No man’s land causes issue for local fire districts

As fires continue to burn in eastern Idaho, there’s a lot of rules that firefighters must abide by. One of the rules landowners have the most issue with is when it comes to fighting a fire in “no man’s land”.

No man’s land is an area that is not serviced by a fire district. Those who live in that area do not pay fire taxes. The scary part is that you could live in no man’s land and not even know it.

“The fire district has no obligation to fight the fire in no man’s land,” said Carl Anderson, with Central Fire District. “We do have the ability or the expectation that we could bill the owner of no man’s land for the fire services to protect the area in our district.”
This is usually an issue in rural areas like farm and conservation reserve program land.

“You should know and check it out. It would be really scary to have a fire and then discover you’re not protected by a fire district,” said fire commissioner Jim Deuel.

It’s not difficult. All you need to do is check your county taxes.

“If there is no notation that you’re paying into a fire district, then you’re probably not in one,” said Deuel.

You can become a part of the first district by petition. Your first step is contacting the fire district.

The central fire district’s tax levy hasn’t changed in several years.
It’s just over $110 dollars per $100,000 property value.

Officials wanted to remind you that it is worth it to be in a fire district.
They told Local News 8/KIDK Eyewitness News that it’s the best insurance you’ll ever buy.