Smoke and ire still swirl around where to relocate the Natrona County Fire Protection District's station, after a discussion at a Natrona County commission work session on Thursday.

The commission, Chairman Rob Hendry said, was serving as a mediator because any decision rests with the Fire Protection District, an agency separate from the county with its own governance and financing.

Residents of the Vista West and other subdivisions west of Casper have wanted a fire station in their area for years to respond faster to blazes and medical emergencies.

The district has options.

The Casper-Natrona County International Airport board made a formal offer of land, the commitment to build a $500,000 station with the infrastructure, and a lease agreement of about $4,000 a month, board chairman Kermit Willie said. "The offer is there, and we think it is a relatively generous offer."

But Fire Protection District Chief Clyde Young responded the airport location on U.S. Highway 20-26 would lengthen the response time to calls from residences and businesses on the southwesterly Wyoming Highway 220 toward Alcova.

Instead, Young would consider a station near Robertson Road and Highway 220 or near the proposed West Belt Loop connecting the two highways, which is scheduled for completion in about five years, he said.

Vista West resident Don Wolcott objected, saying more people live in his and neighboring subdivisions than live in Alcova. He added that the Mills and Casper fire departments respond faster than the district with its station at 2800 Pheasant Drive.

"That station is a blight on the posterior of progress," Wolcott said.

He also asked Young if he has conducted any population studies to determine the areas of the greatest needs.

Young had no response.

However, Young and the westside residents agreed building a third station and paying for three three-firefighter shifts - in addition to the Pheasant Drive and the eastside location - is out of the question.

But the longrunning dispute bothered commissioner Barb Peryam.

"It seems if we come up with a solution, then it's cast aside," Peryam said. "I'm beginning to feel like I'm shooting minnows in a barrel."

Westside residents don't want to wait for the completion of the West Belt Loop for a relocated station, she said.

Wolcott added a Robertson Road location would have water, but not sewer lines, which would cost a lot to install compared to the airport board's offer.

Commissioner-elect Ed Opella and Vista West resident Ron Kidder asked why an airport location was so bad.

Hendry, a former fire protection district board member, responded the access to Alcova would take longer.

At the end of the meeting, westside residents wondered whether they were any closer to faster fire service.

"Until the Fire District decides something, nothing's going to happen," said county resident Dean Webb.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@trib.com.