Orange Residents To Save Money

Property owners in Orange will be able to save money because of an improved fire insurance rating, Fire Chief David Frenzel told the city council Tuesday.

He said the council agreed to invest $34,000 for a consultant to improve the rating and citizens will be saving more than that on their insurance payments.

The city now has a Class 2 Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating, up from a Class 3.

Frenzel said he used a woodframe house valued at $283,000 as an example for insurance costs and checked with a local insurance agent. The improved rating will save the homeowner $137 a year for fire insurance, according to the information from the chief. The premium on insurance will be $2,147 on the house, down from $2,284.

Frenzel said only about 2 percent of the 47,000 fire departments in the U.S. have earned the Class 2 or Class 1. Port Arthur and Beaumont also have the Class 2 rating. The ratings run from Class 1, the best, to Class 10.

Orange has the only full-time professional fire department in Orange County. The ratings score a variety of things including distances from fire stations, distances from fire hydrants, water pressure, age and working condition of equipment, and dispatching systems.

The consultant helped review the city’s assets and suggested ways to improve them to meet the criteria. Frenzel thanked Public Works Director Jim Wolf and Police Chief Lane Martin for helping to get the new rating.

Frenzel said the city in 2004 had a Class 5 rating and then worked toward improving to a Class 3.

However, a few places will be rated as Class 2X if they are not within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant or within five miles of a fire station, he said.

The information provided to the city council shows the cities of West Orange and Pinehurst have Class 6 ratings. Residents there will pay 22.2 percent more for fire insurance than residents in Orange.

Residents in the Orange County Emergency Services District 3 (Little Cypress) have a Class 4 rating and will pay an estimated 11.1 percent more for insurance.

The Orange County Emergency Services District 2 (Bridge City and Orangefield) has ratings of Class 5 and Class 9, and residents pay from 16.7 percent to 27.8 percent more for insurance.

The Orange County Emergency Services District 4 (Mauriceville and McLewis) have ratings of Class 7 and Class 9 and will pay up to 27.8 percent more for insurance.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-