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Last year the Oran Fire Protection District saved you money!!!!!!At first glance this statement
may seem to be wrong. You might be thinking that if the fire department saved you money last year, you would remember the
time, place and type of emergency. But, even if you do not call us for a house fire, car fire or any other type of emergency
you still used and benefited from the operations of the Oran Fire Protection District.
This is true because every
time you pay your insurance premium you are saving money compared to other Scott County tax payers. This is due to the excellent
Insurance Services Organization (ISO) rating that the Oran Fire Protection District (class 5) currently holds. At a class
5, you are paying less for insurance for the same level of protection than anyone in Scott County. Less than citizens of Sikeston
(class 6), Chaffee (class 7), Benton (class 7), Scott City (class 7), Morley (class 8), Miner (class 7) or anywhere in Scott
County. In fact the only department with a better rating in Southeast Missouri is the City of Cape Girardeau at a class 4.
This is an important point to remember since it proves that the Fire Department provides more than peace of mind for
the average tax payer. The amount saved on insurance, often exceeds the amount of tax paid to the fire department, when compared
to our old rating of a class 8. Their are not many taxes which can claim a direct impact in saving money for a taxpayer.
The
value of your fire taxes are fairly high even before you consider the emergency services they make possible for our community.
When you consider the dollar return and the services they provide, it is clear that your fire tax provides an exceptional
value for you and our community.
In order to determine your savings just contact your insurance agent and ask what
is the difference between your current policy of a class 5 and that of a class 8. It may be a good idea to call just to make
sure you are credited with a class 5. My insurance company had me listed as a class 6 until I notified them that this was
incorrect.
What is ISO?Insurance services organization is the group responsible for grading fire departments on
their ability to limit damage from fires. This is an independent group who comes in and evaluates a department in many different
areas. The three basic areas account for the following percentage:
| Fire Department |
50% |
| Water Supply |
40% |
| Communications |
10% |
These evaluations are very detailed and for the fire department they consider everything
from specific items carried on fire trucks, number and type of trucks, number and placement of fire stations, training, number
of members and many other areas. In water supply they evaluate the size of water mains, amount of water in storage, number,
type, testing, and location of hydrants. For communications the number of dispatchers on duty, number of phone lines at dispatch,
method of power backup, listing of department phone number and many other areas are looked at.
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