Marysville Fire District receives Class 3 rating

The Marysville Fire District was rated slightly higher this year for its fire protection by the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau.

This could mean lower insurance payments for those who own property in Fire District 12.

The bureau rates fire districts with a “Protection Class” from 1 to 10, with 1 being the best rating.

After this recent audit the entire Marysville Fire District was rated as Class 3.

The district is a Regional Fire Authority consisting of the Marysville city limits and Fire District 12 (some of the outlying areas in Tulalip and around the city).

Before this year the district was a Class 3 in the city, but a class 4 in Fire District 12.

“We’re excited about the rating,” said Tom Maloney, Fire Marshal with the Marysville Fire District.

“We achieved that five years ago in the city of Marysville, but we improved our ability to service Fire District 12,” he said.

The rating applies to residential and commercial properties within five miles of a fire station, and having adequate fire hydrants and water supplies.

The Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau looks at a number of factors when making the determination.

“When they come in and do the audit they look at all the areas of fire service,” said Maloney.

They inspect dispatching, water supply, emergency communication, maintenance of equipment, training of personnel and fire prevention divisions.

“All of these things are evaluated and given a number and then those are all added up to give you a final ranting,” said Maloney.

Since their last audit about five years ago, Maloney said “there’s a couple of areas that improved somewhat for us.”

He said the district has increased staffing since the previous audit which has improved fire response.

“The fire prevention division was improved, as well, because we had a couple of national certifications,” said Maloney.

Other improvements in the rating were simply better record keeping, said Maloney, in that the district could now better show the maintenance and training they put into their equipment and personnel.

Maloney said they were happy with the results from the bureau. “Over the last few years since the last audit we looked where we were deficient,” and the district worked to improve those areas, he said.

“We’re one of 49 agencies in the state with a 3 or better rating,” Maloney said.

The protection classes determined by the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau are used by insurance companies to determine fire risk to property.

Higher ratings often mean lower insurance payments for property owners.

Fire District 12 will officially be rated as Class 3 effective May 2020.

“While homeowners could see a minimal decrease in their insurance, the biggest impact here is likely to be the commercial properties which will could see a good saving,” said Maloney.

The district was happy to see they had made progress in their operations.

“For us, this is impactful because we want to be able to provide a better service,” he said. “And if we can pass the taxpayer some benefit, hopefully saving them some money, that is good too."