The fire department in the little town of Halfway, Mo is facing a crisis. It's severely understaffed and underfunded. It's bad enough the station may soon close down.

Raeann Gillette has battled blazes in Halfway for twenty-five years, but, she says, nothing compares to the fight she's facing now.

"This is a crisis, it's a travesty - this cannot happen," says Gillette.

Halway's all-volunteer department at one time had twenty-five on staff. Now, it's down to two: Gillette and chief Bruce Fugate.

The department is also severely under-funded. It's revenue comes from member dues, and only one-third paid their annual dues last month.

When Gillette asked resident Travis Parsons if he'd paid the $50 fee, he said he didn't know he had to.

Gillette says if the department can't raise money or volunteers, Halfway fire will go up in a puff of smoke.

"Response time for you is going to probably go from 10 minutes to 30 minutes," Gillette told Parsons.

That means the following surrounding departments would have to pick up the slack:

• Central Polk County
• Pleasant Hope
• Polk District
• Prarie Grove

"We'd rather that halfway be able to keep going, but they're going to need responders to help take care of their area," says David Agee, the assistant Chief of Pleasant Hope Fire Department.

Gillette hopes she can keep it from coming ot that. She's going door-t-door to raise awareness.

"I'm going to do everything I can to save it," says Gillette.

It hasn't all been easy going. Some long-time residents say it's a lost cause.

"The guy across the street from me told me there's no way in hell," says Gillette.

She's had some successes. Thursday, Parsons said he'd consider volunteering.

"You would be excellent! You're right across the street," Gillette told Parsons.

She says she'll keep fighting, even if it's one door at a time.

"I believe we can bring it back, because we have to," Gillette says.

The department will hold a meeting at the school's multi-purpose room 7:30 pm, Monday to discuss options with the community.

Contact: dmagditch@kspr.com