The City of Harrogate Fire Service Study
By Ron Darden
Municipal Management Consultant
The University of Tennessee-Municipal Technical Advisory Service
Acknowledgment
The author would like to acknowledge the review and information provided for this study by
Municipal Technical Advisory Service Fire Consultant Ray Crouch, Special Projects Consultant
Jim Finane, Legal Consultant Melissa Ashburn, and Municipal Management Consultant Warren
Nevad.
The Table of Contents
Introduction
1
General
1
Residential and Commercial Building Characteristics
1
Organization and Staffing
2
Operations
2
Facilities
2
Water Supply
3
Equipment
3
Training
4
Mutual Aid Agreements
4
Fiscal Affairs
4
Insurance Rating
4
Conditions of Existing Fire Service
5
Review of Alternatives for Fire Service
6-7
Finance Plan and Fire Department Budget
8-9
Fire Service and Water System Improvement Finance Plan
10
Homeowners Insurance Savings Study
11
Benefits of the Fire Service Improvements
12
Summary
13
Introduction
The North Claiborne County Volunteer Fire Department provides fire service to North Claiborne
County including the City of Harrogate. The City of Harrogate contributes approximately
$20,000 annually to the volunteer fire department. The city has had a problem in making
contributions to the volunteer fire department in compliance with the requirements of the Internal
Revenue Service=s regulation 501 (c). The fire department needs the contribution in order to
provide for community fire service. MTAS has been asked to review the fire service and make
recommendations that are beneficial to the City of Harrogate and to the North Claiborne County
Volunteer Fire Department.
General
The North Claiborne County Volunteer Fire Department is one of nine volunteer fire departments
operating in Claiborne County. It provides fire service to the City of Harrogate, population
4,286, which is the largest city in Claiborne County. The department has a fire station located at
the intersection of Brunswick and Carlton Streets inside the City of Harrogate. The fire
department provides community fire service, rescue service, and hazardous materials response
service for the City of Harrogate and other areas of the county. Although the fire department
operates independently of the city, there is a good working relationship between the city and the
volunteer fire department. Lincoln Memorial University is located inside the City of Harrogate.
Residential and Commercial Building Characteristics
Commercial buildings located along Highway 25East are predominately one and two story
buildings. There are ten buildings at Lincoln Memorial University that are more than thirty-five
(35) feet tall and are more than eight thousand (8,000) square feet:
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Avery Hall-three story, has a dry sprinkler system
J. Frank White Academy-three story, has a dry sprinkler system
Farr-Chinnock Hall-three story
Grant-Lee Hall-three story, has a dry sprinkler system
Lafrentz-Poole Hall-four story
Liles Hall-four story
West Hall-four story
Arena Building-has a wet sprinkler system installed
Duke Hall
McClellan Hall
The University has its own water system consisting of ten (10)-inch, six (6)-inch, and a four (4)inch water main and a 497,000 gallon clear well at the water treatment facility.
Within the city there are the following commercial buildings, churches and schools that are more
1
than thirty-five (35) feet tall or contain more than eight thousand (8,000) square feet:
$
$
$
$
$
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Commercial Bank
Tennessee Finance
Ellen Myers Elementary School
H.Y. Livesey Middle School
Hunt Springs Baptist Church
Sewanee Baptist Church
The city is developing a twenty-five-acre industrial park that presently contains Tri-State
Machine Shop and Mills Plumbing. The city is characterized by hilly terrain, marked streets,
and residential structures that are predominately one and two stories. There are no large
industrial facilities inside the city.
Organization and Staffing
The North Claiborne County Volunteer Fire Department is staffed with a chief, assistant chief,
and twenty-seven (27) volunteer firefighters. Approximately fifty (50) percent of the volunteer
firefighters are active. The county 911 board provides dispatch services to the department using
group pagers. The department has a communications standard operating procedure. There is no
incentive program for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.
Operations
The fire department has not adopted a fire standard code. Only the city may adopt a fire standard
code. It does have a standard operating procedures manual. The department uses a fire incident
reporting system. The fire station is not manned. The average response time for responding to
the fire scene is twelve (12) to twenty-five (25) minutes, which is very high and unacceptable.
Volunteer firefighters are required to respond to the fire station to obtain equipment and turn out
gear instead of responding directly to the fire scene. The volunteer fire department responded to
one hundred and thirty-six fire calls during the past year.
Facilities
The department has a station located at the intersection of Brunswick and Carlton Streets inside
the city. The station is a metal building with two bays for housing equipment. There are no
living quarters for firefighters and the facility is substandard. There is no backup power source
for the facility. The department has another fire station located outside the City of Harrogate.
The fire station that serves the city is not located to serve ninety (90) percent of the population
within the city.
2
Water Supply
Water is provided by the Arthur Shawnee Utility District, which is a public utility operating in
North Claiborne County. Approximately 63 percent of the water mains are two (2) inch and four
(4) inch and as such are substandard for fire protection. The mains consist of:
$
$
$
$
$
41,600 LF of four (4)-inch mains
60,000 LF of two (2)-inch mains
26,500 LF of ten (10)-inch mains
12,500 LF of eight (8)-inch mains
20,250 LF of six (6)-inch mains
Note: These are approximate lengths scaled from a map provided by Arthur Shawnee Utility
District.
A ten-inch main extends from the water treatment plant located in the southern part of the city
north along Highway 25East to a 500,000 gallon water storage tank. The map did not indicate
the location of existing fire hydrants. The fire chief indicated that there are some two (2)- inch
and four (4)- inch hydrants, and only one six (6)- inch fire hydrant within the city.
Equipment
The North Claiborne County Volunteer Fire Department has the following equipment:
1-Class A pumper, 850 g.p.m., 1973 model.
1-Class A pumper, 1250 g.p.m., 1985 model.
1-Tanker, 2000 gallons, 1984 model.
1-Tanker, 1650 gallons, 1989 model.
1-Emergency response vehicle, 300 gallon tank, 1983 model Chevrolet equipped with
emergency extraction device and other equipment.
1-Support vehicle,1990 (an old ambulance). The department does not provide ambulance
service.
Other equipment includes eight (8) self-contained breathing apparatuses with four (4) spare
bottles. The department has a cascade system for refilling the bottles. The pumper trucks have
1300 feet of two and one-half (2 1 2)- inch fire hose and 550 feet of one and one-half (1 2)- inch
fire hose. The tanker trucks carry varying lengths and sizes of fire hose. All the trucks are pump
tested annually and no other inspections are provided.
3
Training
The department does not have an approved certified training program. The fire chief indicated
that an approved program had existed until about two years ago, and has been reactivated during
the past two months. The department does some pre- fire planning and maintains training
records. Although there are no facilities for fire training, the department does train on a regular
basis.
Mutual Aid Agreements
The department has mutual aid agreements with the other eight (8) Claiborne County Volunteer
Fire Departments, an agreement with the Cities of Tazewell and New Tazewell Joint Fire
Department, and one verbal agreement with the City of Middlesboro, Kentucky. The Tazewell
and New Tazewell Fire Department is located approximately fifteen (15) miles from the City of
Harrogate, which is about twenty minutes. Middlesboro has agreed to provide a ladder truck
with an approximate five minutes response time to the city.
Cities of Tazewell and New Tazewell
The Cities of Tazewell and New Tazewell use a volunteer fire department with a paid full time
operating engineer at the station. They are a class six (6) and share departmental expenses. They
have a problem with the lack of fire hydrants but the water storage capacity is excellent. They
have a certified fire instructor. The department is supervised by a fire committee made up of two
aldermen from each city along with the two fire chiefs. The committee meets monthly and
administers an approximate $120,000 budget. They obtain grant funds where they are available.
