Fire insurance premiums are generally cheaper in areas inside a fire protection zone, such as cities or volunteer districts. In the county, residents in the Culkin, Fisher Ferry, Bovina and Eagle Lake protection districts are assessed 4 mills on property tax bills issued each December. Two additional mills were tacked on last fiscal year to replace aging equipment, such as air packs and uniforms. Millage funds pay for daily operations.

Briggs said he’d focus on the populous Culkin, Fisher Ferry and Bovina districts, as any expansion at Eagle Lake would pick up only undeveloped land. Currently, a swath of territory north of U.S. 80 between Mosley Gap Road and the Willow Creek area isn’t in any protection zone. Briggs’ plan, crafted with the help of the Mississippi State Rating Bureau, has the Bovina district taking most of that section, with Culkin taking an uncovered section between Old Highway 27 and Mississippi 27 — which takes in his own home on Dusty Road.

“I’d been listed by mistake in the past and since the Mississippi State Rating Bureau has recently redone some of their maps, my homeowners (insurance) went up $1,300,” Briggs said.

Petitions that fell short of the minimum number of signatures and various filing errors have been cited for the gaps in coverage. For example, about 200 homes and businesses exist in the gaps near the Culkin district, the second-largest of the four taxing districts with about 2,300 structures over 21 square miles. The last petition to expand there in 2000 fell short of the required number of signatures.

Fisher Ferry district would expand west of Mississippi 27 and pick up more of Paxton Road in the preliminary plan. The district, which covers more than 3,300 structures over 33 square miles, plans to build another fire station on Lee Road in the near future, Briggs said.

District 1 Supervisor John Arnold voiced concern the plan falls short of expanding any district to the Flowers or Ballground communities, which Briggs said was due to population.

“And what about them?,” Arnold asked.

“Move closer into town,” Briggs said.

LeTourneau and Northeast volunteer fire departments respond to and assist in fire emergencies, but don’t have taxing districts.