WAGONER COUNTY, Okla. — The Oak Grove Fire Department is urging the community to go vote Tuesday for the new annexation.
The vote will allow the fire department to get a new building, help the Broken Arrow and Coweta Fire Departments with response times, and allow them to hire full-time firefighters.
If the vote passes, Broken Arrow and Coweta Fire will continue to be the main departments, and their services will not change.
The addition of Oak Grove will help with fire and medical emergency response.
“The need’s been out there for years, it’s just a rural area in Broken Arrow. Many residents out there are beyond five miles to the closest fire station, so we are just looking to make that a little better for them,” said Oak Grove Fire Chief Riley Shepherd.
The new annexation for their third fire station would decrease response times and reduce property insurance rates for those in the proposed expansion area.
The proposed land is near South 297th East Avenue and East 71st Street South.
“Insurance companies like to see residents within five miles of the fire station, so we will build a fire station out there to accomplish that,” said Chief Shepherd. “Broken Arrow Fire is still going to be their ambulance agency. It’ll kind of be like a Tulsa Fire/EMSA Situation, but it will be Oak Grove Fire and Broken Arrow EMS.”
The expansion will affect everyone on the east side of Broken Arrow and some in the northeastern areas of Coweta.
“Obviously, insurance prices are important to homeowners. They don’t want to pay as much, they might have to pay a little less if this happens and then response times [are] most important because if you are trapped in your house [during] a fire or having cardiac arrest...seconds literally count,” Chief Shepherd said.
The vote will need at least three-fifths or a majority vote to pass.
While property insurance is expected to decrease if the vote is passed, property taxes will increase by one percent if you live in the expansion area.
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