Their water is provided by Claiborne Utility District and there is no charge for fire hydrant rental
by the utility. A relief worker is paid by the hour to relieve the operating engineer on weekends.
Volunteer firefighters are paid $5.00-$7.00 per call. The department has a ladder truck.
Fiscal Affairs
The North Claiborne County Volunteer Fire Department maintains its own finances and record
keeping system. Current finance statements are not available.
Insurance Rating
The department has a class nine (9) ISO (Insurance Service Organization) rating. The ISO rating
is used by private insurance companies in calculating insurance rates for residential and
commercial buildings within the City of Harrogate. Generally, the lower the ISO rating, the
lower the insurance cost will be. Many insurance companies will not insure commercial
buildings within the City of Harrogate. There was no ISO evaluation letter on file for the City of
Harrogate or the fire department. This study includes a AHomeowners Insurance Savings Study.@
4
Conditions of Existing Fire Service
The City of Harrogate is paying approximately $20,000 annually to the North Claiborne County
Volunteer Fire Department to assist the department with operating costs associated with
providing fire service to the city. The department operates independently of the city. Facilities
are substandard and there are no plans for the timely replacement of worn out equipment. There
is no incentive program for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. There are no
community standards for fire service. The water distribution system is not adequate for
community fire service. The ISO rating is a class nine, which is costly to the homeowners and
businesses. The average response time is twelve (12) to twenty-five (25) minutes. The fire
department is seriously underfunded and IRS regulation 501 (C) restricts the city=s ability to
make financial contributions. The water distribution system within the city is in need of
upgrading for fire service; the fire station facilities are substandard; the fire equipment is almost
worn out; and there is a need for a recruitment and incentive program for volunteer firefighters.
5
Review of Alternatives for Fire Service
Alternative One. Continue to operate as is and find a way to make the $20,000 contribution.
Alternative Two. The city could contract with North Claiborne County Volunteer Fire
Department. This alternative would not allow the city to control the needed improvements that
provide substantial savings to the city. It would not, however, relieve the department from
complying with the Internal Revenue Service Regulation 501 (c)(3) which requires financial
reporting.
Alternative Three. Undertake the following fire service improvements:
$
By ordinance create a City of Harrogate Volunteer Fire Department. Retain all the
present volunteer firefighters. Request all the assets of the fire department be donated to
the City of Harrogate. Purchase the assets before letting the 501(c) (3) Corporation go
out of business. $1 may be a good purchase price considering the additional investment
that may be made by the City of Harrogate. Unless this is done, the charter may provide
that all assets go to another nonprofit organization if it is going out of business. TCA 4862-101 allows the sale of assets during the regular course of business. A copy of the
charter was not available for review.
$
Create a volunteer fire service recruitment and retention program. Pay all certified
volunteers $25.00 per fire and noncertified firefighters $15.00 per fire. Require that all
volunteers respond to a certain percent of fires, that each attend four hours of training per
month, and that one volunteer sleep at the fire station one night per month.
$
Employ a part time chief and a fire engineer to manage the fire department. They could
respond directly to a fire scene with equipment. The volunteer firefighter assigned to
sleep at the fire station could respond in the evenings. This would allow firefighters to
respond directly to the fire scene instead of to the fire station. The response time would
be greatly improved and the severity of fire losses would be minimized. When necessary,
a rescue would be more feasible.
$
Adopt standard operating procedures and The Standard Fire Prevention Code as the
community=s fire standard.
$
Request that the Shawnee Utility District permit the city to immediately install six (6)
inch fire hydrants along existing six (6)- inch, eight (8)- inch, and ten (10)- inch water
mains. Replace existing two (2)- inch and four (4)- inch water mains with six (6)- inch
water mains with hydrants. Public utilities in Tennessee are not required to provide water
for fire protection and they are not required to provide the same level of water service as
are Tennessee cities. They are not required to abide by city utility standards. That is the
reason that you must ask their permission to upgrade the facilities and contribute the
6
upgraded facilities to them. However, if these water mains are old, the utility should bear
some of the cost for replacement, since they may need to be replaced anyway. The city
may offer to pay fifty (50) percent of the cost of replacing older mains.
