Effective Nov. 1, Bath homeowners will see their fire insurance rates drop, thanks to an effort by the Bath Volunteer Fire Department.

On July 19, Bath Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Taylor was notified that the Bath fire rating had been lowered from a class 7 to a 6, which translates into dollars.

“Really, what this means for people — each class is about $100 savings on your fire insurance,” Taylor said.

Over the course of the spring, the department practiced extensively for the May survey, which culminated in a water shuttle drill with neighboring fire departments from Bunyan, Pinetown and Sidney. In the absence of fire hydrants, water shuttling is a mainstay for more rural areas, since departments must be able to take water to a fire. The drill gave Bath VFD and their mutual aid partners 15 minutes to move thousands of gallons of water to a collapsible tank and keep the levels up for a certain amount of time.

“On the event day, we did it in about six minutes,” Taylor said.

Passing the drill — in addition to proving proper staffing levels, sufficient equipment, proper maintenance of equipment, communications capabilities and availability of water sources — impacts a community’s insurance rating, as well as how much residents pay for insurance premiums, according to the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Taylor said the new rating will apply to homes within five (road) miles of the Bath VFD fire station.

“I’d like to congratulate Chief Taylor for the department’s performance and for the hard work of all the department members,” Wayne Goodwin, state fire marshal and North Carolina insurance commissioner, stated in a press release. “The citizens in the town of these districts should rest easy knowing they have a fine group of firefighters protecting them and their property in case of an emergency.”

Most rural fire departments fall in the 9S category, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the highest rating. Several Beaufort County departments have a rating of 7, and 6 is the highest rating assigned to residential properties, Taylor said.

Next year, Bath VFD will be spending an estimated $286,000 for a new fire truck. Taylor said donations for the cause are welcome and can be sent to Bath Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 272, Bath, 27808.