The Lake Charles Fire Department has earned a Class 1 designation for its residential and commercial properties fire protection capabilities for the first time in the city’s history. The designation was passed along by the Public Insurance Association of Louisiana. Evaluations are done every five years determining a city’s fire protection capabilities.
One of only 10 municipal fire departments in the state to earn such a rating, Lake Charles Fire Chief Delton Carter said it has been years in the making. “We knew from the last rating in 2019, we knew we had a lot of work to do,” Carter said. “I came in, in 2022 we looked at things that we needed to look at and do it so we went to city administration and they helped us out a lot.”
The department responds to calls within three minutes from dispatch to arrival on scene. “From the time someone calls 911 and talks to dispatch and our dispatchers get the call. That’s when the clock starts,” Carter said. “From the time they receive a call and dispatch a truck to the time that truck leaves the station to it arriving on scene of any incident, is three minutes.”