$
Develop written mutual aid agreements with nearby communities.
$
By ordinance require that all new buildings more than thirty-five (35) feet in height, or
more than eight thousand (8,000) square feet, be protected with an approved fire
sprinkler system. This will minimize the need for additional fire equipment in the future
and it will minimize the cost for fire service to the City.
$
By ordinance require that all new subdivisions be constructed with six (6)- inch fire
hydrants installed within five hundred (500) feet of all parcels.
$
Purchase two new fire pumper trucks.
$
Construct a new fire station with minimum living quarters, adequate equipment storage
facilities, and a training classroom. Develop a location plan that will be the most
beneficial to the city and community.
$
Adopt the attached finance plan for the improvement of the City of Harrogate fire service.
This alternative provides the best fire service for the community, improves the water system, and
saves the most money in the form of private insurance costs. Even without factoring in the
savings from commercial insurance costs, it saves the homeowners almost $500,000 per year in
insurance premiums.
7
City of Harrogate
Finance Plan and Fire Department Budget
Finance improvements to the water distribution system, fire facilities and equipment over a
period of fifteen (15) years. Apply for Community Development Block Grants for water
improvements and Fire Prevention Grants for improvements to the fire service. Obtain the loan
approval and begin the improvement. Apply any grants obtained to the cost reducing the amount
of funds actually needed. While grants do provide some savings, the longer the city waits to
make the improvements the more it will cost. Do not wait on the grants as a means to finance the
needed improvements to the fire service because the benefits are favorable even without the
benefit of grants.
I. Operating
Fire chief, assistant chief, or operating officer salary
Employee benefits
Uniform allowance
Gasoline, fuel
Insurance
Utilities
Radio maintenance
Supplies expense
Volunteer pay-certified @$35 per fire
Volunteer pay-non certified @$20 per fire
Volunteer pay social security and medical
Total Estimated Operating Expenses
$45,000
13,500
450
2,400
12,000
5,000
1,200
3,200
420
1,920
180
$85,270
II. New Fire Station with Living Facilities and Equipment Storage
Three bay with minimum of 800 SF living area
$185,270
III. Fire truck replacement
$250,000
8
IV. Water System Improvements
Install 42 fire hydrants along existing mains 4"main@1350
Install 42 -6"valves @350 ea.
Replace 41,699 LF of 4" main@4.15/LF
Replace 60,000 LF of 2" main@4.15/LF
Install 71 hydrants @1350 ea.
Install 71 -6" valves@350 ea.
Pavement repair
Engineering
Total Estimated Water System Improvements
Total Fire Insurance Plan and Budget
$56,700
14,700
172,640
251,490
95,850
24,850
20,000
63,623
$699,853
$1,220,123
Note: The four (4)-inch mains are proposed to be replaced with six (6)-inch mains.
9
City of Harrogate
Fire Service and Water System Improvement Finance Plan
Total Fire Insurance Budget
$1,220,123
New Fire Station $185,000@4.5% for 15 years-annual payments
New Fire Equipment $250,000@4.5 for 15 years-annual
Water System Improvements $699,853 for 15 years-annual
Fire Department other operating expenses
Total estimated annual budget
$ 16,484
22,276
62,360
85,270
$186,390
$186,390/1475 homes equals $126.37 per home.
$20,000/1475 homes equals $13.56 per home (present contribution)
Net additional cost per home $112.81.
Water system improvements per home $699,359.79/1475 equals $42.28 annually.
Consider the following sources of revenues:
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$
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1. Grants- the City has an excellent chance of obtaining a fire service grant because it
does not presently have a fire department.
