Trying to keep pace with the fast-growing residential areas near Jody Richards Elementary School, the Woodburn Volunteer Fire Department is itself growing.

Plans to build a Woodburn fire station adjacent to the school moved forward Friday with the Warren County Fiscal Court approval of a contract to survey land at the Jody Richards campus.

Arnold Consulting Engineering Services was approved for a $3,500 contract to survey land that will eventually be deeded to the fire department in what Warren County Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Chris McIntyre calls an “in-kind” exchange.

Woodburn Fire Chief Bob Skipper explained the fire department will construct a storm shelter and a two-bay fire station on a tract of about one acre.

“We thought this was a win-win for both the fire department and the school system,” said Skipper. “We’re applying for a grant to build the storm shelter that can be used by the school, and this will give us a station in a rapidly growing area that we need to cover more closely.”

McIntyre sees advantages for the school, saying, “It’s always good to have emergency management close at hand. It should have a positive impact on the school as far as insurance costs as well.”

The fire station will be located near Ivan Downs subdivision, which should improve that neighborhood’s rating from the Insurance Service Office. The ISO assigns ratings to neighborhoods based on access to fire stations and the quality of those stations. Those ratings, which range from 10 to 1 with lower numbers being best, are used by insurance companies to calculate rates.

Skipper said the new station, the third for the Woodburn fire department, should improve his department’s ISO number.

“It should drop our rating from a six to a five,” he said. “We were close last time. Our ultimate goal is to get to a rating of four. That would mean a significant improvement in insurance rates for that area.”

Skipper said some residential areas near the elementary school are more than five miles from the two existing Woodburn fire stations, a factor that can have a big impact on the ISO rating.

The fire chief hopes the new station will lead to more local residents wanting to join the fire department. Equipment for the station, he says, is “not too much of an issue.”

“We’ll be looking for additional personnel,” he said. “I hope with the new station we’ll get people interested.”

Skipper isn’t sure when construction of the storm shelter and fire station will begin. The next step after the surveying, he said, is to have the property rezoned to accommodate a fire station.