Downgraded fire rating could mean higher home insurance costs for St. Francisville residents

Beefing up the town's fire department appears to be one of the first tasks facing St. Francisville's mayor and aldermen in their new terms.

In a Jan. 14 meeting, their first since taking their oaths of office, the town's aldermen heard new Mayor Andy D'Aquilla report that the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana downgraded the town's fire insurance rating after an inspection last year revealed some problems.

Higher insurance costs for town homeowners will follow as policies are purchased or renewed.

Insurance companies use the association's ratings to set premium costs for the fire insurance portion of homeowners' policies. The ratings range from Class 1, the best, to Class 10, which is considered completely lacking in fire protection.

As of Dec. 10, PIAL downgraded the town's rating from Class 3 to Class 4, D'Aquilla said.

The major shortcomings noted in the PIAL were a lack of volunteer firefighters and a lack of detail in documenting training, the mayor said.

The town has four paid firefighters, but only one active volunteer, D'Aquilla and interim Fire Chief Frank Lindsly said.

The mayor said he will be looking at naming a fire chief in the near future. Although he reappointed him to the interim post, Lindsly is not eligible to serve as chief on a more permanent basis because a town ordinance requires the fire chief to live within five miles of the town.

D'Aquilla said officials also should work to recruit new volunteer firefighters and look at making improvements in other areas cited in the inspection report.

The mayor said homeowners will see an increase in their insurance premiums when their policies renew, but said he was unsure of how much more homeowners will pay.

On Jan. 16, the state Insurance Department estimated the increase in fire insurance premiums in St. Francisville will range from 6.2 percent to 16.2 percent because of the downgraded rating, with the average increase estimated at 11.2 percent.

As an example, the department said an 11.2 percent increase would cause the fire insurance premiums to rise from $924 per year to $1,028 for a brick/masonry home valued at $150,000 with a policy deductible of $500.

Homeowner policies also cover insurance for damages caused by wind, hail or other perils that are not related to the fire insurance rating.

D'Aquilla, who won the mayor's job in the November election after serving as an alderman, reappointed six other people to key positions:

Randy Metz, police chief and code enforcement officer.Ben Klein, town attorney.Stacy Orr, town clerk.Donald Stephens, maintenance supervisor.Tyrone Davis, street commissioner.Don Simmons, building official.

Board members also elected Abby Cochran as mayor pro-tempore.

On another matter, engineer Bianca Hillhouse said the contractor building the town's new sewage treatment plant is "very, very close" to finishing the job. All of the plant's equipment has been installed and testing of the components has begun, she said.