Below you'll find newspaper articles and other letters the Fire Department has received over the years. These may be clippings from a paper regarding a Fire or Search operation, insurance class rating or a letter from a community member thanking the Department for the service they've provided to the community.
2019 South Toe Fire and Rescue Insurance Rating - Class 4
| s_toe_fd_-_news_release.pdf |
| s_toe_fd_-_survey_letter.pdf |
South Toe Fire and Rescue was the first Fire Department in Yancey County to request and obtain a lower insurance rating district wide in 2010. In 2010 if you lived in the South Toe Township you saw a huge insurance reduction due to the efforts from the all volunteer South Toe Fire Department.
If you currently live within the South Toe Fire District and live within 5 road miles of either Station # 1 near Celo or Station # 2 in Busick (which is 99% of the South Toe Township) your insurance premiums may see yet another reduction as of March 1, 2010 after a coveted district wide class 6 rating has now been lowered to a class 4 rating.
During the week of September 2nd the Office of State Fire Marshal (OFSM) inspectors conducted an inspection of South Toe Fire Department. OSFM’s program evaluates communities per a uniform set of criteria, incorporating nationally recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association.
A community's grade depends on:
The Fire Department Rating classification numbers are interpreted as follows with one being the best and 10 being the worst grading:
The inspection included both protocol, response to structure fire from not only South Toe but the automatic aid departments such as Newdale, Burnsville and Parkway. The department was tested on fire scene capabilities and had to demonstrate how to set up a fire scene response and fire scene pumping and drafting operations.
OSFM concluded its review of the fire suppression features being provided by South Toe Fire Department and the resulting community classification has been concluded by the Insurance Commissioner as a Class 4.
"This is one of the best Christmas presents that the South Toe Community could ever ask for, obtaining a class 4 rating is a huge accomplishment for our all-volunteer Fire & Rescue Department," said Chief Tony Laws. "Only 18% of the fire departments in the entire state of North Carolina have obtained this classification and to obtain this with no pressurized hydrants and with an all-volunteer department makes it twice as difficult to achieve. We are proud to be able to work with our automatic aid departments, County Fire Marshall, 911 Center and the Yancey County Sheriffs Office as one team to obtain the lowest rating possible. But to deliver this Community a Class 4 Rating for Christmas of 2019, its like a dream come true" stated Laws.
"The rating announcement and press release by Insurance Commissioner/State Fire Marshal Mike Causey is really like an early Christmas present for volunteers and tax payers of the South Toe Township. The rating benefits the tax payers that the department protects and that includes all the volunteers at South Toe," said Captain Josh Hensley.
No one will really know how much money this new rating will save tax payers within the fire district. But compared to other class 9 fire districts in Yancey County it’s a huge difference. For example comparing to a class 9 a class 4 rated fire district would see 30-40% reduction in fire insurance premiums for the same insurance coverage. So for the entire South Toe Fire District if there are approximately 1000 homes in the district and each home owner saves approximately $350 per year. If you look at the impact across the entire township then the fire departments new rating will save tax payers nearly $350,000 per year across the South Toe District compared to a class 9. The ratings are good for five years so this inspection should save over $1.7 million in insurance premiums savings in the South Toe District alone.
One local insurance agent stated, "This will be a huge savings for the community in South Toe on their home insurance premiums especially commercial policies. The people of South Toe should make their insurance carrier aware of the change and discount and ask the carrier to calculate the savings. Going from a class 6 to a class 4 is a substantial savings. Congratulations to the South Toe Fire Department on the accomplishment, which is the result of a lot of hard work."
Equipment added by the department to make the inspection successful include various types of rescue and fire fighting equipment, a reserve engine positioned in the District and additional water points to decrease travel time. Additional changes included adding a tanker, conducting water point flow tests/inspections, pre-planning commercial buildings and expanding the community education program through annual fire safety brochures. These task required 1,000 of hours spent by the Fire Department members and what’s remarkable is that almost every piece of equipment purchased in preparation for the inspection was awarded to the department through various State and Federal Grants," said Treasurer Gary Shuford.
Chief Deputy Shane Hilliard stated that “he is honored to have his staff assist the Department in obtaining the class 4 rating. Over the last 5 years Bradley Boone of the Yancey County Sheriff’s Department has implemented a fire investigation program that works in tandem with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations.” “ During the rating and inspection the Yancey Sheriffs Office fire investigation organization and fire investigator scored 99% which is almost perfect on the investigator certifications and training that Bradley and the Department carry. “This is why we keep saying that the rating is a result of the entire Yancey County team working together” said Chief Laws.
