Center Pigeon Fire District gets rating upgrade

Feb. 22-- Feb. 22--Residents of the Center Pigeon Fire District will get a pleasant surprise when they go to renew their homeowner or business insurance.

As a result of the latest rating by the N.C. Department of Insurance, the fire district's rating jumped up two levels -- from a Class 7 to a Class 5.

"That's just 2.5 points from a Class 4," said District Fire Chief Johnny Pless. "What it will mean is about a 15 percent reduction in insurance rates. When we went from a Class 9 down to a 7 in 2008, residents got a 15 percent reduction. This brings the total reduction to 30 percent."

To qualify for the rating that becomes effective March 1, properties must be within 5 miles of the fire station -- a rule that applies statewide. Those who are in the district but farther away will have a Class 9 rating for their insurance policy, Pless added.

Pless said the last time the department was rated was in 2008, but noted the state is striving to get on a five-year rotation.

The fire rating standard applied statewide is one set by the national rating service used by all insurance companies.

The highest score possible is 100, and Center Pigeon scored a 57.57. Some of the points depend on other factors, such as the county's 9-1-1 center or whether there are nearby training opportunities.

Other factors that impact a score, such as the number of training hours for firefighters or the type of equipment available, are items within the district or department's power.

Pless said those in the district get 250 hours of training annually, which is necessary to get the higher number of points.

Several new developments contributed to the improved rating, Pless said, including upgraded equipment and the Haywood Community College emergency services training facility.

A large factor in the upgraded rating, Pless said, was aggressively developing water sources within the district, an important factor given that there's no public water supply, thus no hydrants.

Water sources within the public right-of-way, such as river water access, are the easy part. The rest depend on developing relationships with landowners who have ponds or a river access point not on a public right-of-way.

In addition to the extra water sources not identified 11 years ago, Center Pigeon Fire District has both a pumper and a tanker truck, Pless said.

This equipment, along with a portable container that holds water to put out a fire while the tanker heads directly back to the water source to get a new supply, means a fire is likely to be extinguished more quickly.

The district turned to the Haywood Soil and Water Conservation District to help engineer a plan to develop water sources, something that is available at no cost, Pless added.

More than firefighting

While the fire district rating is based solely on the preparedness to fight fires, Center Pigeon members do far more.

Some of the 20 volunteers and six part-and full-time paid staff are trained in search and rescue, which is a backup service provided for other districts with a substantial number of acres of wilderness, while others are trained emergency medical providers.

"Because most in the district are within 5 miles of us, we generally get there much more quickly than those coming from town," Pless said. "We can do things like start an IV until EMS gets there, but we don't transport. We're mostly there as an extra set of hands."

High volume

The Center Pigeon Fire District has an estimated population of 7,000, with about 3,000 residences and commercial businesses in its boundaries.

The department budget is around $430,000 annually, with three full-time and three to four part-time staff positions. Last year, there were about 1,000 calls and Pless predicts the number will go up to 1,100 for the current fiscal year.

"When we had manufacturing jobs around here, we used to get more volunteers because of the shift work," Pless said. "Now there are more people working during the day and out of the county, so it's hard to provide coverage without a paid staff."

"We're proud of the rating, and I'm proud of my guys for getting the training hours in," Pless said. "That's part of the reason we got a better rating."

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