Fire insurance rates increased significantly for some county residents after Yazoo City ended its fire protection agreement with the county, but some relief is on the way for those who live within five driving miles of the future District 3 fire station.
Jack Willingham, Yazoo County's Emergency Management director, told the Board of Supervisors this week that he has already began the process of establishing a fire protection district so that it would be quickly enacted when construction on the new station is complete. The slab has been poured for the station near the county barn on Old Benton Road, and work will soon begin on the metal building.
Many county residents who lived within five miles of the city limits previously enjoyed lower fire insurance rates because of a fire protection agreement between the city and the county. Fire insurance rates have increased, in some cases more than doubled, for many residents in that area since the city ended its agreement with the county.
A fire protection district makes residents within its range eligible for lower fire insurance rates. Currently Benton and Vaughan are the only areas in the county with established fire protection districts. The Mississippi Fire Ratings Bureau will determine what class the district qualifies for based on factors including equipment, manpower and availability of water.
"District 3 should be in good shape," Willingham said. "We have good equipment, there are accessible fire plugs and we have some very dedicated volunteers, including some who are certified firefighters. They have actually completed the fire academy."
Willingham, who also serves as the county fire coordinator and E-911 director, told the Yazoo City Rotary Club Wednesday that the Board of Supervisors has been supportive of his efforts to quickly improve fire protection for the county.
"They've done everything they can within reason," he said. "They've given us everything we've asked for."
Willingham said he sees a need for a future volunteer protection district to be established in the Carter area.
"Those residents are more than five miles from any department, including Holly Bluff," he said.
He said there will also be efforts to establish fire protection districts in other communities with existing volunteer fire departments.
Willingham said that the departments recently raised funds by serving food at the Yazoo County Fair, and that effort was successful.
"These departments operate on very limited budgets, and the equipment they require is very expensive. Just the turnout gear for a single firefighter is over $1,000."
Willingham said he is confident that fire protection in the county will continue to improve.
"The main reason for that is that we have so many dedicated volunteers," he said. "Whenever we have a call, there are always enough people responding. They give a lot of their time and work very hard to protect our community. When you see them, tell them you appreciate what they do because I don't know what we would do without them."
