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6. Hinz letter re second fire station Scandia Fire & Rescue 15040 Scandia Trail North Scandia, MN 55073 To Scandia Planning Commission The fire department currently has one fire station that was built in 2000 through a citizen approved referendum. We are requesting to build a second fire station on Manning Trail south of Scandia Trail. Here are some of the reasons and benefits that we feel justifies the project. 1. For many years ISO (Insurance Services Office) rated an entire city with its fire departments rating. This process was changed about 5 years ago. The new process only allows homes within 5 road miles of the fire station to receive the fire departments rating, any homes beyond 5 road miles are automatically rated at a 10 (10 being the worst rating). This means that any home within 5 road miles of our station have a rating of 6 and home greater than 5 miles have a 10. Over the last few year insurance companies have been reviewing policy holder policies and adjusting their premium to reflect the new rating schedule. We have received multiple calls from Scandia residents that have seen large a increase in premiums or have been told that they would no longer be covered. This proposed fire station location would allow some of our more populated areas to receive the same rating as the downtown area receive. 2. We would also be able to achieve a better response time to locations on the west side of the city for both medical and fire related emergencies. 3. As many already know, almost all fire departments in the country are having issues finding individuals that want to dedicate the time to be part of the fire department and provide support to the community. We currently require all members to live or work within 8 minutes of the fire station to be a member. This time has been adjusted many time to find the appropriate response, the longer it takes to get a crew to respond to the emergency any shorter and the possible member count becomes unsustainable. This second station would open our recruiting to a whole new group of possible members and would give our current & new members located on the west side of the community a faster response. 4. Another possible benefit would be the ability to charge surrounding cities to have our fire department provide additional coverage to their city, as most surrounding communities have had the same issue we have with the change to the ISO rating system. I have also included a map to show our current station and the possible location of a second station. The circles are 3 miles, the rule is 5 road miles, so the circle is close, but some spots would cover farther and some would be less. With the map you can see that most of the city would be covered by adding a second station. This would improve the service provided by the city to almost all the residents of Scandia. Thank you Scandia Fire Chief Mike Hinz