“Not only did the department achieve the class 4 rating, but our score was closer to a Class 3 rating than it was a class 5 giving us a goal to work towards next cycle. At this time we are in the process of requesting a debriefing from the Office of the State Fire Marshal concerning the recent rating to determine how South Toe can improve on our current score," said Chief Tony Laws. "We know that the next couple of points will not be easy and the South Toe ISO committee will need to work even harder over the next five years. We also learned what weak points the department/county need to work on, such as training equipment and training props and the Counties Communications Center.
South Toe Fire and Rescue is committed to keeping the community safe. They have accomplished this by providing professional fire service, reliable fire apparatus and equipment, ample water supplies and good communications. The fire department will continue to refine its emergency response capability with the long-term goal of continuing to move toward achieving a lower classification. Board of Directors Chairman Billy Edwards said "We are obviously very pleased with the grading. Knowing that over 99% of the area that we serve will be able to receive a Fire Protection Class 4 is fantastic! We have a lot of very dedicated volunteers within our organization that have dedicated many hours and that is who has made this possible."
“Serving as a volunteer is not easy and most of the time the quick response is taken for granted when someone dials 911. With an average of 350-400 emergency responses every year this equates to someone dialing 911 for help every single day. Volunteers have to drop what they are doing and in some cases leave work and take time off, leave the family or step out from Church. Lots of our response requires us to get up out of bed such as at 3am in the morning just to help someone back in bed who has requested assistance. In this day and time the commitment is taxing on individuals and families just to keep an all-volunteer fire department going let alone score one of the best fire department ratings in North Carolina that is all volunteer. This community is really blessed to have the skilled volunteers dedicated to helping others in time of need. If everyone volunteered and dedicated as many hours as the volunteers at South Toe Fire and Rescue do each year the community would be much better off said Chief Laws.
South Toe, would like to thank our neighboring fire departments and agencies that assisted in this rating to include Newdale Fire Department, Burnsville Fire Department, Parkway Fire & Rescue of Mitchell County, Yancey Communications Center, Yancey County Fire Marshall Neil McCurry and the Yancey County Sheriff’s Office.
If you currently live within the South Toe Fire District and live within 5 road miles of either Station # 1 near Celo or Station # 2 in Busick (which is 99% of the South Toe Township) your insurance premiums may see yet another reduction as of March 1, 2010 after a coveted district wide class 6 rating has now been lowered to a class 4 rating.
During the week of September 2nd the Office of State Fire Marshal (OFSM) inspectors conducted an inspection of South Toe Fire Department. OSFM’s program evaluates communities per a uniform set of criteria, incorporating nationally recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association.
A community's grade depends on:
- Needed Fire Flows, which are representative building locations used to determine the theoretical amount of water necessary for fire suppression purposes.
- Emergency Communications, including emergency reporting, Telecommunicators, and dispatching systems.
- Fire Department, including equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations, and community risk reduction.
- Water Supply, including inspection and flow testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations, and a careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gpm.
- Community Risk Reduction, community efforts to reduce the risk of fire, including fire prevention codes and enforcement, public fire safety education, and fire investigation programs.
The Fire Department Rating classification numbers are interpreted as follows with one being the best and 10 being the worst grading:
- Class 1 through (and including) Class 8 represents a fire suppression system that includes a creditable dispatch center, fire department, and water supply. Again, 1 being the best score and only a few Fire Departments in North Carolina have ever scored a Class 1 rating.
- Class 9 is a fire suppression system that includes a creditable dispatch center, fire department but no creditable water supply.
- Class 10 does not meet minimum OSFM criteria for recognition, including areas that are beyond five road miles of a recognized fire station.
The inspection included both protocol, response to structure fire from not only South Toe but the automatic aid departments such as Newdale, Burnsville and Parkway. The department was tested on fire scene capabilities and had to demonstrate how to set up a fire scene response and fire scene pumping and drafting operations.
OSFM concluded its review of the fire suppression features being provided by South Toe Fire Department and the resulting community classification has been concluded by the Insurance Commissioner as a Class 4.
"This is one of the best Christmas presents that the South Toe Community could ever ask for, obtaining a class 4 rating is a huge accomplishment for our all-volunteer Fire & Rescue Department," said Chief Tony Laws. "Only 18% of the fire departments in the entire state of North Carolina have obtained this classification and to obtain this with no pressurized hydrants and with an all-volunteer department makes it twice as difficult to achieve. We are proud to be able to work with our automatic aid departments, County Fire Marshall, 911 Center and the Yancey County Sheriffs Office as one team to obtain the lowest rating possible. But to deliver this Community a Class 4 Rating for Christmas of 2019, its like a dream come true" stated Laws.
