Piney Grove VFD earns achievement

Piney Grove Volunteer Fire Department received high praise and recognition for its ongoing dedication to exceeding state standards — an effort that’s earned them an increase in this year’s overall fire rating.

“Dear Chief (Ashley) Grimes — Congratulations on your recent improvement to your fire suppression rating!” State Fire Marshal Brain Taylor, wrote in a letter to Piney Grove. “I commend you and your department for your dedication and commitment to making your community a safer place to live.”

Piney Grove received a 5/9E for its rating, an improvement from the score they received from the last fire rating in 2019 of a six, according to Piney Grove Fire Chief Grimes, which goes into effect May 5. The new fire rating isn’t just an arbitrary number, as Grimes explained how it is earned and what it means for the Piney Grove community.

“The rating, it’s basically saying we met certain standards, call-wise, for call response, equipment training hours and the like,” Grimes said. “We surpassed the standard to meet that particular rating. It’s based on a scale of one to 10, the lower the rating, the better you performed overall. The better a department is rated, the more of a break on the homeowners’ insurance for people living in our fire district. I’m not sure exactly what the percentage is, but there is a break on their cost.”

When it comes to the 9E, according to www.johnston.gov, “The 9E rating signifies that the minimum requirements to be a rated fire department in the State of North Carolina in a six-mile district have been met.”

“I know you are proud of your department’s achievement and would like to share this news with the members of your community,” Taylor said, also in his letter. “I also know that the majority of citizens may not be aware that the rating of their responding fire department directly impacts their property insurance calculations.”

He continued, “You deserve to brag a little about the expertise of your personnel, which saves homeowners money and, most importantly, makes their lives safer. It was a pleasure for my staff to work with you and members of your staff during the recent survey of your department. Working together, we can continue to make North Carolina a safer place to live and work.”

Taylor shared with Grimes that Piney Grove was among the fire districts that completed its routine inspection and received a listed rating. The inspection, conducted by officials with the State Fire Marshal (OSFM), is required on a regular basis as part of the North Carolina Response Rating System (NCRRS). The routine inspections look for proper staffing levels, sufficient equipment, proper maintenance of equipment, communications capabilities and availability of a water source.

“Basically, they check on three years of records and things like that, but there’s also a whole lot more to it,” Grimes said. “The county has a lot to do with it too — there’s the 911 center, they had to meet certain standards as well, and that helps us out. Then there is the fire marshal’s office, they also meet certain standards, which helps us out. So we all have to work together on this thing to make it work.“

As Grimes alluded to, the NCRRS rating system ranges from one (highest) to 10 (not recognized as a certified fire department by the state), with most rural departments falling into the 9S category, according to the State Fire Marshal. The OSFM also noted, while lower ratings do not necessarily indicate poor service, a higher rating does suggest that a department is overall better equipped to respond to fires in its district.

The 9S rating, via www.johnston.gov, signifies that the minimum requirements to be a rated fire department in the state of North Carolina in a five-mile district have been met.

“The residents of Giddensville fire district(s) can take comfort in knowing this highly capable team of firefighters from the Piney Grove Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., of Sampson County is safeguarding them and their belongings in the event of an emergency,” Brian stated.

Further highlighted was that OSFM inspections are designed to assess various aspects of fire departments’ contributions to the overall effectiveness of fire services in N.C. State law mandates inspections by OSFM officials for departments serving districts with 100,000 people or fewer.

“We were a 9S at one time for years and in 2019 we did our first insurance rating, which takes several years of prep,” Grimes said. “So I would like to say thanks to all my members with what they’re helping us do and meeting their standards. Because of that, we were able to improve this year to a five. In 2019, we went to a six, which meant people in our area could start seeing that break in homeowners insurance. Now that we’ve got to a five, that’s a little bit more of a discount for them.

“It also provides commercial businesses with a discount on their insurance,” he added. “And so, my members, they put in a lot of hours, a lot of training hours, trying to get these things done and meet these standards. It says a lot about them and the people we have in our fire district, they’re in it for the right reason.”