Following a critical shortage among the number of volunteer firefighters in Doña Ana County, the agency that evaluates and grades the county fire districts for residential and commercial insurance premiums announced improvements spearheaded by Doña Ana County translated to significantly better ratings. Those ratings take effect Aug. 1, meaning property owners should see lower rates from their insurance companies.
In 2017, the Insurance Service Office (ISO) returned failing grades for several Doña Ana County fire stations. Since then, county administration, under the guidance of Doña Ana County Fire Chief Nick Hempel, launched aggressive recruitment campaigns and incentive programs to attract and retain volunteer firefighters in every county fire district. Currently, there are 16 stations divided into two districts, North and South.
The result was an official letter from the ISO designating the north and south stations with a Public Protection Classification (PPC) of 5, an improvement from the failing PPC of 10 in several stations including Anthony, La Mesa, La Union, Mesquite, Radium Springs and Talavera.
“This is good news for our department, but more importantly it restores confidence and peace of mind for our residents who depend on us to provide a service,” said Hempel.
Hempel says two letters – one for the Doña Ana County North District and one for the Doña Ana County South District – were delivered to the county in April from the ISO that certified the new rating. The ISO also provides those ratings to underwriters and insurance companies to lower premiums for homeowners in both districts.
Residents near the Garfield, Rincon, Radium Springs, Doña Ana, Organ and Fairacres fire stations are included in the North District; residents in the South Valley, Las Alturas/Talavera, Mesquite, La Mesa, La Union, Anthony, Chamberino and Chaparral areas are in the South District.
For a copy of the ISO notification letters, visit www.donaanacounty.org/fire.