Whitman County Fire District 12 has been bumped from a Class 8 to Class 7 ranking after a recent review from the Washington Survey and Rating Bureau. The higher ranking should lower insurance costs for anyone living within 5 miles of the district's fire stations, Whitman County Fire District 12 Chief Lester Erwin told the Daily News on Tuesday. The last time the department was ranked, which Erwin said was approximately five years ago, it lacked enough water and certain equipment to be a Class 7 department.