About Our Organization

Organizational Flow Chart
The Storey County Fire Protection District's administrative organization was created to maximize the effectiveness of the emergency response capabilities throughout the county, with the goal of serving and protecting our residents and visitors. Therefore, your emergency services team ultimately reports to the residents of Storey County and seeks to protect their livelihood, families, pets, properties, homes, and businesses.

View the Organizational Flow Chart (PDF).

ISO Survey Results Improve Fire Insurance Rating
The ISO re-survey project has been a long and difficult process, taking more than three years to prepare for, with hundreds--if not thousands--of hours of time committed to researching, preparing, and completing internal audits. However, we are finally proud to announce the results of the Insurance Service Organization's most recent fire protection district evaluation and rating schedule.

The Insurance Service Organization is an independent company that evaluates a community (or in our case the entire county) fire department to establish a nationally recognized insurance rating. These ratings range from a Class 1 to a Class 10, with Class 1 being the best and Class 10 being the worst.

Insurance companies use this rating, in large part, to establish your residential and commercial fire insurance premiums.

The New Rating
Our new rating was effective July 1, 2007. Virginia City and Gold Hill have enjoyed being rated at a Class 3 since the last survey conducted in 1997. During the 1997 rating, we improved from a Class 6 down to a Class 3. The remainder of the county has been rated at a Class 8 since 1995, when these areas were controlled by the Nevada Division of Forestry.

In 2000 and 2001, the Storey County Fire Department took responsibility for all structural fire services from the Nevada Division of Forestry. Since then, we have been working extremely hard on our number one priority of lowering costs to our customers through a direct reduction of their homeowners fire insurance premiums.

At this time, we are ecstatic to announce that Virginia City and Gold Hill will remain a Class 3 and will retain that rating for another 15 years (until the next survey).

The bigger news, however, is that the entire county (within 5 road miles of a fire station) is now rated at a Class 3. This also includes the Painted Rock area, even though they are outside of 5 road miles from a Storey County Fire Station. This is because we have automatic aid with the city of Reno and Wadsworth Volunteer Fire Department, which is recognized as being within the 5 road mile distance.

Other Department Ratings
Listed below is a general overview to serve as a comparison with other city and county departments:

• Carson City Fire Department is a Class 3
• East Fork Fire and Paramedic District is a Class 3
• Sparks Fire Department is a Class 3
• Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District is a Class 4
• North Lyon County (Fernley) is a Class 4
• Reno Fire Department/Washoe County is a Class 4 with hydrants and 8 without hydrants

So as you can see, we are in great company with a rating of Class 3.

What This Rating Means
So what does this mean to you our customers? In a survey taken by Churchill/Fallon Fire Department, as copied from their website, their findings are significant. These break out as follows:

• Based on a $100,000 dollar home, rated at a Class 8, the annual premium through All State is $354; the same home at a Class 3 would be reduced to $293, for an annual savings of $61. Amortized over 15 years, the savings will be $915 to each homeowner.
• The next survey was taken from Independent Insurance: at a Class 8, the annual premium would be $520. That same home at a Class 3 will be reduced to $401, for an annual savings of $119. Amortized over 15 years, the savings will be $1,785 to each homeowner.
• The next survey was taken from Metropolitan Insurance: at a Class 8, the annual premium would be $766. That same home at a Class 3 will be reduced to $370, for an annual savings of $396. Amortized over 15 years, the savings will be $5,940 to each homeowner.
• Assuming an approximate number of 1,500 homes that this rating directly affects, the lowest savings amount will be approximately $61 per year for each home. This number, times the total homes affected, is $91,500 per year. Over 15 years, this equals a savings of $1,372,500 throughout the county.
• Using this same model from the highest quote and savings of $396 per year per home, the total annual savings for the county is $594,000 per year. Over the duration of the 15 year rating, this rating could save up to $8,910,000 to our customers!
• The important section of this comparison is that it is based upon a $100,000 home. So the savings will be higher if your home is valued at more than the $100,000 used in this scenario