MITFORD - The Mitford Volunteer Fire Department has a reason to smile and are giving area residents a reason to smile with them.

Members of the Department recently got all dressed up to celebrate the awarding of their department with a new ISO rating of five (5).

The 5 rating is a decrease from their previous rating of eight (8) which was assigned in 1972.

The Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) has for many years done evaluations and ratings of the fire protection provided in communities on a scale of 1-10, based on ISO’s Fire Suppression Rating Schedule.

Many insurance companies use ISO’s evaluations as a factor in setting the premiums they charge for property insurance; the lower the community’s grade, the lower the premiums the insurance company would charge for property insurance in that community.

To decrease their rating at Mitford, Chief Dwayne Robinson, Sr., Assistant Chief David Galloway and all of the volunteers have worked diligently to ensure that they have their training hours in, and have completed and passed all of the required inspections along with in depth timed trials.

Special thanks from the Department go to Fairfield County Coroner, Barkley Ramsey and to Winnsboro Chief of Police Wayne Yates for all of their assistance in achieving the new rating.

“We want people in the community living within a 5 mile radius to contact their homeowners insurance carriers and let them know about the new rating,” said Robinson. “Hopefully they will be able to save money on their rates while we are continuing to work to save lives.”

Now the Department needs help from the community to extend the coverage area beyond the 5 mile radius.

“We have received generous grants form Fairfield Electric Co-op as well as the State Forestry Commission,” said Robinson, “but we always need help from the community.”

Robinson says that to cover the extended area, a substation and outfitting with more trucks may be needed.

At the recent Volunteer Appreciation Dinner sponsored by Fairfield County, the entire Department at Mitford was awarded Volunteer of the Year instead of a single person at that station in recognition of the work they have all put in to achieve the new lower ISO rating.