The Statesboro Fire Department provides fire and rescue services to a portion of unincorporated Bulloch County under an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). This IGA outlines and defines the “Statesboro Fire Tax District” (STFD) and its boundaries. The STFD is commonly referred to as the “Fire District” or “5-Mile Fire District” due to the district boundary lines being approximately 5 road miles from one of the Statesboro Fire Department Fire Stations.

The Statesboro Fire Department currently holds an ISO Class 2 rating (click here for additional ISO PPC information). The Class 2 rating puts the Statesboro Fire Department in the top 12% of rated fire departments in Georgia and the top 6% of rated fire departments nationally. Our commitment is to ensure that all residents and property owners within the SFTD receives the highest fire protection services possible.

The STFD was established as a way to allow as many residents in our community to benefit from a lower Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) Rating while also sharing the cost of maintaining the Fire and Rescue service across a broader tax base. The ISO PPC Rating is utilized by the insurance industry in determining insurance premiums for homeowners and considers standardized factors such as apparatus response, personnel response strength, hazard/incident mitigation strategies and tactics, as well as community risk reduction programs such as smoke detector installations and Fire Safety Education Programs. Simply put, if the Fire Department’s PPC classification is low, theoretically it decreases the cost of the homeowner’s insurance premium.

The Statesboro Fire Department, as stated above, is funded through the City of Statesboro budgeting process as well as an additional millage rate levied for those that live within the STFD. The citizens and community of both the City and STFD are provided equivalent Fire and Rescue services with the only exception being that of Fire Inspections and Fire Code Compliance. This duty is the responsibility of Bulloch County as per the latest IGA.

Although our commitment to serve this community dates back to 1905, the IGA was first introduced in the 1980s with a modern iteration of the agreement being in effect since 2005. This millage rate is agreed upon and voted into effect by the governing body of both the City of Statesboro as well as Bulloch County.