Strengthened by improvements in manpower, training and water supply, eight Lamar County volunteer fire districts improved their State Fire Ratings Bureau class ratings recently. Northeast Lamar led the group, jumping from a Class 7 to a Class 6, increasing savings on insurance premiums by about 25 percent.
The Lamar County Board of Supervisors were told at its meeting last Thursday that the Town of Sumrall, City of Lumberton, Oloh Fire Protection District and Central Lamar Fire Protection District increased their ratings from a Class 8 to a 7. Last October, Southwest, Southeast and Oak Grove also increased from a Class 8 to a 7.
Lamar County Administrator Joseph “Jody” Waits said the improvements were important.
“This is big,” he said. “They are proud of that. It shows a lot of work on their behalf installing and maintaining fire hydrants, training and staffing.”
Northeast Lamar Fire District Board Chairman C.R. Dixon said the district is proud of the increase from a Class 7 to a 6.
“We have done a lot of upgrading to the water system,” he said. “Where we didn’t put in fire hydrants, we went back and put them in. We spent from $400,000-$500,000 upgrading the pipes, going sometimes from a 2-inch pipe up to 6 or 8 inches. A lot of the improvement came from the water pressure test.”
Dixon said even some firefighters noticed a savings in insurance premiums.
“(Northeast Lamar Fire Chief) Kyle Hill and some of the others at the station have already contacted their insurance agents,” he said. “They were told they would pay about 25 percent less than they have been paying.”
Equipment and manpower have also been improved in the Northeast district, Dixon said.
“We have made sure we have adequate supplies,” he said. “At one time, we were a Class 9 or 10. We really went after the fire department and made sure we had what we needed.
“We are also looking to add three more hourly boys on the weekends. We have two working during the week, and these three would be working in shifts on the weekends to cover the stations.”
Northeast Lamar has two stations, at 753 Weathersby Road and 5502 W. Fourth St. Dixon said the district hopes to expand and improve along Fourth Street.
“In the next five years, I am hoping that we will be able to put another well on Fourth Street,” he said. “I believe the more we spend, the better fire protection we’ll have. The district has been rezoned and we have added more square miles. We now reach out to the railroad tracks on Sullivan-Kilrain Road. We also go down Lincoln Road to where the new Regions Bank complex is going in.”
Northeast Lamar Fire Department was founded in 1978 to serve the northeast corner of Lamar County that lies outside the City of Hattiesburg. Today, Northeast Lamar Fire Rescue and EMS is a comprehensive emergency services department that provides its community with the best services available.
Since the one station, one truck, and handful of volunteers in 1978, Northeast has grown to operate two stations, seven apparatus, 30 volunteers, two resident firefighters and two paid daytime the firefighters.
Mayor Heath Sumrall said earlier the fire rating will show a financial reward.
“We’re proud of the new rating,” he said. “I’m just guessing, but I believe it will save the average homeowner between $200 and $400 each year in insurance. We’ve got some one insurance men on the Board of Aldermen, and one of them told me it would save him $350. For businesses, I think there will be bigger savings.”
Sumrall said manpower, water supply and training are the three biggest components to improving a fire district’s rating.
“Right now, we need more people in the station,” he said. “We are fortunate that every one of our firefighters are professional. We have four paramedics on the roster. For the first time, we are also going to have a part-time firefighter who stays in the station.”