"The rating announcement and press release by Insurance Commissioner/State Fire Marshal Mike Causey is really like an early Christmas present for volunteers and tax payers of the South Toe Township. The rating benefits the tax payers that the department protects and that includes all the volunteers at South Toe," said Captain Josh Hensley.
No one will really know how much money this new rating will save tax payers within the fire district. But compared to other class 9 fire districts in Yancey County it’s a huge difference. For example comparing to a class 9 a class 4 rated fire district would see 30-40% reduction in fire insurance premiums for the same insurance coverage. So for the entire South Toe Fire District if there are approximately 1000 homes in the district and each home owner saves approximately $350 per year. If you look at the impact across the entire township then the fire departments new rating will save tax payers nearly $350,000 per year across the South Toe District compared to a class 9. The ratings are good for five years so this inspection should save over $1.7 million in insurance premiums savings in the South Toe District alone.
One local insurance agent stated, "This will be a huge savings for the community in South Toe on their home insurance premiums especially commercial policies. The people of South Toe should make their insurance carrier aware of the change and discount and ask the carrier to calculate the savings. Going from a class 6 to a class 4 is a substantial savings. Congratulations to the South Toe Fire Department on the accomplishment, which is the result of a lot of hard work."
Equipment added by the department to make the inspection successful include various types of rescue and fire fighting equipment, a reserve engine positioned in the District and additional water points to decrease travel time. Additional changes included adding a tanker, conducting water point flow tests/inspections, pre-planning commercial buildings and expanding the community education program through annual fire safety brochures. These task required 1,000 of hours spent by the Fire Department members and what’s remarkable is that almost every piece of equipment purchased in preparation for the inspection was awarded to the department through various State and Federal Grants," said Treasurer Gary Shuford.
Chief Deputy Shane Hilliard stated that “he is honored to have his staff assist the Department in obtaining the class 4 rating. Over the last 5 years Bradley Boone of the Yancey County Sheriff’s Department has implemented a fire investigation program that works in tandem with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations.” “ During the rating and inspection the Yancey Sheriffs Office fire investigation organization and fire investigator scored 99% which is almost perfect on the investigator certifications and training that Bradley and the Department carry. “This is why we keep saying that the rating is a result of the entire Yancey County team working together” said Chief Laws.
“Not only did the department achieve the class 4 rating, but our score was closer to a Class 3 rating than it was a class 5 giving us a goal to work towards next cycle. At this time we are in the process of requesting a debriefing from the Office of the State Fire Marshal concerning the recent rating to determine how South Toe can improve on our current score," said Chief Tony Laws. "We know that the next couple of points will not be easy and the South Toe ISO committee will need to work even harder over the next five years. We also learned what weak points the department/county need to work on, such as training equipment and training props and the Counties Communications Center.
South Toe Fire and Rescue is committed to keeping the community safe. They have accomplished this by providing professional fire service, reliable fire apparatus and equipment, ample water supplies and good communications. The fire department will continue to refine its emergency response capability with the long-term goal of continuing to move toward achieving a lower classification. Board of Directors Chairman Billy Edwards said "We are obviously very pleased with the grading. Knowing that over 99% of the area that we serve will be able to receive a Fire Protection Class 4 is fantastic! We have a lot of very dedicated volunteers within our organization that have dedicated many hours and that is who has made this possible."
“Serving as a volunteer is not easy and most of the time the quick response is taken for granted when someone dials 911. With an average of 350-400 emergency responses every year this equates to someone dialing 911 for help every single day. Volunteers have to drop what they are doing and in some cases leave work and take time off, leave the family or step out from Church. Lots of our response requires us to get up out of bed such as at 3am in the morning just to help someone back in bed who has requested assistance. In this day and time the commitment is taxing on individuals and families just to keep an all-volunteer fire department going let alone score one of the best fire department ratings in North Carolina that is all volunteer. This community is really blessed to have the skilled volunteers dedicated to helping others in time of need. If everyone volunteered and dedicated as many hours as the volunteers at South Toe Fire and Rescue do each year the community would be much better off said Chief Laws.
South Toe, would like to thank our neighboring fire departments and agencies that assisted in this rating to include Newdale Fire Department, Burnsville Fire Department, Parkway Fire & Rescue of Mitchell County, Yancey Communications Center, Yancey County Fire Marshall Neil McCurry and the Yancey County Sheriff’s Office.
Christmas Morning Fire 2011
Below is an article taken from the Yancey County News about a Structure Fire we responded to on December 25th, 2011. The Department is very sorry for the family's loss.
Letter of Thanks
Below is a letter the Department received from a patient who had fallen on the Mt. Mitchell Trail after she was carried out moments before a Thunderstorm. We love reading letters from patients or other community members after we've been called to assist them during an emergency.
