Measure A Series: Part 3

Measure A Series: Part 3

This information is the third in a series brought to you by, Massey Insurance Services. At Massey Insurance we want our clients and neighbors to be aware of ways to further save money while striving to ensure you have protection against all possible eventualities. You never know when you might need help!

If you’re an Apple Valley resident, by now hopefully you are aware that two of our five fire stations in the town are closed and not in use. The reason they are closed: we do not have enough funding to keep them open and operational.

Apple Valley Professional Firefighters Association said, “All of us at the Fire District have done what we could to tighten up the budget… as costs continued to rise there was only so much that can be done and hence the closure of the two stations.”

How does this closure affect residents beyond paying more for insurance rates? Safety. On April 21, 2016 Engine Medic Engine 334, Medic Engine 331, and Brush Engine 331 worked a large illegal burn off of Bear Valley Road. This means two out of three stations were on that call, leaving Medic Engine 332 to cover all 206 square miles of Apple Valley.

Apple Valley Fire protection District runs 11,000 calls a year with only three stations responding. This means that when a loved one or you need help, they cannot respond as fast as they need to, because they do not have the staffing they need.

Many might think that because they live near a fire station, they’re covered. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, as these engines are rarely in the station as they are running on average anywhere from 10-30 calls a day.

How can you help this situation? Simple: vote YES on the fire tax on November 8^th, 2016. The money from this tax will ONLY equate to $126.90 a year. For that money, tax payers will get two more open fire stations and five more fire fighters to cover them 24/7. Safety has never cost less.

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#measurea #applevalley #firedepartment #firestation #Applevalleyfire

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Measure A Series: Part 2

This information is the second in a series brought to you by, Massey Insurance Services. At Massey Insurance we want our clients and neighbors to be aware of ways to further save money while striving to ensure you have protection against all possible eventualities. You never know when you might need help!

What is an ISO rating?

With all of this talk about increasing insurance rates, due to local fire department’s quality determining their ISO rating, let’s look to see what goes into an ISO rating.

The rating system has a range from 1- the best, to 10- the worst. Class 1 means there is an excellent fire protection system, and class 10 represents almost no protection. Classes 9 and 10 are both indicators of rural areas without good fire hydrants or departments.

50% of the total classification number comes from the quality of the fire department. This means: proper trucks, ladders, staffing, training, and where the stations are located.

The next 40% comes from your local water supply system. This means: the condition, inspection, maintenance of fire hydrants, and most importantly a bigger amount of water available than the amount needed to extinguish a fire.

The remaining 10% is factored according to fire alarm and communications systems: telephone lines, a full staff, and the quality of the dispatch system.

As you can see, a very LARGE factor in this rating comes from the quality of the fire department and staff itself. So if there is a fire department that is handicapped by closed stations, and not being fully staffed, people in need are not receiving the best resources they need in a timely manner.

If you haven’t already heard, there will be a new measure on the ballot in November that will increase property tax to $126.90 a year, which will open all of our closed fire stations, and hire new fire personnel to better serve our community. Please vote yes on the new fire tax measure on November 8^th, 2016!