NATCHEZ — Adams County supervisors are considering adding three new fire stations in the county to improve response times and fire-fighting capabilities in the unincorporated parts of the county.

County Administrator Joe Murray said the board has been considering where to put potential new stations outside the Natchez city limits for sometime now.

“Ideally, we would like to put a station north of the city limits, south of the city limits and in the industrial park and port section of the county,” Murray said.

Currently, the board is considering five scenarios, three of which place one station in the north part of the county and one in the south part of the county. A fourth scenario has just one new station in the industrial park and port area of the county and the last option is a combination of two scenarios with three stations; one in the north, south and in the industrial park and port section.

Supervisors says they hope to dedicate a full meeting soon to discuss potential plans for up to three new fire stations in the county.

“We really have to sit down and locate the best place to place these potential fire stations,” said District 1 Supervisor Mike Lazarus.

Murray said many factors will go into the discussion behind the plan, but one of the main points in deciding where to place the stations will be determined by how the county can best improve its fire rating.

A better rating can lead to lower insurance costs.

“The ISO rating can help business and homeowners,” Murray said. “It can save people a lot of money if we place these stations in the right spot, which is why it will take a while to determine where to place these stations. We need to go through, determine the best areas and how many we can establish and stay within our budget.”

Murray said the board is still in the planning stages of the proposal.

“If we started to work on this plan today, it would probably take two years to complete,” Murray said. “You have to buy a truck, build a station, get equipment and hire people. We are making sure before we do anything is that we determine the best spot that benefits the entire county.”