Protect volunteer firefighters with AAC’s supplemental income program

Igrew up in the small town of Mountainburg in Crawford County. I remember being fascinated by cop cars and fire trucks. As I watched Highway 71, which runs through the middle of town, I lost focus on schoolwork as anything with lights and sirens passed the school. My dad had been a member of the fire department when I was growing up, and I could not wait for the day I could join him in going to a fire scene. When I was 17, I was offered an opportunity by the fire chief to join a junior fire fighter program. When I turned 18, I officially became a volunteer fireman. I started taking class after class and running call after call.

One night we were dispatched to a structure fire in the middle of town. I, along with many others, responded. Everyone was out of the house safely, and it was time for us to go to work. I entered with two other firemen and began trying to stop the blaze. As with many fires, once they start it can be difficult to stop them. The ceiling began to collapse, and we tried to exit. We reached the doorway of the room we were in and found it blocked. One of the firemen had made it out of the house, as he had been in the doorway prior to the ceiling coming down. When you are in this moment, it all resorts back to what you are trained to do. The path of least resistance for us was through the wall. I remember using every tool we had with us to get through the wall, and it felt like we had been in the house for an hour. Once we finally got through the wall, my partner was the first out. Just as he cleared the wall, and I was going through, the ceiling came crashing down. I forced my way through the wall, dislocating my shoulder in the process. When I got out of the house, I was told my partner had injured his ankle. From there it was routine, the firemen handled their business while two of us took a trip to the hospital.

As with most volunteer fire departments, our volunteers came from a variety of backgrounds and occupations. In the weeks coming, we would find ourselves in another difficult position. At that time, I worked as a 911 dispatcher in Crawford County, so I was fortunate enough to be able to continue to work. However, my partner was not so fortunate. He worked for a company in a job that was physically demanding. He was using crutches and was put off work for six weeks. As he began his journey through a workers compensation claim, I remember him telling me how easy the process was for getting his medical treatment taken care of. I will never forget the call when he told me that he would receive $20 a week to make up for lost wages. I was stunned.

I knew that if the roles were reversed my family would be in trouble.

Fast forward to today, the Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) offers additional protection for volunteer firemen who are injured while performing their official duties, roles, and responsibilities to the communities they serve. The AAC Volunteer Firefighter Supplemental Income program provides additional protection for loss of income that would not otherwise be covered by the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation law. To qualify for this program, the department must be covered by a county participating in the AAC Workers’ Compensation Trust, and the department must cover all firemen on its active roster. The coverage includes a weekly temporary total disability benefit of an amount up to the maximum allowed under law, weekly benefits for 52 weeks or for the period the firefighter is eligible to receive temporary total disability, and it comes with a $10,000 death benefit payable to an eligible dependent if the death occurs because of a compensable workers’ compensation claim. Death benefits are in addition to the funeral expenses covered under workers’ compensation law. The best part of this is the cost — $20 per firefighter for the fire departments that participate in any line of coverage offered by the AAC Risk Management Fund. A minimum annual premium of $240 will be charged regardless of the number of firefighters. For those that do not participate in any line of coverage offered by the AAC Risk Management Fund, the cost is $30 per fireman, with a minimum of $360 charged regardless of the number of firefighters.

As an assistant chief in my local fire department, I will tell you this. Volunteers are hard to find. Those who are willing to do things for their communities such as be a volunteer firefighter should be taken care of in the event of an injury. Not only is this a cost-effective move for all departments, but it is also a morale boost knowing that they will still be able to take care of their families financially if something happens to them while they are serving their community. Reasonably, I cannot think of a better way to give back to those who give so much time and effort to the communities they are volunteering to protect. For more information about the Volunteer Firefighters Supplemental Income program, contact AAC Risk Management Fund Director Debbie Norman at (501) 375-8247.

Leaders explain how steel industry is transforming Mississippi County

Story by George Jared Talk Business & Politics

Photos courtesy of United States Steel Corp.

U.S. Steel has existed for more than 120 years, and one reason is that the company has embraced technological advancement, Dan Brown, Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology Steelmaking and Chief Operating Officer of Big River Steel, told members of the Rotary Club of Little Rock on Feb. 14. When it was looking to expand, BRS was an enticing prospect, he said.

The mill, built in 2014, was the most advanced mill in the country and it produced more steel per worked hour than any other mill in the country, he said. In 2019, U.S. Steel began the process of acquiring the steel mill for about $1.4 billion.

“I was blown away by Big River [Steel] … It was the most advanced mill in the country. The workforce was excellent,” he said.

BRS, Nucor-Yamato, and Nucor Steel Arkansas are the three steel producing companies located in Mississippi County. The county is reportedly the largest steel producing county in the U.S. with 3,000 workers directly tied to steel production and thousands more in secondary industries linked to steel production.

Primetals Regional director Michael Jacques was living in Mississippi County during the 1980’s when things began to change mightily, he said. Mechanization reduced the farming labor force and then the Eaker Air Force base shut down in 1992. The net result was a loss of 8,000 people and more than 9,000 jobs.

The only bright spot was that Nucor decided to build a plant there, he said. Three factors decided the issue. The county had access to multiple forms of transportation – river, rail and highway. It had access to power and those displaced farm workers could transition into the steel mill.

Great River Economic Development Foundation president Clif Chitwood said the jobs created are among the highest paying in the state. Workers in the mills can make anywhere from $125,000 to $165,000 per year and some make more than that, he said.

“The people get the most out of their work,” he said.

Problems remain, however.

The county continues to bleed population and many of the workers live outside the county which means those salaries are spent elsewhere. To encourage workers to become Mississippi County residents, the civic leaders have started a program to encourage house buying in the community. The “Live Here, Work Here” program has built 25 houses in the county during the last eight months.

“That might not sound like a lot, but that’s more than have been built and sold in the county in the last 15 years,” Chitwood said.

When the steel mills were being built in the county, one business that benefited was Lexicon Inc. In the late 1980’s, the Arkansas-based construction company was on the verge of bankruptcy. When it was selected to build the Nucor Steel Arkansas plant, it saved the company, President and CEO Pat- rick Schueck said.

Lexicon now builds steel plants all over the country and employs more than 2,000 workers, and hundreds of them are employed in the Natural State. The community in NEA makes it a unique steel producing region in the country, Schueck said.

“I think it’s important to point out that we build steel mills around the country… the people in Northeast Arkansas are 1,000% supportive of economic development in their counties. U.S. Steel desires to be in NEA,” he said.

Complimentary businesses have sprung up near the mills, and Schueck said he expects that to continue.

“When you make steel the companies that need steel want to be close to reduce transportation costs,” he said. “It’s a natural flow to be near the steel mills.”

U.S. Steel’s investment in Northeast Arkansas didn’t end with the acquisition of BRS. Last year, the company announced it was building a $3 billion mill adjacent to BRS that is slated to start operations in the summer of 2024.

“This $3 billion investment is the largest for U.S. Steel ever,” Brown said. “It’s the largest investment in the history of Arkansas. Mississippi County will be the largest steel producing county in the country. It blows me away.”