ISO ratings improve for west Morgan County fire departments

Nov. 20--A recent evaluation has improved fire insurance ratings for the Neel, Punkin Center and Mud Tavern volunteer fire departments in western Morgan County, which could reduce premiums on homeowners insurance.

Neel dropped from a 4 to a 3 on the 1- to 10-point Insurance Service Office rating. Mud Taven's rating improved from a 5 to a 3, and Punkin Center went from a 6 to a 3.

ISO is a nationally recognized service insurance companies use to establish homeowners insurance rates. Every two to five years, the company evaluates fire departments and their coverage areas. In the rating, 1 is the best coverage and 10 is no coverage.

The new ratings in the three rural Morgan County areas are a major improvement from three years ago when ISO ratings jumped after Decatur Fire & Rescue claimed these areas, some of which are more than 5 miles from its fire station, as part of its primary coverage. It took some time for the local volunteer departments to reclaim the areas and subsequently drop the rates.

ISO evaluates fire departments and their coverage areas on department training and equipment; access to a water supply; and efficiency of emergency communications.

Steve Garner, of the Garner Insurance Agency in Decatur, said there's no difference in the coverage cost of ratings 1-4. However, an online ISO estimate shows an owner of a $100,000 home can save an annual average of $75 per point on insurance premiums.

The chiefs and safety officer of the three departments attributed the improved ratings to additional training and new fire hydrants in the area.

The West Morgan-East Lawrence Water Authority has been adding fire hydrants throughout the area, Punkin Center Chief Steve Poole said. Poole's department covers 6.7 square miles and about 1,300 homes.

Mud Tavern has nine new hydrants in its 12.71-square-mile coverage area, Chief Richard Ennis said.

Buddy Lacy, safety officer for the Neel department, said his area has six new hydrants.

The three departments have between 25 and 30 trained volunteer firefighters. Each typically has about three people manning the station during the weekdays.

Ennis said his department recently increased its training from 10 to 16 hours per week.

Decatur Fire Chief Tony Grande said the volunteer fire departments should be commended for the high rating.

Decatur earned a 3 in its last rating in 2013, but Grande said municipal departments with full-time employees are measured in a different way from volunteer departments.

"There are a lot of small differences in our ratings," Grande said. "For example, volunteer departments are rated on how many firefighters they have available and how many respond to a fire. We're rated on how many people we have working during a 24-hour shift."

Grande said access to water supply is a major part of ISO ratings for volunteer fire departments.

___

(c)2015 The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.)

Visit The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.) at www.decaturdaily.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.