Community Government Police & Fire

Reassessment improves Fox Island fire rating

Fire Station 53 has been remodeled and staffed, so not only will some Fox Island residents get quicker emergency responses but they could also see a decrease in their homeowner’s insurance costs.

Contractors recently completed a decontamination room and a fifth bedroom to accommodate a three-person fire engine crew and two on the medic unit. As a result of the improvements, the station will now be assigned more personnel, Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One announced Tuesday, March 4.

Fox Island Station 53 after completion of renovations. Photo by Ed Friedrich

The Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau (WSRB), which appraises fire protection for insurance companies, downgraded the south part of the island last year from 4 or 5 to 9, or nearly nonexistent. Insurance costs rose accordingly. Homes on the north end weren’t affected because they are within five miles of Artondale Station 59.

Rates revert back to what they were

With staffing now bolstered, Fire Chief Dennis Doan asked WSRB for a re-rating. It reverted the protection level back to a 4 or 5, effective March 1.

“We’re excited. That’s been our goal for a long time to do that, and to finally get it over the finish line,” Doan said Tuesday.

The department has hired more firefighters the past couple years. In addition, as part of an $80 million capital improvement program, personnel will be shifted to Fox Island while their stations are under construction.

“Gig Harbor Fire Station 53 (Fox Island) is typically staffed when full crew levels allow,” Doan responded to a request for clarification on staffing. “However, staffing at all fire stations is dynamic, and fluctuations due to training, sick leave, vacation or other needs may impact Station 53’s staffing.”

Fire Chief Dennis Doan Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One

Hiring, shifting should make firefighters available

The department runs four shifts, each with 27 to 28 assigned firefighters. The union contract requires a minimum of 22 to be on duty, so generally there are five or six additional people available. They are assigned to Fox Island, but can also fill in for absences at other stations. If 24 to 28 firefighters report for duty, Fox Island is staffed, Doan said.

In 2023 (the station was under construction in 2024), Fox Island was staffed 204 days because additional personnel were available, up from 15 days the previous year.

“In 2025, we expect that number to increase significantly due to staffing improvements,” Doan said.

First to be addressed by the capital improvement plan were Fox Island and Crescent Valley Station 57 renovations. Next, Kimball Drive Station 51 will be torn down and replaced, followed by upgrades to Artondale Station 59 and Swede Hill Station 58. Later this year, when Station 51 undergoes construction, its crew will temporarily move to Fox Island, along with Engine 51, to ensure daily staffing. Medic 51 will be transferred to Point Fosdick Station 52.

The project will take more than a year. Doan expected bids to go out on the Station 51 project in January, but it’s still working its way through the city’s approval process, he said. Shifting will be repeated with Station 58 and 59. The additional staffing normally assigned to Fox Island will man Crescent Valley Station 57 during the construction period.

All of the construction will take seven years, by which time Doan hopes to have the funds to staff Fox Island full time.

Fox Island been top priority

“Every year, hiring firefighters is always our No. 1 priority, to try to increase our staffing, and Fox Island has been our No. 1 priority,” Doan said. “I’ve been spending 80% of my time every day on this for years. We’ve got firefighters there today, so we’re excited about it.”

Doan advised residents with questions about how the revaluation might affect their homeowners insurance premiums to contact their provider directly. Gig Harbor Fire does not write letters regarding the re-rating.

Station 53 in June when crews were adding a decontamination area and fifth bedroom. Photo by Ed Friedrich

The WSRB rating downgrade occurred because it defines volunteer firefighters as being available all the time. When it determined its previous 5-year appraisal in 2018, it said Fox Island had at least four volunteers. Gig Harbor Fire finished dissolving the volunteer program in 2023, before the most recent rating.

Though the department replaced the volunteers with full-time responders 204 days in 2023, Fox Island was no longer seen as a full-time active station. Thus the downgrade.

“The only recognizable stations are ones that can provide response year-round,” WSRB spokesman Robert Ferrell said in June.

WSRB President and CEO Karl Newman said it updated the Fox Island station’s rating when it was reoccupied after the remodel.

“That was a good news thing for all the citizens on the southeast side of the island,” he said Friday. “They all want to see a large positive swing toward a better protection class. … We wanted to make sure as we always do for any of the fire districts out there that when they make a positive change we’ll come out and reevaluate it as soon as they ask for it.”

Help from residents

Island residents Craig McLaughlin and Jim Braden called on Doan to explain the low rating. The chief said he was frustrated that WSRB didn’t explain why the department received low scores in certain categories or how to improve them, McLaughlin said. McLaughlin, a retired attorney, set out to investigate.

McLaughlin contacted WSRB and the third parties it draws on to help determine Fox Island ratings — Pierce County Fire Marshal, Fox Island Mutual Water Association and South Sound 911. Risk factors include hydrant types and placement, extent of county fire investigations, and fire station locations, equipment, training and staffing.

He found some of the WSRB’s data to be inconsistent with the third parties’ information and drove down the rating, he said.

“Most of them were frustrated because they didn’t think their information was being properly digested by the WSRB,” McLaughlin said. “It became readily apparent they were either guessing on some of this stuff or using old information.”

McLaughlin asked WSRB to update its data and passed his findings on to Doan to package with the new staffing plan for the rerating request.

WSRB’s Newman said that because Fox Island was rated relatively recently, the upgrade only took into account the new staffing.

McLaughlin said his insurance had increased by $600, but now he’s been told he’ll receive a rebate.

“So it’s not insignificant, what people will save,” he said. “We did get a good result even though a lot of people told us we were wasting our time.”

McLaughlin has contacted the state insurance commissioner for help getting the WSRB to provide fire departments with details on why they received low scores and recommendations to improve them, and to give third parties an opportunity to update information.

“If they do those two things, the system will be vastly improved,” he said.

Fire department is only part of the ratings

Though Fox Islanders might see a dip in their homeowners insurance costs, prices everywhere are expected to keep increasing, for several reasons. In Washington, the cost of insurance for single-family homes jumped an average of more than 16% in 2023 and nearly 12% in 2024, said Aaron VanTuyl, spokesman for the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner, which approves rate increases.

Inflation is a main factor. It is more expensive to replace or repair homes today because of higher prices for materials and labor. Companies are paying out more in damages caused by Washington extreme-weather events like storms and wildfires. Another big driver is insurance companies catching up after years of rate increases that didn’t keep up with claims, VanTuyl said.

The fire department comprises just 40% of WSRB’s protection class rating, Newman said. And the rating is just one of several variables insurance companies look at when determining premiums.

“So we’re not grading the fire department, we’re grading the community’s firefighting capability as well,” he said.