By Bonnie Culverhouse |
Minden Fire Department and Chief Brian Williams are awaiting the final verdict on their newest fire rating from Property Insurance Association of Louisiana (PIAL).
Currently at a rating of Class 3, Williams said he believes the changes and upgrades they have made could see a 2 rating, thus saving homeowners on insurance costs.
“We should have the results back some time in November,” Williams said. “We will find out how close we are to a Class 2 and what we might have need to reach a 1.”
The previous rating was five years ago, when Minden dropped from a Class 2 rating to a 3, Williams said.
“Chief (Kip) Mourad had started working on a few changes that needed to happen,” he said. “We looked over where the city was deficient in the last rating, and we approved those different aspects.”
Williams said, thanks to the Public Works Department, the City of Minden received “an almost perfect score in the water system,” allowing them to gain points in that category.
“We gained some points in pre-planning information and by sharing a reserve truck with Fire District 7 (Dixie Inn),” he said. PIAL reportedly prefers departments have three trucks in service and one in reserve.
“All of the changes made by Chief Mourad and myself were at little or no cost to the city,” he added.
Fresh out of the decal shop is a new pick-up truck (shown) that was approved in last year’s city budget. They expect a new fire engine delivered in 2027.
Williams said from November 2025 until October 2026, his firefighters answered calls for 28 structure fires and 53 grass fires. Other calls include automobile fires, miscellaneous fires, rescue, hazardous materials, incidents/gas leaks, water rescue public service, fire alarms and false alarms, bringing the total number of calls to 463.
In addition, they also offer mutual aid to surrounding fire districts including Dixie Inn, Doyline, Dubberly, Fire District 10, Heflin, Sibley and other agencies, such as the Coroner’s Office.
Minden Fire Department currently has 16 paid firefighters, including one hired Monday night at the Minden City Council meeting (Mason Lewis, pictured with Williams). Their total training hours for the past year was 4,832.
There are 12 volunteers, and their combined training hours added up to 454.
More than 2,400 children from Pre-K to eighth grade were in contact with Minden firefighters and learned what they do to save lives and homes.
Over the past year, MFD has distributed 130 smoke detectors and currently has a waiting list.
“We are waiting for the Fire Marshal’s office to send more,” he said.
Although some parishes have lifted their burn bans, Webster remains under one.
“The majority of the chiefs wanted to continue it. So the current ban is still in effect,” Williams said.
Plans are still under way to build a new fire station on the west side of town. Please watch for that story in Webster Parish Journal.
