Fire 12 may lose insurance

Fire District 12 is set to lose its insurance Friday and can’t provide EMS services until new coverage is found, Commissioner Nick Jones told community members Monday at a meeting in the Matlock Grange.

Jones said Fire 12’s insurer, VFIS, canceled the policy due to “serious failure” to comply with financial reporting and accounting, among other things.

The insurer sent a certified letter to Fire 12 “but no one ever received it. It got returned back to VFIS,” Jones said.

Jones then read a portion of the letter.

“The reasons for this policy change is/are serious failure to provide adequate management oversight, education, written procedures, enforcement and remedial training in connection with operating and compliance with state and local laws and regulations, the application of sound accounting controls and financial reporting, cash and payroll accounting, discrepancies affecting the financial condition, reporting unresolved incidents requiring remedial action, and potential third party claims, including failure to properly investigate incidents, each giving rise to a possible change affecting insurability of the risk,” he read.

“As of May 17 at 12:01 a.m., we will not have insurance for our fire district, for EMS coverage and fire,” Jones said.

Once that happens, the district will be considered “inoperable,” at least to EMS coverage, Jones said.

Fire Districts 16 and 13 will step in and provide services for the community, according to Jones.

Fire 12’s insurance broker, Nicholson & Associates, “reached out to everyone they know” to find other coverage but received denials, Jones said.

“Not even an increase in pay for high risk, just straight out denials,” he said.

Jones said the broker told him underwriters would consider insuring the district if “all commissioners, admins and fire chief would have to step down from their positions who were in office prior to 2024. They would not be able to volunteer or be on the district property.”

This excludes Jones, who started his term as commissioner in 2024.

Fire District 12 commissioners had a special meeting Wednesday, after the Journal’s press time, to discuss insurance.