Sonora, CA — Whether the recent decision to close the Mono Vista Fire station will have a negative impact on fire insurance was a focus of debate during the period set aside for board member reports at Tuesday’s Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting.
It is the portion of the session where the five board members can individually talk about items or issues they are working on.
District Three Supervisor Anaiah Kirk brought up fire insurance, and indicated that he wanted to address rumors and misstatements in the community about how the fire station closure could impact policies.
Kirk said, “There was word that everybody’s insurance was going to get canceled because of it. I reached out to some insurance brokers, and I just want folks to know, they advised that because it was not a 24/7 operation, that insurance would not take it (station closure) into account. It has to be a 24/7 operation.”
Kirk said if anyone hears anything different from their broker, to let him know, and he will look into and help address it.
Supervisor Ryan Campbell has publicly raised concerns that the station’s closure will likely impact fire insurance, and indicated he has heard some of Kirk’s criticism about it, so he decided to also further research the issue himself.
Campbell said, “I called the Deputy Director of the Department of Insurance for the state of California, and they confirmed that yes, indeed, losing a fire station would potentially increase people’s insurance premiums and risk of losing insurance. The fire station itself, while it was not operational 24 hours per day, the engine, and the staffing for that engine, was available 24 hours, and was responding to calls in those neighborhoods. So, losing the engine, and not necessarily the physical building, is what is causing the impact.”
Kirk concluded the conversation by stating, “Let’s work on this. I want to get your contact for the deputy director, we’ll get in contact with the local brokers, because local brokers are the ones who are actually writing the policies, I know they go to underwriting, but I would like to get a clear answer, so I’ll work with you (Campbell) on that.”
The Mono Vista Fire station is scheduled to end operations later this year. The vote was 3-2 in response to budget constraints and expiring federal grants.
Last weekend’s Mother Lode Views featured competing points about the closure of the fire station from Supervisors Mike Holland and Campbell, with Holland in favor and Campbell opposed. Click here to find the full show.
