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| Mutual-aid agreement recommended |
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| News - Linn County News | |||
| Written by Denise Cassells | |||
| Wednesday, 21 January 2009 09:00 | |||
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Linn County Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Barlet told county commissioners, at a recent meeting, that the Linn County Rural District No.1 Fire Board has recommended a mutual-aid agreement with Miami County. Amsterdam, Mo. also has requested a mutual-aid agreement with Linn County; however, no further discussions have occurred between the fire board and Amsterdam. Barlet has made it clear to cities within the county that paperwork needs to be signed for the mutual-aid agreement with the county as part of a larger effort to beef up the fire protection services county-wide. “Once we have agreements inside the county, then we can work outside the county,” Barlet said. Barlet met at several city council meetings over the past several months informing city officials that in the past, a verbal agreement was used in the county. However, for the county to be in compliance with the National Interagency Incident Management System and continue an overall effort to obtain improved International Organization for Standardization, better known as ISO, fire safety ratings, cities will be required to set boundary limits stating how far outside of city limits their own fire department is willing to travel to assist in emergency calls placed to Linn County Rural District No. 1 and vice versa. “Normally, for a call to a structural fire occurring within a city, the city fire department would dispatch their own unit plus two other units to have at least three stations respond,” Barlet said. “The county is trying to get this agreement to continue to help cities if they want help in return.” There are benefits all around to having this written automatic-aid agreement. One major benefit includes reducing the amount of money paid on insurance premiums. “Insurance companies will look at the fire department, the equipment, including maintenance and quality of equipment, training provided to firefighters and other factors that include the departments’ ability to provide protection to citizens before they issue an overall ISO rating.” Barlet said. Fire departments also must be able to provide a set number of gallons of water for a sustained period of time, and meet time restrictions of getting the water available to the scene of a fire. There are many benefits to improved Public Protection Classification Program ratings for residents and businesses. PPC ratings may affect availability and pricing for a variety of personal and commercial insurance coverages, including homeowners, mobile homes and commercial property. Assuming all other factors are equal, the price of property insurance in a community with a good PPC is lower than in a community with a poor PPC. In fact, nearly all insurance companies use PPC information in a number of ways. The PPC program takes into account efforts of communities to provide fire protection for citizens and property owners. A community’s investment in fire mitigation is a reliable predicator of future fire losses. By offering economic benefits for communities that invest in their firefighting services, the program provides a real incentive for improving and maintaining public fire protection. The most substantial benefit, of course, is ensuring the fire department’s ability to save lives. There are seven fire stations in the county, with each entitled to 15 personnel, Barlet said. Each station has a class-A pumper, with Pleasanton Station 920 having two pumpers that qualify as class A. Those include an aerial vehicle with a 50-foot ladder, which according to Barlet, is the only one of its kind in the county. “Incentive for commissioners, if they want to save taxpayers money would be to help the fire department lower its ISO rating,” Barlet said. This ISO rating could impact the amount homeowners pay for insurance by hundreds of dollars, not to mention the savings the county would see on their own insurance premiums, Barlet said. Commissioners have recently approved the purchase of a 1997 Pierce Saber Rescue Pumper from Johnson County Fire District No. 2 with a down payment of $40,000 and a final payment of $35,000 due June 1. “We have one pumper that has to be taken out of service that is being replaced,” Barlet said. “Two Ford F-350 models were ordered for use as grass trucks from Cox Motors in Pleasanton for $20,773.95 each and are scheduled to be delivered in 8 to 12 weeks.” One other vehicle purchase that has been budgeted for has not yet been approved by commissioners. “If we wait until April to purchase the SUV, allowing us to free another vehicle to send as a grass truck to Parker, then the price will go up five percent,” Barlet said.
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