VGCC and Warrenton Fire Department partner to offer training


Chief Walter Gardner and Vernon Ward of the Office of the State Fire Marshal are seen here at the Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department during the VGCC fire rating schedule class.

Chief Walter Gardner and Vernon Ward of the Office of the State Fire Marshal are seen here at the Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department during the VGCC fire rating schedule class.

Vance-Granville Community College recently brought together fire department officials from throughout the region to receive training on the state’s new fire rating schedule and on what they can do to reduce local residents’ insurance costs. VGCC’s Fire/Rescue Programs partnered in this initiative with the Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department, which hosted the class on April 4-5.

Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department Chief Walter Gardner, who also serves as Mayor of Warrenton and works as an insurance agent, helped arrange the class. He explained that the N.C. Department of Insurance periodically inspects and rates each of the state’s fire districts, using a nationwide ISO “fire suppression rating schedule.” The schedule is a set of criteria that considers three main areas of a community’s fire suppression system: emergency communications, the local fire department, and the water supply. A new schedule went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014, meaning that local fire departments were in need of updated training. Gardner said that Warrenton would be reviewed by the state in August, and other nearby communities would likewise be inspected during 2014. That prompted him to work with VGCC to offer the class, and to invite other departments to attend.

Approximately 40 people participated in the class, representing 21 agencies, including the Afton-Elberon Volunteer Fire Department, Bay Leaf Volunteer Fire Department, Brassfield Volunteer Fire Department, Butner Public Safety, Carrboro Fire Department, Churchill Five Forks Volunteer Fire Department, Drewry Volunteer Fire Department, Hawtree Volunteer Fire Department, Henderson Fire Department, Littleton Volunteer Fire Department, Macon Rural Fire Department, Norlina Volunteer Fire Department, Providence Volunteer Fire Department, Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department, Roanoke Wildwood Volunteer Fire Department, Rocky Mount Fire Department, Stem Volunteer Fire Department, the Warren County Fire Marshal, Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department, Weldon Fire Department, and Youngsville Fire Department.

The participating fire chiefs, assistant chiefs and other firefighters learned how the schedule has changed from instructor Vernon Ward, a Fire Rating Inspector from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, a unit within the N.C. Department of Insurance. Gardner, who also serves on the North Carolina Fire & Rescue Commission, said he has known Ward for many years. Gardner said that Ward gave participants “useful information on how to prepare for the upcoming inspections in their communities — how to maintain the necessary paperwork, for example.” The chief noted that “the better the fire department does on this inspection, the lower the insurance ratings for all the property owners in that district.”

Gardner has also served several terms on the advisory committee for VGCC Fire/Rescue Programs, and calls himself “an advocate for utilizing Vance-Granville’s continuing education and training programs for fire/rescue and emergency medical services.”

VGCC provides training for both beginning and experienced firefighters in all areas of firefighting procedures and equipment, including training for firefighter certification at levels I and II. For more information, call Randy Owen at (252) 738-3448.