Village East fire rating improves; saves homeowners

Homeowners in Village East Fire District of Houma can expect significant rate reductions in their fire insurance premiums beginning Feb. 10 after the department improved their fire protection rating from a Class 10 to a Class 5. 

At the Class 10 rating, homeowners in Village East were paying $4,657 a year for a home valued at $150,000. The improved Class 5 rating will cost homeowners $2,522, saving them about $2,135 in annual premiums.

The Village East Fire District covers areas between the Howard Street and Presque Isle bridges.

Village East Fire District Chief Herbert Fitch said the improved rating is a result of hard work from volunteer firefighters at the station.

The Property Insurance Association of Louisiana determines fire protection ratings. Fire districts can receive a rating from 1 to 10. A rating of 10 represents no fire protection while a rating of 1 represents the best protection available. 

“A variety of factors are considered in determining a district’s grading. Everything from the number of dispatchers on duty to the number of firefighters and trucks, to the availability of water affect a district’s grading,” Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon said. 

To improve their rating, the department hired two full-time firefighters, Fitch said. Those two people were already members of the Village East team – one of them with the department for more than 30 years. 

The department also started training fire personnel with three classes per month at the beginning of 2013. Eight members of the department also received the necessary training for first responder emergency medical services, and now the department also staffs a paramedic. 

Village East also now has a new rescue truck, which allows them to work on more than one vehicle at an accident. 

“If there were two vehicles at a crash and there were multiple people trapped, we could work on getting them out at the same time,” Fitch said. 

Altogether, the department has 25 volunteers who respond to medical calls, fires and auto accidents. 

Ray Billiot, a resident in the Village East Fire District and one of the full-time firefighters hired by the department, said his insurance rates were not affected when the district’s rating was labeled as a Class 10. 

But he was proud the fire district’s most recent evaluation was only points away from a Class 4 rating, which Fitch and Billiot said is their goal for the next evaluation. 

“Only two points away from a four,” Billiot said. 

“The improved fire protection grading will bring about insurance rate reductions for many policyholders – but perhaps more importantly, the new grading means that the protection of residents has been significantly enhanced,” Donelon said. “I commend the community for their successful efforts to improve safety.” 

The amount of premium rate reductions varies with the value of each property in the fire district and the rate schedules of the companies insuring each property. 

“Some insurance companies did tell me they were going to credit some of their people,” Fitch said. “Some even went as far as to say they were going to send out refund checks.”

Fitch has been a member of the Village East Fire District for 27 years and remembers the district scoring a Class 10 once under another administration. 

Although the Village East Fire District is not due for another evaluation for two years, Fitch said he plans to continue with improvements as long as he is fire chief. 

“It’s to make sure that we are continuing to do what we’re supposed to do by abiding with PIAL rules and regulations, keeping up equipment and rolling (the) proper amount of trucks to a call,” Fitch said.