Questions and Answers
For more information contact Fort Bayou Fire Department or
wanda@latimercommunitynews.com
How is my homeowners insurance premium affected by the local fire department rate?
Fire departments are rated on a scale from 1 - 10; the higher the number, the higher the premium. Generally, unincorporated areas with volunteer fire departments are rated at 10 until they meet specific requirements set by the insurance companies. These requirements determine the readiness of a fire department to protect residences and businesses within 5 ROAD miles of a fire station. These requirements include a
Fire Station (pumpers and water tankers),
Equipment (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus
[SCBA] Fire Fighter Turn Out gear, Radio/Pagers and much misc.),Records (Must have 2 years of records for Training Hours, #Volunteers on a Residential Fire Scene, etc.),
Water Sources (Fire Hydrants
[25-50% of Latimer, not yet rated by Fire Bureau], Dry Hydrants
[Located in ponds that can be used to fill tanker trucks, Raised tanks] ,
People (
At least 4 Certified Fire Fighters and 8 other Latimer Volunteers at a RESIDENTIAL FIRE SCENE only) Latimer has everything we need to reduce our rating to a 9 and eventually a 10 EXCEPT enough people at a fire scene.
NOTE: A Fire Department may answer many other types of fire calls (Brush, car accident, chemical spill, etc.) but ONLY the number reporting to a RESIDENTIAL FIRE scene counts toward the insurance fire rating.
What is being done to reduce Latimer's Fire Rating?
Latimer will be testing within the next 60 days to reduce the fire rating from a 10 to a 9. While this will reduce your Homeowners insurance premium some, the greatest savings (up to 40%) is realized when the rate drops to an 8. Latimer's greatest need to do this is people to be ON CALL during the daylight hours Monday thru Friday. While Latimer has 15 certified firefighters and 6 more in training, all these volunteers have regular jobs and families. Most are not available during the work week. Latimer does have 1 career fire fighter 24/7 supplied by the Jackson County Fire District but safety standards require at least 4 at a residential fire scene. While we generally have the certified fire fighters at the scene, they cannot go into a housefire without adequate water. Water must be shuttled by truck from a water source to the fire scene in an orderly and safe manner. This is the greatest obstacle to reaching an 8 rating.
What if I don't want to (or cannot) drive a water truck? Can I help in other ways at a residential fire scene?
Yes. Regardless of how many other firefighters from neighboring fire departments (Ft. Bayou, West Jackson County, Vancleave) respond ONLY Latimer Volunteers count toward the documentation needed for a rating. Volunteers may be positioned at the water source to fill trucks, at the fire scene to dump the water into a large temporary pool, assisting fire fighters when changing air tanks, watching truck gauges, providing water and food to volunteers, directing traffic, keeping records, etc.
How does the Fire Department get money to operate?
The funding for the Fire Department comes from three sources:
1. State 1/4 Millage
2. State insurance rebate money (Insurance companies pay an operating fee to the state and the state rebates to local fire district for distribution to local fire departments)
3. Public donations and grants
ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
