OZARK, Mo. -- A small fire at the Ozark Mountain Coffee Company on Thursday afternoon brought to the forefront what Ozark firefighters call a bigger problem. While firefighters were busy putting out the fire at the coffee company, they were called to another fire.
The second call was a grass fire in a gated community several miles away. The problem: all the Ozarks firemen were on the scene of the first blaze. They had to call in a neighboring department -- Sparta -- for help.
Ozark Fire Chief Darren White said this problem is happening routinely. He said that's why the department needs more firefighters to keep up with the growing city and surrounding neighborhoods and their needs.
"Just the other day, towards the end of February, we had a fatality car wreck; we had another car wreck; we had a pretty serious medical call -- all right together. We've got six guys on duty at any one time and that's full staffing. We don't have the people to handle all those calls at once," said White.
On Tuesday, Ozark voters will decide on a 25-cent property tax increase.
