Recent fire defense improvements recognized by the Mississippi State Rating Bureau are not limited to Brookhaven city limits, and Lincoln County is seeing fire grade ratings improve as well.

New Sight Volunteer Fire Department has undergone review by the bureau and now has a new rating that will mean lower insurance rates for area residents.

Parts of he NSVFD area have moved from a fire protection rating of Protection Class 9 to Protection Class 8, with PC1 being the best and PC10 being the worst classification for fire protection. New Sight VFD Chief Cory Smith said roughly half of their district has received the better grade as of May 6, and after due diligence with the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors, the other half will be designated soon.

Smith invites New Sight residents to visit the fire station on June 13 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., when he will have an updated map to help people figure out if they are in the area that can benefit from the lower rates.

Insurance companies lower property insurance rates in coordination with the MS Rating Bureau, but Smith said people might want to verify with their insurance companies to be sure that they have their rates pro-rated back to May 6.

According to the MS State Rating Bureau, the fire grading that New Sight VFD recently underwent is a complete survey of a district’s fire protection and prevention facilities and the physical conditions contributing to the spread of fire. The survey serves as a basis for fire insurance rate making purposes.

Smith said the recently appropriated funds for a new fire engine contributed to the better rating.

“That’ll give us three pumpers,” Smith said. “To have three fire trucks in our area will definitely help us. The last one the station got was 15 years ago.”

“This is something I’ve been striving for since I became chief,” Smith said. “I’ve been doing everything I can to put in place the policies and procedures to help us get a lower grade.”

Smith has been with the New Sight VFD since 2012, and chief since 2013. He said the rating bureau has recently changed to a new system of grading, a more thorough system that credits stations for doing things like installing fire alarms in people’s homes. Smith said having great training exercises helps also.

“Something else I strive to do is have a training each month, and cover a different topic each time,” he said.

This is the first improvement in the rating since the ’90s, Smith said, and he looks forward to moving on to a PC7 in the future. He invites area residents to come check the map and ask any questions about the change June 13 at the station.