EEP Inc., for Emergency Equipment Professionals, has become a regional leader for providing vehicles and equipment needed by fire departments and emergency personnel to help save lives.

Jeff Kuntz is president and owner of the company, which along with its Horn Lake headquarters has locations in Richland, Miss. and Pelham, Ala.

“We pride ourselves on what we do and how we do it,” Kuntz said. “Most of us have been involved or are still involved as first responders.”

Case in point, Kuntz pointed out that his Vice President of Equipment Sales, Shawn Witt, is the fire chief of the Love Volunteer Fire Department.

Through its suppliers, such as Pierce for fire trucks or Braun or Demers Ambulances, EEP provides quality equipment to fire departments. If and when service is needed, mobile units can come out and work on the vehicles at their location or the vehicles can come into the service area in Horn Lake to be worked on.

Kuntz is not a rookie to the fire equipment business.

“I’ve been in sales of fire equipment and fire apparatus since 1992,” Kuntz said. “I opened with a partner another company in 2000 in Olive Branch. Business grew to the point where we decided we wanted to do our separate things.”

Kuntz said a division of that company led to his starting EEP, Inc. in May 2011.

Each customer gets the same quality level of service, regardless of size.

"There will be shorter response times." says Weaver, "Full-time firefighters will reduce the response times for fire and medical first response up there."

Weaver says it also means the burden will be eased on firefighters at other stations and improve response times in the central part of the city.

This came about because voters approved a bond issue for over $2-million in 2014 which pays for the new fire station and a new ladder truck.

Weaver says the truck is being built specifically for the Nixa Fire District because they have a lot of homes that are over two stories tall.

"Just a vehicle ladder was not going to provide that rescue capability for us," says Weaver. "In that case we have to make a rescue out of one of those third or fourth story windows, we're going to have the possibility to do it."

The new ladder truck should be ready in October.

If passed by voters in the November general election, two bonds totaling $205 million would fund construction of nearly 20 fire stations designed to fill geographical gaps where response times are longer than the standard of 7 minutes, 30 seconds.

Because the bond would raise property taxes, two-thirds voter approval would be necessary for passage.

According to Councilwoman Marti Emerald, who has been meeting with community groups around San Diego in recent months to drum up support for the proposal, the average homeowner would pay $5 for every $100,000 in assessed value. That's around $25 a year, she said, calling it "a real value for greater public safety going forward here in San Diego."

A consultant found in 2010 that San Diego was in need of 19 new fire stations, of which 10 were considered critical.

The city has since opened a station in Mission Valley, started construction for another in Little Italy, and has obtained developer funding for three more — in Black Mountain Ranch, the South Bay and University City.