Raleigh County homeowners have much at stake in Tuesday's balloting, one that is being eclipsed by the fire levy, despite a lengthy ballot typical of a primary election.
In its basic terms, voters must decide if they're willing to pay more in real and personal property to put sorely needed cash into the hands of 13 financially-strapped volunteer fire departments, or defeat the issue and throw the dice on keeping protection.
In general terms, the absence of a nearby fire station could translate into higher home insurance premiums or the unavailability of coverage.
Actually, says longtime State Farm agent Bill Straub Jr. of Beckley, a number of factors figure into homeowners coverage.
One element entails sound roads so that fire trucks can reach a home that catches fire. Another is availability of an adequate water supply to fill the hoses.
Straub says the proximity of a qualified fire department is one of the major criteria used to figure insurance rates. If a VFD failed, insurance carriers look at the next closest one.
"Generally, the parameters around that are 10 miles to a servicing fire station," the State Farm agent said.
"That's normally what you see out there. All that taken into consideration, could it have the potential to raise your insurance? It certainly could. It could have the potential for somebody to not be able to get insurance because they're far away from a volunteer fire station."
Fire hydrants are another consideration, he pointed out.
One thing insurance firms look at is the proximity of a hydrant, and in general terms, one ideally would be within 1,000 feet of a dwelling. And the other is whether the water flow is adequate to sustain enough pressure to adequately fight a conflagration. If all other criteria are met -- such as living near a fire unit -- a nearby fire hydrant would lower one's rates.
"The hydrant is a positive step," he said. "Again, it has to have the right diameter line attached to it."
Once the first year of the proposed five-year levy is completed, the EOC 911 Center no longer gets a $130,000 allotment to finance new radio equipment so the facility is interoperable with other emergency responders, noted Beckley Chief Billie Trump.
That translates into some $500,000 set aside specifically for fire hydrants in all coverage areas over a four-year span.
"That's one of the things the levy will do in the county," Trump said.
"Hydrants will spring up like dandelions, and when they do, it's going to benefit the people by lowering their insurance rates and getting them better service."
If approved, taxpayers necessarily would pay more.
The amount can be figured with simple math -- multiply the total tax ticket by 1.08. If one's tax bill the previous year was $500, the taxpayer would shell out $40 more. Both real and personal property are included. If one's tax statement was $1,000, new taxes would total $80.
Trump emphasized that volunteer firefighters undergo the same training and must meet identical certification standards as paid ones.
"I've been in class with them," he said.
"They're not afraid. They're out there putting it on the line, trying to save your homes and property. The state Fire Commission raised the bar on training."
When departments are audited, the state Fire Marshal's office pulls training records for an examination and looks at all equipment in use, he noted.
Straub also applauded the volunteer firefighters.
"They do a great job," he said. "There isn't any doubt about it.
"They have opened up an opportunity for people to have insurance that may not have been able to have insurance in the past. However, to sustain that equipment is not cheap. They have to have some way to sustain it. Fighting a fire is a pretty technical deal. You have to know what you're doing. A lot of things go into it. My hat's off to those folks that are willing to volunteer to do that type of thing. No doubt, they're putting their life on the line every time they go out here. It's a tremendous thing that they do, but the doggone costs are expensive."
-- E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com
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