Fire training facility should lower property insurance rates

Top: Two views of the the three-story fire training facility tower, which boosted the Bourbon County Rural Fire District No. 3's Insurance Services Office ratings. Bottom: Obstacles were installed along with a three-story training tower near the Bourbon County Rural Fire District No. 3 station in Devon. Volunteer firefighters use them to practice moving around with all the equipment needed to extinguish a structure fire.(Michael Pommier/Tribune)

Local Bourbon County residents could see a decline in their property insurance rates, thanks to the construction of a new fire training facility in Devon.

Delwin Mumbower, county coordinator for Bourbon County Rural Fire District No. 3, said the training facility may not be large, but it boosted the district's rating from the Insurance Services Office. The ISO rating is used by insurance companies to determine property insurance rates and premiums.

The $3,000 facility -- funded entirely by donations -- helped the district achieve an ISO rating of six. Mumbower said the cities of Uniontown and Bronson were added to the district in 2003 and their ratings were eight and seven, respectively.

"We were able to lower Bronson and Uniontown ... clear down to a six," Mumbower said. "For most people, that doesn't mean a thing, but for example, the city of Fort Scott is a five class, so were are just one level below them."

The facility, which was the main reason for the boost in ratings, consists of several obstacles as well as a three-story tower.

Mumbower said the obstacles are used to help the volunteer firefighters get used to moving around while wearing all the equipment. He said the obstacles also help determine the different levels of ability between the firefighters.

"It helps you see who you can send into a fire and who you shouldn't," he said.

The facility was funded by donations from neighboring fire departments, businesses and individuals. Mumbower said that because other fire departments contributed, the facility is available to them for training as well. As for the construction, volunteer firefighters showed their carpentry skills as they assembled the entire structure in their free time.

The ISO generally evaluates every fire department every five-10 years, according to Mumbower, and it has been at least eight years since BBRFD No. 3 has been evaluated. At the request of the fire department, a three-day evaluation was completed in June.

"We requested them to come because we had made some upgrades," Mumbower said.

The changes in rating will be made official in December when they are published to the insurance companies. Mumbower said he wanted to make the information known so community members can contact their insurance companies and look into reduced insurance rates.