Baldwin Fire Department gets results from appeal on fire rating results

Baldwin, LA – The Property Insurance Association of Louisiana (PIAL) recently performed its’ five-year grading of the Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department. Both the district and the town limits received a strong Class 5 rating. The department appealed portions of the rating grade based on an assessment of the survey results. The Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department then made a few important changes and as a result were excited to announce that they had improved to Class 4 inside the Town of Baldwin. The new class change will go into effect on February 10, 2020.
PIAL rates each fire department in the state against the same standards which helps insurance companies develop fire insurance premiums. “A fire departments grade consists of response times, dispatch procedures, equipment each truck carries, training of firefighters, locations of hydrants, water supply, standard operating procedures and various topics”, said Public Information Officer Neal Hebert.
Every 5 years, sooner for weak grades, PIAL performs an extensive audit and combs through all of
the department’s records and equipment. This gives the citizens a snapshot of how a department performs. However, it does not capture community relations, response to car crashes, medical emergencies, hazardous material spills, public services and other non-fire activities.
“When you have a solid strategy coupled with solid tactics you are able to achieve this with such a small financial footprint like ours. As many of you know, we are almost all unpaid volunteers. This means that everything you see is donated time and effort”, said Fire Chief Lance Mire.

For more information regarding the grading process go to www.pial.org