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Mayor Tom Hays and the Dewey City Council want to remind you that you need to contact your insurance company next month.

A notice should be sent in your next water bill. Thanks to the drop in the Dewey Fire Department's ISO rating that was announced in November 2019, you should see a decrease in the yearly rate you pay on your homeowners insurance. Fire Chief Chad Schueler said this is a big accomplishment for the fire department and the citizens of Dewey. He said he is appreciative of the guys that volunteer their time with Dewey Fire, because they are what makes their operation runt the way it should.

The insurance rating is based on other things as well. The insurance rating is based on water supply, response time to fire calls, and the equipment they have to put out fires.

Chief Schueler said the Dewey Fire Department saw the challenge that was before them, but it did not rattle them. He said they were at an ISO rating of five before they dropped down to a three. One is the best rating a department can receive.

But the greatest news, Chief Schueler said, is the decrease you should see is the drop in your homeowner’s insurance rate, but you have to call your insurance company when March rolls around so you can share the news with them.

Reflecting back to August 1st, 2018, Chief Schueler said there was a split in the staff and there was some doubt in the community that the current staff could improve the ISO rating. He said the guys that remained used that as fuel to make Dewey Fire one of the best fire departments in northeast Oklahoma.

Prepping the paperwork took about 120 hours. Chief Schueler said Assistant Fire Chief Cody Meade also assisted him in getting that straightened out. And apart from the paperwork, he said it was bigger than the administrative side of it.

The guys that fight the fires and endure the training were also praised. Chief Schueler thanked the volunteer firefighters that have sacrificed their time to get better and help Dewey Fire achieve the 3 classification. He said they knew that it would be difficult, but as a team, they knew they had a chance.

You can see the audit and the credits earned below: