CLAYTON, La. &045; The Clayton Fire Department consists of Chief Bobby Madison, Steve Hill and Jackie Pugh.

All serve on a volunteer basis in addition to their day jobs, and they aren’t enough.

Madison said he would like to have at least 10 good, able bodies going through training classes and ready to respond to fires in the town.

&8220;We need to have somebody ready to roll 24/7,&8221; Madison said. &8220;It doesn’t take 10 guys to fight a fire. Just four can handle most house fires, but we have to have enough trained to have people ready all the time.&8221;

It’s a problem Clayton residents should be worried about. The Concordia Fire District No. 2, located on Airport Road near Vidalia, responds to calls in Clayton with the assistance of the Clayton Fire, but it can take some time for the Fire District to get to a fire.

The Clayton Fire Department doesn’t have a high enough public fire protection rating to fight structure fires by itself. Fortunately, there haven’t been many serious fires recently, but it’s only a matter of time.

&8220;It’s going to be bad if someone’s house burns down and they die because there weren’t enough volunteers to help with the fire department,&8221; Concordia Fire District No. 2 Chief Nolen Cothren said.

Besides the danger from fire, there’s the high &045; very high &045; homeowner’s insurance rates for people living in Clayton. Insurance companies use the public fire protection rating to determine insurance rates, and Clayton doesn’t score well. Any improvement would likely lower insurance rates for residents of the town.

&8220;It would cut the insurance rates for everyone there. It could save them a chunk of money, being able to get insurance at a halfway decent rate,&8221; Cothren said. &8220;More than that, they would just be able to get insurance. Insurance companies won’t even write a policy sometimes.&8221;

Equipment certainly isn’t the problem. There’s a new fire station and a fire engine the department got with grant money at a discounted price. The Ferriday, Vidalia and Ridgecrest Fire Departments and Concordia Fire District 2 have given Clayton more equipment, from hoses to fire suits &045;&160;some of the fire suits still have names of Vidalia firefighters on them.

&8220;I couldn’t ask for any more help than all the departments in Concordia Parish have given us,&8221; Madison said. &8220;Now I need help from the people of Clayton.&8221;

People often come to his door to ask what can be done about their insurance rates, Madison said.

&8220;I tell them the same thing. &8216;it will will come down when you join. I need volunteers,’&8221; Madison said. &8220;They always want to know what it pays. It pays in lower insurance rates. I’ll buy them dinner, I’ll do anything, but I don’t have any money to pay them.&8221;

Cothren conducts training sessions for his firefighters and those from Clayton. He said it would be great to see more people out to work for the Clayton Fire Department.

&8220;People don’t want to come do it because they have jobs, or think it’s too much work,&8221; Cothren said. &8220;But it doesn’t take as much time as you think and it makes you feel good to help people.&8221;

Madison said he’s working to do even better. Clayton has tapes that can be watched for training sesssions and Madison will begin conducting training sessions on the first and third Thursdays of each month beginning in November.

&8220;I’ve been out begging for help. I don’t know what other steps to take,&8221; Madison said.