Fire staff shortage may hit homeowners
The cost of home insurance could more than double for residents in areas north of Auke Bay if the fire department can't attract enough volunteers to staff the Lynn Canal station within the next year.
"We have no volunteers there," said Capital City Fire and Rescue Chief Eric Mohrmann, and that's been the case since he joined the department four years ago.
"It is distressing," he said. "Obviously we're not reaching folks out there (to volunteer)."
The department received an Insurance Services Office survey last week that could change the rating from a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, to a 10, or the worst rating.
That would increase insurance premiums by 55 to 60 percent, Mohrmann said.
Residents more than five miles north of the Auke Bay station would be affected, he said.
"I knew it was probably coming," said Cohen Drive resident Gary Miller, who has lived in the area for 30 years. "When the (Lynn Canal) station was built, our insurance rates dropped quite dramatically. I'm very concerned."
The rate for a homeowner with a $300,000 property paying $454 per year would increase to $1,013, according to Norton Gregory, sales manager and insurance agent at Shattuck and Grummett Insurance.
Since community surveys are done once every 10 years, the results could stick for a long time, Mohrmann said.
Insurance ratings are based on a list of services such as water and the dispatch center. Specifics about the fire department account for 50 percent of the rating, Mohrmann said.
The survey will be filled out for the Insurance Services Office, a private company that provides data such as risk-management information to insurance companies.
Gregory, whose company writes policies for a number of companies including Allstate and Safeco, said properties generally have to be within five or eight driving miles of a fire station to qualify for lower insurance rates.
Most areas in Juneau have an insurance rating of 4, but the northernmost neighborhood in North Douglas and properties on Thane Road are a 10, Gregory said.
State Farm is one company with offices in Juneau that does not use ratings to determine insurance premiums. But according to Abby Smith, a representative in the downtown office, homes have to be within 10 road miles of a servicing fire department to qualify.
Mohrmann estimated the ISO would not change the rating for about 12 months.
Gregory added that insurance rates would not increase until policies come up for renewal, which happens once a year, so the community has time to organize a volunteer membership.
The fire department would like about 18 volunteers to staff the station, but would be satisfied with eight, Mohrmann said. An engine is stored in the building, which also has apartments.
"Anything we can do to increase our volunteer numbers, especially in that area, would be welcome," Division Chief Martin Beckner said. "It's a nice station; it's there and ready and waiting for people to volunteer. ... A dark firehouse is not a good thing."
• Contact reporter Kim Marquis at 523-2279 or e-mail kim.marquis@juneauempire.com.