Jefferson County Fire District #1 has worked very hard to provide the best service and value for the small permanent tax rate ($1.1847 per $1,000 of assessed value) that is levied on each assessable property within the fire district. For example, a $200,000 home pays $237 a year for fire protection.
Every 4-5 years the fire district undergoes an assessment of our fire protection ability by an independent company called ISO (Insurance Services Office). ISO collects information useful in many aspects of insurance underwriting. That information includes evaluations of public fire protection. Information on municipal services helps the communities with their efforts to manage and mitigate their risk.
ISO performs the evaluations as a service to the insurance industry and do not charge a fee to the communities. Through the Public Protection Classification (PPC™) program, ISO evaluates municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States. A community's investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses. So insurance companies use PPC information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance — generally offering lower premiums in communities with better protection. Many communities use the PPC as a benchmark for measuring the effectiveness of their fire-protection services. The PPC program is also a tool that helps communities plan for, budget, and justify improvements.
A community with a rating of a 1 is considered elite and a 10 is essentially not protected effectively. The fire district was re-rated by ISO in 2017. As Fire Chief for the last 5 years, I am proud to announce through hard work, the fire district has lowered the district's fire protection ratings from a 5/8B to a 3 for any property within 5 road miles of our 2 fire stations. We could not have accomplished this without the commitment by our volunteers to attend many hours of their free time away from family and friends attending training and of course responding to emergencies. We also could not have accomplished this without the excellent partnership with Deschutes Valley Water District, who is the main water purveyor for our fire district. The Cities of Madras, Metolius and Culver are also excellent partners with fire hydrant maintenance, public education, fire protection engineering and fire code enforcement.
Please contact your insurance agent if you live within 5 road miles of a Jefferson County Fire District #1 fire station and request them to re-rate your fire insurance premiums. You should expect a fairly significant decrease in your rates. Please let the fire district know what decreases in insurance rates you have received.
