Valley Hill Fire & Rescue District Receives New Rating After Inspection 

State Officials Award District a Class 4 Rating 

Raleigh- North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshall Jim Long announced today that the Valley Hill Fire & Rescue District completed its routine inspection and received a Class 4 rating. The inspection, conducted by officials with the Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), is required on a regular basis as part of the North Carolina Response Rating System (NCRRS). Among other things, the routine inspections look for proper staffing levels, sufficient equipment, proper maintenance of equipment, communications capabilities and availability of water sources.

The Class 4 rating is an improvement over the previous rating of a Class 5 rating in the Station 1 district, and a Class 9 in the Station 2 district (Crab Creek Community). Valley Hill Fire & Rescue previously had two separate districts, however decided to consolidate both fire districts into just one district; by doing this the residents of the former district two could possibly see significant savings on their homeowners insurance.  The NCRRS rating system ranges from one (highest) to 10 (not recognized as a certified fire department by the state), with most rural departments falling into the 9s category. While lower ratings do not necessarily indicate poor service, a higher rating does suggest that a department is overall better equipped to respond to fires in its district. Higher ratings can also significantly lower homeowners insurance rates in that fire district.

“I’d like to congratulate Chief Bill Hill and Battalion Chief Tim Garren for the department’s performance and for the hard work of all the department’s firefighters,” said Commissioner Long. “The citizens in Valley Hill Fire & Rescue district should rest easy knowing they have a fine group of firefighters protecting them and their property in case of an emergency.” 

State law requires OSFM officials to inspect departments serving districts of 100,000 people or less, which makes up all but six of the state’s fire districts. 

This improvement in the rating of Valley Hill Fire & Rescue, can affect all homeowners, and business owners in the Valley Hill Fire & Rescue District. All homeowners and business owners are encouraged to contact their insurance company’s to make sure that the fire protection portion of their policy correctly list Valley Hill as a Class 4 effective October 1^st 2006. 

If anyone has any questions or comments about this rating, please Contact Battalion Chief Tim Garren at Class4@ValleyHillFire.com or by calling 828-692-2581 x 104. Further information will be available on the department’s website located at www.ValleyHillFire.com