Bamberg County Fire Service brought out two new fire engines for Bamberg County Dec. 29 for public viewing. The new fire trucks are E-Ones bought from Fire line for $184,577.00. Each are 2008 International 4400 330 hp chassis with a 1280 tank and 1250 GPM (gallons per minute) top mounted pumps.

“The trucks are a pumper/tanker combo so they can function as two trucks in one,” said Brenna Hancock, Fire Coordinator for the Bamberg County Fire Service. “They can function as tankers in water shuttles as well as fight fire.

“This purchase will not only assist us in saving lives and property,” she said, but will greatly assist with lowering our ISO rating in that area that will help reduce the cost of homeowners insurance. These two trucks are replacing two 1979 pumpers that do not meet NFPA standards. The trucks are assigned to the Hunters Chapel Fire Department and the Little Swamp Fire Department.”

NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) is a group that develops, publishes, and disseminates consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks. Virtually every building, process, service, design, and installation in society today is affected by NFPA documents.

The I.S.O. rating of a community has a direct effect on the insurance premiums that individuals pay on their homes and especially on commercial buildings. The lower the I.S.O. rating on a scale of 1 to 10, the better the insurance rates are.

The Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) is the manual ISO uses in reviewing the fire-fighting capabilities of individual communities. The schedule measures the major elements of a community's fire-suppression system and develops a numerical grading called a Public Protection Classification (PPCTM).

Fifty percent of the overall grading is based on the number of engine companies and the amount of water a community needs to fight a fire. ISO reviews the distribution of fire companies throughout the area and checks that the fire department tests its pumps regularly and inventories each engine company's nozzles, hoses, breathing apparatus, and other equipment.

The Bamberg County Fire Service consists of nine fire departments that include the Bamberg City Fire Department, Colston Fire Department, Denmark Fire Department, Clear Pond Fire Department, Govan Fire Department, Hunter’s Chapel Fire Department, Little Swamp Fire Department, Olar Fire Department, and Ehrhardt Fire Department.