Natchez has year to address needs at Natchez Fire Department
MSRB grades municipalities and fire districts for fire insurance rating purposes. Ratings are evaluated every five years and are graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the best rating.
When fire ratings drop, insurance rates for residents can increase.
In order to keep the city's current rating, the
However, under tight budget constraints and even allocating
The board of aldermen asked for assistance in funding the positions from the
Mayor
The city has 60 days from the time of notification to present a plan to address the fire department's needs, which included, in addition to personnel, a new ladder truck, a training facility and conducting pump tests.
The city is in the process of pursuing funding for a new ladder truck and may have rebate money within its budget that can be used for a truck. The department recently constructed a training facility and has begun conducting the necessary pump tests.
MSRB Superintendent of Public Protection
"Most of the time, we give them about a year, because it takes time to hire firefighters and send them to the fire academy," he said. "After a year, we touch base with them, and if they're not quite there, and say, 'Give us three more months,' we can usually do that. If they can prove to us they are working toward it, we will work with them."
Windham said the main concern at the
"I think the big hurdle was manpower, and it's been that way for several years in
Fire Chief
Windham said MSRB generally feels one year to one and a half years is plenty of time for a municipality to address needs of its fire protection.
"If there's not anything that has been done in a year, we would probably change (the fire rating)."
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