Vicksburg Fire Chief Charles Atkins and other fire department officials met with Mayor George Flaggs Jr. Thursday to discuss the first draft of a comprehensive five-year plan for the city’s fire department. 

The meeting, which lasted almost two hours, detailed potential plans to upgrade the department’s equipment and eventually phase out three fire stations to construct new ones at better locations.

Officials poured over the presented needs of the fire department and deliberated on ways to solve the inequity in pay between top-level workers in the fire department compared with other service branches in the city.

“I think it was a positive. (Mayor Flaggs) said that we’re going to protect what we do and that’s what we’re doing,” Atkins said. “We’re trying to make a good statement moving forward and getting the things we need to have to move forward.”

Atkins and his staff presented a “3 Phase Growth” initiative to build three multi-bay fire stations — one on Clay Street, one on the intersection of Halls Ferry and N. Frontage Roads, and one near the Merit Health River Region — while closing two downtown stations and one on Halls Ferry Park. The potential moves would reduce an excessive coverage overlap in the downtown area and allow the fire department to respond to fires in other areas quicker, according to the proposal. Officials said Station No. 7, located at 3127 Washington Street, could be turned into a museum after the fire department finished with its relocation.

“Those are more moveable stations. The other four stations, where they are, they’ll be a benefit there,” Atkins said. “If we were to move, those three stations will be the ones that we’ll possibly make adjustments to and hopefully put them in a place that is more conducive to firefighting and EMS response.”

The meeting came to fruition after Flaggs asked Atkins to present him with a proposal on what the fire department will look like over the next five years. After the “3 Phase Growth” plan was presented, Atkins and his staff discussed raising the pay for fire department employees to match that of other stations in the area and attract qualified candidates.

“He’s convinced me that we have to look at the pay structure for the fire department,” Flaggs said. “There’s some inequity in the pay scale of top leadership in the fire department versus the police department and some of the entry level positions. We need to look at that.”

The fire department also highlighted new equipment it needs over the next five years, including five new ambulances, a larger boat to enhance the Vicksburg Dive Team and a foam trailer to assist in large-scale fires.

The mayor plans on meeting with the department again April 16 to continue the five-year the discussion and hash out more details.

“I thought it was a very productive meeting. It’s the first step,” Flaggs said. “It’s the first draft proposal. It’s a work in progress.”