North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long notified the department that its new rating is 7/9E, an improvement that can mean significantly lower homeowners’ insurance rates within the fire district.
The announcement was made after officials of the N.C. Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal completed a routine inspection of the department. Such inspections are required on a regular basis as part of the North Carolina Response Rating System.
Among other things, the routine inspection covers proper staffing levels, sufficient equipment, proper maintenance of equipment, communications capabilities and availability of a water source.
Long expressed congratulations to Eastwood Fire Chief Brian Morris for the department’s “performance and for the hard work of all the department members.”
Moore County Assistant Fire Marshal Carlton Cole said the department’s previous rating was 9S, the category into which most rural departments fall.
The rating system ranges from 1 (highest) to 10 (not recognized as a certified fire department by the state). Although lower ratings do not necessarily indicate poor service, a higher rating does suggest that overall a department is better equipped to respond to fires in the district, according to the insurance commissioner.
“The citizens of Eastwood Fire Department District should rest easy knowing they have a fine group of firefighters protecting them and their property in case of an emergency,” Long said.
State law requires state fire marshal officials to inspect departments serving districts of 100,000 people or less, a category that makes up all but six of the state’s fire districts.
