Mount Vernon Fire Department ‘Levels Up’

Property owners in the city of Mount Vernon may soon benefit from the results of the Mount Vernon Fire Department’s most recent evaluation by the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau (WSRB).

WSRB has upgraded the City from a 5 to a 4, meaning that the bureau recognizes that Mount Vernon has become better adept at fire protection and suppression.

WSRB is tasked with evaluating the fire protection capabilities of communities across Washington State. Following a thorough assessment of the department in categories such as Fire Safety Control, Water Supply, Emergency Communications and Fire Department; a community is assigned a Protection Class rating, ranging from a 1 which would indicate exemplary fire protection capabilities, to a 10 which indicates insufficient capabilities.

Over half of the communities in Washington State hold a protection class rating of 5-7. A rating of 4 aligns Mount Vernon among the top 21% of all rated communities in the state, and will likely give property owners a reduction on fire insurance premiums.

“Much of this improvement can be accredited to the addition of our 15 new firefighter paramedics to our department, as well as refining our level of training and training systems within the department,” Chief Bryan Brice said. “And while we’re thrilled for the upgrade, we are certainly not content to stay at this level. More can be done—especially in the more heavily weighted “Fire Department” category (which includes apparatus and facilities). I’m confident that we can build on this momentum.”

In a letter dated August 2, WSRB indicated that the rating boost would take effect on December 1, 2019, and that property owners should notify their insurance companies to determine the relative effect that this new community protection classification will have on their insurance premiums.