The latest fire ratings conducted by the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana in two areas of Evangeline Parish recently came back with results that either met or exceeded expectations.
In the City of Ville Platte, the fire rating increased from a Class 3 to a Class 2 with Class 1 being the best. “As far as I can remember, it’s been a long time since the ratings changed,” said Mayor Jennifer Vidrine. “The major thing about this is it will affect the insurance rates in the city within the corporate limits, so people’s homeowners’ insurance will be coming down.”
The mayor added, “Anytime insurance rates can go down, that means there’s more money in the pockets of the citizens.”
Mayor Vidrine touted the work of the different departments in accomplishing this feat. “I really want to thank Chief Chris Harrison and the Ville Platte Fire Department and Don White and the water department of Ville Platte because they have to work in conjunction to get all the things needed to achieve this rating.”
The change in fire rating took effect on November 5.
The fire rating also came back for the parts of Ward 1 outside the corporate limits of Ville Platte and stayed as a Class 5. This rating affects such residents of Faubourg, Belaire Cove, and Chataignier.
“It’s pretty much what I expected,” said Evangeline Parish Fire District Number 2- Ward 1 Fire Chief Chris Harrison, who is also chief of the Ville Platte Fire Department. “The previous rating was a 5, and we pretty much stayed exactly where we were at even with the new regulations which were harder for fire districts to maintain.”
He explained the district was graded on such things as records, reports, and training. “They visited all the facilities and checked inventory on the vehicles, which was all good,” said Chief Harrison.
As he explained further, “A big part of it is water which is 40 percent of the grade.”
Chief Harrison added, “We continue to strive to do better. We did everything we pretty much could with this rating.”
Firefighters with the Mamou Fire Department and the Mamou Fire District are preparing for their ratings which will be conducted in December. As District Fire Chief Gary Reed pointed out, the departments are doing what they can to prepare for the rating. He added the rating is currently a 3 in Mamou and a 4 in the district.
“We purchased new equipment for the district, and we do everything else that we’ve done before,” said Chief Reed.
Mamou Mayor Ricky Fontenot added, the town’s fire department is replacing fire hydrants.
Chief Reed expanded on that point by saying, “We’re replacing some Class B fire hydrants that will help us in the rating.”
The northern areas of the parish will not be rated again until 2020, but the fire chiefs in Wards 4 and 5 are always working to either maintain their current ratings or lower them.
“We’re currently a 6,” said Fire Chief Brian Wiles in Ward 4. “We’ve been a 6 for several years now, and we’re hoping to get better.”
Being done to improve the rating in Ward 4, according to Chief Wiles, are purchasing better equipment and building a training facility. “We’re going to work to at least stay where we’re at,” he said. “If we can get better, we will.”
Also preparing for the ratings in 2020 is Fire Chief Bobby Guilbeau in Ward 5. The rating there is currently at a 5. “We’re constantly striving to put measures into place to maintain and to possibly improve that rating with training certifications and apparatus,” he commented.
Chief Guilbeau continued, “We’re trying to increase official certifications and also increase water capacity and equipment. We recently ordered three 4,000 gallon water tenders to replace three 2,000 gallon water tenders.”
Another way the district in Ward 5 is looking to improve its rating is in response time. “We have a part-time day shift that works a shift from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.,” said Chief Guilbeau. “We’re striving to get that to be 365 days a year.”
He continued, “It will give us additional response to cut down on our response time.”
The work to achieve the fire rating, according to Mayor Vidrine, goes above the regular work of the firefighters. “Firefighters don’t always just fight fires,” she expressed. “Everyday there are compliances they have to look after on a daily basis that the public is not aware of.”
She concluded, “For them to achieve this high status from the state, it is a great honor for them. When we received the news, it was almost like Christmas because they know how hard they had been working. I’m just so happy it happened in the City of Ville Platte with our local firemen where the residents will be the beneficiary of it.”
Image
TONY MARKS Associate Editor