LOWER FIRE INSURANCE RATES POSSIBLE AT ORAN

ORAN -- Fire department improvements have helped Oran earn a better rating by a national fire insurance organization. It is the community's third rating upgrade in four years.

The Insurance Service Organization, which rates fire departments nationwide on a 10-point scale with 1 being the highest rating and 10 the lowest, recently awarded Oran an ISO rating of 5.

Insurance companies use the ratings to help determine premiums for homeowners and businesses. With the lower ISO rating, insurance rates might be lowered, though the effect will most likely be on commercial rather than residential premiums.

Oran's Class 5 rating is the lowest of any fire department in Scott County and one of the lowest in Southeast Missouri.

By comparison, Sikeston has a Class 6 rating. Scott City, Chaffee, Benton and Miner all have Class 7 ratings.

Jackson, Dexter, Poplar Bluff and Caruthersville are the only other communities in Southeast Missouri to have a Class 5 rating. Cape Girardeau has a Class 4 rating.

"For a department with no more money than we have, we've done pretty well," said Oran fire chief Mike Ramsey.

Ramsey said he doubted there was any other fire department in the state that has a Class 5 ISO rating while having such a small budget. The budget for the department is only $30,000, he said.

In addition, the department is strictly volunteer, with 17 firefighters, none of whom receive compensation.

The district takes in 28.2 square miles, most of it within Oran. It also includes five miles north of the city and five miles to the west.

The current Oran Fire District was created in 1995. Before that time, there had been a city-based fire department that limited its services to Oran.

When the new district was created, the fire department was able to secure additional tax revenue and begin to improve the department. In 1995, the department moved from Class 8 to Class 7. A few months later the rating was updated again with the city earning an ISO rating of 6.

Ramsey said that usually small cities are reviewed every 15 years and larger cities are reviewed every 10 years. A fire department may request more frequent reviews if improvements have been made.

Oran requested a review in 1997. The review was conducted last April, and the city was informed in October that it would receive the better rating. The rating became effective in December.

The ISO grades a fire department's fire suppression capabilities and issues the rating based on three factors: dispatch facilities, or how well a city receives and handles emergency calls; the city's water supply and whether it is sufficient to handle fires in the district; and the fire department's equipment and personnel.

Chris Guidette, director of corporate communications for ISO, said a number of factors is examined in evaluating a fire department, including the location and quality of fire stations, the number and training of firefighters and the equipment of the department.

Ramsey attributed Oran's recent ISO upgrade to increased training of firefighters, purchase of new equipment, a new 911 system in Scott County and the preplans the department has made to handle fires in the city's commercial buildings.

He said one area that hurt the department's rating was the water supply.

"Our water supply is much weaker than our fire department and is holding us back on our rating," he said.

Improvements to the city's water supply, including an additional water tank, new mains and new hydrants should help lower the ISO rating even more, Ramsey said.

Ramsey hopes that with additional improvements the fire district will be able to achieve a Class 4 ISO rating.

A Class 4 rating would result in the lowering of insurance rates for both residential and commercial properties, Ramsey said.