Fire ratings improve in Bigfork, Creston, Ferndale

People in Bigfork, Creston, and Ferndale may see their fire insurance costs decrease after work by three community fire departments resulted in improved fire ratings.

The national Insurance Services Office issues fire ratings on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 the best and 10 the lowest. The rating is used to help set fire insurance rates and is based upon criteria that include training level of firefighters and access to water supply.

Previously, Bigfork Fire District had a 5 rating for properties located near the town’s fire hydrants. An 8 rating was given for properties within five road miles of any of the department’s three stations in Bigfork, Echo Lake or Woods Bay, interim Bigfork Fire Chief Mick Borges said.

Anywhere beyond those boundaries was designated as a 10.

This year, all properties within five miles of Bigfork Fire District’s three stations are rated at 4.

Properties outside those boundaries — most in the Yellow Bay area — still have a fire rating of 10. Borges said he would like to see that 10 rating eventually improve, but until then he’s glad that there has been progress.

It is difficult to say how much homeowners could see their rates decrease. Each individual insurance company has its own formula to calculate costs, Borges said. In general though, people can expect their home-insurance bills to go down, Borges said.

The improved ratings came after the department underwent increased training and located additional water sources that could be used if flames broke out, Borges said.

Ratings officials visited the department in June to conduct testing for the ratings.

Firefighters had to respond to a mock event in an area without hydrants and get water flowing within a timely manner, Borges said. It took around a minute for the team to get it done, according to Borges.

“It is a big deal,” Borges said. “This helps the public.”

Agreements with the Creston and Ferndale departments also helped boost the rating, Borges said.

“If we have a fire that is close to our district’s boundary, then they automatically tone out the neighboring fire district,” Borges said.

Creston and Ferndale fire districts also saw their ratings improve.

Ferndale Fire Chief Ken Sharr said that his department’s firefighters underwent a water hauling test that helped bring the rating up from an 8b in areas within fives miles of the fire station to a 7. Areas outside that five-mile radius are rated at 10.

“It’s as good as we could expect without having a hydrant system,” Sharr said. “We were thrilled with the change.”

Equipment upgrades also helped bring the rating higher, he said. In the past 11 years the department purchased a new water tender truck and a new fire engine. The last time Sharr remembers Ferndale’s fire ratings being assessed was two decades ago, in 1994 or 1995.

The current rating will be in place for five years unless the department makes changes and calls the Insurance Services Office for a re-evaluation. After five years, Ferndale can be re-evaluated if it has made improvements or the department might just keep the new rating, Sharr said.

Creston Fire Chief Gary Mahugh said that the majority of homeowners in his district have 7 ratings now, with a few people more than five miles away from a fire hall rated at 10. Mahugh said that is pretty good for a district that covers more than 80 miles of rural country.

He’s happy to see homeowners on the eastern side of the county see some relief in costs.

“This was a concerted effort by all three of our departments to help our community in regards to fire insurance costs,” Mahugh said.

More importantly, it helped strengthen the already strong bond among the three districts, Mahugh said.

“You will get responders from more than one department when you have an emergency or a structure fire,” Mahugh said. “This ISO rating process, it helps precipitate that a little bit more.”

Mahugh said folks can help in the future by volunteering for the fire department.

“The biggest thing is the community aspect of volunteer fire departments,” Mahugh said. “We’re always looking for volunteers because a lot of what we do requires a lot of people.”