Fire rating improves in New Madrid

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

NEW MADRID - An investment of time by volunteer firefighters and money by the city of New Madrid will benefit local residents through lower insurance costs.

Jimmy Harris, chief of the community's volunteer fire department, announced the results of the Insurances Services Office's recent Public Protection Classification survey. ISO is the leading supplier of statistical underwriting and actuarial information for the property/casualty insurance industry.

According to Harris the ISO rated New Madrid as a Class 5, dropping from a previous level of Class 7. He estimated it could bring a 10 to 20 percent reduction in insurance costs for city residents.

"We were hoping to go to 4, we missed it by a few points," Harris told the New Madrid County City Council Monday night.

Harris attributed the improved rating to many factors including the county's 911 system, efforts by the city's water department and in particular by the volunteers who serve the fire department.

"They rose to the challenge," said Harris about the group's effort to improve the ISO rating. "It took extra work and extra training to make this come about."

Also during the past year the city spent some $15,000 to upgrade the department's equipment including adding a service truck, which carries such items as emergency lighting, self-contained breathing apparatus, ladders and other equipment.

The news of the improved rating brought nods of approval from council members, who added their thanks to Harris, the city's fire chief for the past two and half years.

"We appreciate you and your department," said Mayor Donnie Brown. "We have seen the hours you put in and this (the new rating) reflects well on you and your department."

ISO indicated it would notify insurers of the classification change within the next 30 days and assign an effective date of the change of March 1, 2006. The change in rating also impacts the rates of commercial customers as well as residential customers, City Administrator Furg Hunter noted.

In discussing the rating classification details with the council, Harris said he would continue looking at ways to improve the community's rating.

Part of that discussion came later in the council's meeting, when Harris returned to present a proposal seeking an increase in Fire Department pay. The last pay increase was in 1997.

"You are putting more and more responsibilities on people in a department that is strictly volunteer," Harris said. He pointed out the current rate of compensation is $10 for a non-structural fire, which could be a grass or car fire. But in a recent case the department was called to a hazardous spill on Interstate 55 that required the firefighters to be on site for six to seven hours.

Harris explained $10 in compensation didn't seem fair for the hours put in by the volunteers. He suggested an increase of at least $20 for an initial call and perhaps an hourly rate when a call required longer service.

"Strictly volunteer has become a thing of the past," he added.

Councilman Glen Medlin asked Harris to provide some information from similar ISO-5-rated communities about their pay scale. "I want to fund this department where people want to get in it," said Medlin, who went on to praise the current volunteers for their desire to serve the community and help others.

Medlin also pointed out the city will receive additional funding from the 1/2 cent sales tax increase recently approved by voters in the county. He suggested an increase in volunteers' pay and improved equipment might be a use for the additional money.

Council member Howard Crisler requested in addition to determining what others pay, Harris provide data on number of calls and an estimate of hours served. This information, he explained, would assist the council as they began meeting in December to determine the 2006 budget.

Also discussed was the possibility of using some of the tax funds to develop training programs, which in turn would improve the fire department, and for insurance, both short-term disability for firefighters injured while on duty and liability to cover firefighters en route to a fire in a personal vehicle.

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