Enhanced Fire Protection Means Pumpkintown Homeowners Pay Lower Insurance Premiums

Pumpkintown, South Carolina (May 18, 2001)–– Homeowners in the Pumpkintown community of Pickens County will notice lower insurance rates with the installation of nearly twenty dry hydrants. A dry hydrant is a non-pressurized pipe system installed in a pond, lake, or stream to provide a nearby water supply for rural fire departments. The Pumpkintown Fire Department recently learned that the fire district’s ISO rating (the rating system for fire departments that effects insurance premiums) dropped from a 9 to a 7. This means hundreds of dollars of savings on yearly insurance premiums for the 1,100 homes and nearly 2,500 residents in the Pumpkintown area. The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pickens Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the Foothills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council secured grants to assist with installation and provided design specifications for the hydrants.

Pumpkintown Fire Chief Roy Holcombe worked closely with NRCS Soil Conservation Technician Hollis Berry to design and install the dry hydrants. "We started with a map of the area and searched for water sources where we could install the hydrants," said Holcombe. However, it was the excellent planning and placement of the hydrants that helped the fire district lower their ISO rating. Foothills RC&D Coordinator Dave Demarest praised Holcombe for his outstanding leadership and motivation. " "Pumpkintown received grant money to install the first 5 hydrants and Chief Holcombe and his staff were so determined to lower the ISO rating that they used their own funds to install the remaining hydrants."

The new ISO rating goes into effect June 1, 2001. The insurance rates on a$100,000 home which were normally $718 under the ISO rating of 9 will be reduced to $471 under the 7 ISO rating. That’s a yearly saving of nearly $250 for Pumpkintown homeowners. Chief Holcombe looks forward to lowering the ISO rating to a 6. "With the addition of more tankers for water transport, we should be able to reach our ultimate goal of a 6 ISO rating which would cut insurance premiums by fifty percent." That would total nearly $400,000 in annual savings for Pumpkintown residents.

Homeowners are not only happy about the financial benefits of the hydrants. They can also have a peace of mind knowing that should they need the help of the fire department they will receive dependable, timely assistance. "Dry hydrants save money, property, and lives by allowing the fire departments to decrease response times in an emergency," emphasized Demarest.

Major players in the Pumpkintown dry fire hydrant effort were the Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, who supplied most of the installation cost of the hydrants by supplying a backhoe and an operator, and the volunteer firefighters who worked weekends and evenings to complete installation. President and CEO of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative Charles Dalton said, "Rural residents deserve the best fire protection available and Blue Ridge Electric is proud to have been a part of this effort that provides multiple benefits for our customers." In addition, Pickens County GIS Manager Lawton Kitchen coordinated the compilation of a database through the use of a global positioning system (GPS) that shows the exact location of all hydrants in Pickens County.

The South Carolina Dry Hydrant Project began in 1991 when NRCS and RC&D Councils of South Carolina secured grants totaling $450,000 . These funds were used to install over 2,000 dry hydrants throughout South Carolina. NRCS provided nearly $300 towards each hydrant in the form of technical assistance. As a result, statewide savings on insurance premiums and property loss equal nearly $52 million annually.

For more information, contact Dave Demarest at (864) 467-2775.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Dave Demarest

Foothills RC&D Coordinator

(864)467-2775