Lexington, NC

Effective October 1, 2023, the Lexington Fire Department's fire district was rated a class 2 by the NC Department of Insurance.  For more information about insurance ratings, check out the information below.

Q. What determines the ratings? What was done to maintain the department's class 2 rating?

A. The ratings are determined by combining the scores of three different categories:  the fire department, the water system, and the 911 center. The fire department is responsible for 50% of the grade, the water system is 40% and the 911 center is 10%. All three are graded independently and the scores are combined. The scores equate to ratings class 1 through 10, with class 1 being the best. A score of ninety or more equates to a class 1. A score of eighty to eighty nine equates to a class 2 and so on. Prior to 2017, we were a class 3 with a score of 70.5. We became a class 2 in 2017 and maintain that score today. Our current score is 84.59. 

The fire department is graded on training, equipment, operating procedures, resource deployment (station locations, number of apparatus sent to structure calls, and the number of personnel put on the scene). From one ratings cycle to the next, we evaluate our operations in each of these areas to determine where we need to focus our efforts to improve services to the Lexington community. This year, we received the highest score possible for department training without our own dedicated training facility and for our fire prevention efforts, which was an improvement over our 2017 scores.

The water system is graded on the quantity of water available for fire protection, the concentration of fire hydrants, and the reliability of the system. This year, the Water Department made improvements to the water system, which increased their score.

The 911 center is rated based on its ability to receive, process, and dispatch structure fire calls within the standard set forth by the National Fire Protection Association, as well as system reliability and redundancy for notification in the event the primary system is non-functional. The standards set expectations for call taking/processing time and dispatch time as well as the number of communicators needed based upon workload of the center.

Q. Talk about dollar savings for the city and what it means financially for businesses. Is it just businesses that benefit?

A. The dollar benefit is difficult to assess. The rating system impacts how insurance premiums are charged to property owners. The better the rating, the better the insurance rates. Generally, homeowners stop seeing a benefit once a grade reaches class 6. However, recently there have been insurance companies recognizing and giving credit for the better class ratings. Who does see the benefits are the commercial properties. They can receive lower premiums with the improved ratings. The intangibles include the City’s commitment to public safety and excellence and improving the ability to recruit business and industry. A strong city can and does invest in protecting its citizens, which makes it more desirable to prospective citizens and businesses.

Q. What has to be done to maintain this rating?

A. We must keep doing what we are currently doing, including maintaining our water system. There is a possibility the water system and the fire department will share equal weight at 45% each in future evaluations. We have to maintain and improve the water infrastructure and keep doing the things that got us here. One thing that will really help with our training scores is to have our own training facility. One third of the training points are credited through facility training. That is, having a dedicated training area that includes a minimum of two acres designated for training, a building at least three stories tall and a building for live fire training. We currently do not have such a facility inside the city limits. We have used the facility at Davidson County Community College but it really does not suit our needs. Currently, there is no building for live fire training and water flow is restricted. Recently, we have been utilizing Rowan Cabarrus Community College in Salisbury. While their facility does meet our training needs, it is too far away and impractical to allow us to send multiple crews, or companies as we call them. It takes all our companies to fight a structure fire and that is the way they should train, together, so the fire attack is coordinated and the companies are used to working with each other. Our own training facility will enable us to do that and put it all together, getting a more realistic sense of the resources and coordination necessary to fight a fire, but most importantly, providing the much needed hands on training they need. From a ratings perspective, it will maximize our training score, and rightly so. Facilities training is the most important and carries the highest weight in the scoring process.

Q. What has to be done to be class 1?

A. We need less than six more points to be considered a class 1 department. We have invited the ratings inspector to our department to discuss our score and ways to improve. Currently, our biggest hurdle is personnel. We would need to increase staffing from its current level of 16 to approximately 24 personnel on duty each shift in order to increase our score.

Q. Are the ratings determined every year?

A. The inspection cycle typically occurs every five years. However, the cycle is dependent on staff from the Office of State Fire Marshal being available to conduct these inspections and this can be delayed if state personnel and resources are deployed to help mitigate wildfires and provide rescue and recovery efforts in other parts of the state.