CENTERTON (KFSM) - With the purchase of two new fire engines, residents in Centerton will soon see a drop on their insurance premiums.
The city purchased a pumper and a rescue pumper, which cost the city nearly $1 million. Centerton firefighters said they are in the process of training on the new trucks, but the purchase is already paying off for some residents.
Residential insurance rates are based on Insurance Service Office (ISO) ratings and an ISO rating is set based on the availability of emergency services in a given city.
A rating of one is the best, with a rating of 10 being the worst. Lower ratings translate into lower insurance rates.
"The city went from an ISO six [rating], to an ISO three," said Keith Higginbotham, a volunteer firefighter and city council member. “Both the fire department and the city are pretty proud of what we have done.”
A resident who recently attended a city council event told Higginbotham that he had already saved $147 on his insurance because of the new rating.
For Keith’s son, Battalion Chief Paul Higginbotham, the trucks are about making his job easier.
"We can pump more water and it carries more equipment," Paul Higginbotham said.
Firefighters said the transition will take some time since the team has to qualify to operate the trucks the department purchased.
"[Operating the trucks] is different. It is a lot different,” Paul Higginbotham said. “We have got to get everybody trained on it. It is new, it is bigger. This is an almost half-million dollar piece of equipment. This is not your typical car.”
The fire department hopes to have the trucks in service starting September 1.
“We cannot get them in service fast enough. I wish they were already in service," Paul Higginbotham said.
The purchase of the two trucks also improved the ISO rating for those outside city limits, taking them from an ISO nine rating to an ISO six.