DUCK HILL – Residents of Duck Hill will see some savings on their homeowners’ insurance after the town’s fire rating improved from a Class 8 to a Class 7.
According to Duck Hill Fire Chief Michael D. Woods, the town’s fire rating improved after the Duck Hill Volunteer Fire Department purchased a new pumper and water improvements were made in the town.
“As with any small-town and rural departments, being able to keep up with the [Mississippi] Rating Bureau is a challenge,” Woods said.
He explained that a commercial fire truck will good for about 15 years. After that time, the truck must pass a three-hour pump test to be certified for an additional five years.
“After that time, the truck is not supposed to get full credit from the rating bureau in Mississippi, and that is the challenge for small departments,” Woods said. “These trucks new typically start around $250,000 new and go from there depending on the options. A custom truck which is a truck built from the ground up from the fire truck manufacturer will get 20 years credit to fire rating and can get another 10 years by passing the same 3 hour pump test. The trucks will start in the $400,000 range new and of course go up considerably.”
Woods said when he was named fire chief in 2015, Duck Hill Fire Department’s newest truck was 15 years old, and he and the Duck Hill Mayor and Board of Aldermen began looking at ways to upgrade. However, due to a limited budget, there was no way the town could afford to purchase a new truck.
“I started looking at the used market,” Woods said. “In January 2019, I found a custom pumper just outside Washington, D.C., in the town of Dumfries, Va.”
The 2004 E ONE rescue pumper featured a 1,500 GPM pump, a 750 gallon water tank, and a 50 gallon foam tank for $29,000. It included numerous options the Town of Duck Hill would not be able to afford if it purchased the truck new, at a price tag of $500,000 in 2004.
“I talked to [Mayor Joey Cooley] and the board and said this is a good deal on this truck,” Woods said. “It will serve this town for 15 years at a fraction of the cost of a new one.”
Woods said after he and Firefighter Jason Rice picked up the truck and drove it back to Duck Hill, the department spent another $20,000 outfitting the truck to fit the department’s needs.
“It hasn’t missed a beat,” Woods said. “We also were able to get a full set of rescue tools to go on the truck and only had to pay to have them serviced. So now there are Jaws of Life on the north end of the county.”
The town’s new water wells have also helped improve the town’s fire rating.
“The mayor, board, department heads, and city engineer have all worked together to get these projects completed at a minimal cost,” Woods said. “It is coming back to the citizens in the form of lower insurance premiums. They need to contact their insurance agents and make sure they are receiving credit for the new Class 7 rating.”