2. Low interest loans to be repaid by:
Special property assessments for fire service.
A property tax to pay for water system and fire service improvements.
A local sales tax designated for fire service. The city could increase the
rate that is currently 2.25% to 2.75% or one-half cent.
3. Utility franchise fees.
4. Some combination of the above.
The author has reviewed the APreamble@ to the City=s Charter. The Preamble states that the
City may not use a property tax along with other things desirable to the community. The city
adopted the mayor-aldermanic charter in 1993 by referendum. The Preamble was not adopted by
referendum and is in some instances is inconsistent with the provisions of the charter. The
MTAS legal Consultants advise the author that the adoption of the charter nullified any preamble
to the charter. ( See attached legal consultants= opinion). The city=s charter does not prevent
the imposition of a property tax to pay for fire service and water system improvements.
Note: Water utility districts are not required to install mains to meet community fire needs and
therefore the city must bear the cost of bringing the water mains up to fire service standards.
10
City of Harrogate
Homeowners Insurance Savings Study
(what the fire department saves you)
Based upon a $100,000 home structure.
Annual Premium
Class 9
Class 5 (37% savings)
Savings per household
$806
$508
$298
There are approximately 1477 residential dwellings inside the city.
$298 X1477 = $440,146 annual savings to city dwellers.
Annual savings
Annual budget for operating and water system improvements
Dividends paid back to the city property owners
$440,146
$180,721
$259,425
The United States Chamber of Commerce says that for every dollar that stays within a
community it will turn more than six or seven times. Using a conservative turnover of four times
per year, the insurance savings will generate $39,613 in additional sales tax revenue to the city
and county.
By paying an average of $113 per household, each household will save an average of $298 per
year.
Note: While the author used a $100,000 average home price, even a $50,000 average home price
will generate an insurance premium savings.
11
Benefits of the Fire Service Improvement
$
The average response time can potentially be reduced from twelve (12) to twenty-five
(25) minutes to four (4) to five (5) minutes. When needed a fire rescue would be more
effective and property losses would be minimized.
$
Residential and commercial fire insurance costs will be reduced with a reduction in the
ISO rating. The private insurance savings from a present class nine residential structure
to an anticipated class five will result in a thirty-seven (37) percent savings. Present
uninsurable commercial properties would qualify for commercial fire insurance and those
who may have insurance can realize a twenty-five (25) percent reduction in rates. The
lack of an adequate water distribution system for fire service and a city fire service is an
obstacle to commercial growth and economic development of the city.
$
The community will have a more effective fire service and volunteer firefighters will be
easier to recruit, better trained, and more likely to remain volunteer firefighters for the
benefit of the community.
$
The water distribution system will be greatly improved for fire service. Water systems
that meet fire standards are most often capable of providing adequate water for economic
growth. There are many benefits to the city from expanding commercial and industrial
growth.
$
Approximately $440,000 in residential fire insurance premium savings will stay in the
community and benefit the city. Commercial savings would be approximately twentyfive (25) percent.
$
An improved fire service should provide better capabilities for mutual aid agreements.
12
Summary
Communities that have a class nine (9) fire insurance rating and a substandard water system for
fire service, such as the City of Harrogate, pay a high cost for insurance coverage. For every one
dollar spent for improving the fire service and the water system the residential homeowners
should receive a dividend of three dollars. This does not include any savings to commercial
structures. Commercial properties should receive an approximate twenty-five (25) percent
annual savings in insurance costs. By making improvements to the fire service and the water
system, the city should benefit from improved fire service, lower insurance premiums for
homeowners, and increase economic growth by making the city more attractive for residential
and commercial development.
By paying an average of $113 additionally per year for the improvements outlined in this study,
each homeowner will save an average of $298 annually in private insurance premiums. Once the
improvements are completed, the city can request an ISO rating inspection that will determine
the rates and any additional improvements that may be needed.
13