Rate above the rest: Monroe County works to improve fire rating
MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – In many parts of Mississippi and Alabama, the local volunteer fire department is the main provider of emergency services.
“Most of the time your volunteer fire department is the first one on the scene of a major accident,” said Monroe County District 3 Supervisor Rubel West.
That response time is not only important to the safety and security of county residents, it can also have an impact on their finances. It’s one of the things that drives a district’s fire rating. Getting the fire ratings down allows homeowners to have better insurance rates.
The ratings mostly look at communication, equipment, staff, and training, but the biggest obstacle the volunteer departments face is the water supply.
“What is the availability of water out there,” West said. “We got to work with our water associations when they run new water lines or improve existing lines, we want to make sure they put fire hydrants and they run an adequate water line that is sufficient enough to support a fire hydrant out there.”
Monroe County District 3 Supervisor Rubel West said improving the rating is a long process. They’ve already started on communication by improving the 911 centralized dispatch and putting everyone on the same radio frequency to help with the communication.
“When they ping, they can ping the right fire department to respond as quickly as possible whether it’s EMR support or actually a fire call,” West said.
West said for training, the departments meet about once a month.
“The biggest thing on the training is getting available volunteers, and being able to keep those volunteers,” West said. “So, when you spend the time and money on training they stay with you and stay with this department and it increases overall efficiency.”
Overall, West said it’s a big puzzle, and they’re taking it piece by piece.
“The biggest thing on the training is getting available volunteers, and being able to keep those volunteers,” West said. “So, when you spend the time and money on training they stay with you and stay with this department and it increases overall efficiency.”
There are 13 volunteer fire departments in Monroe County and they are working to pull all 13 fire chiefs together so the departments can work hand in hand.
