Current ISO Rating: 4/4Y
What is an ISO rating?
ISO (or Insurance Services Office) gives fire departments a 1–10 rating regarding their ability to effectively respond to and prevent fires. A lower number rating means that a fire department is performing to higher standards. More specifically, an ISO Class 1 rating represents an exemplary fire suppression program.
It is reviewed through the Public Protection Classification® program. ISO’s purpose is to help communities evaluate their public fire-protection services in order to be held to high national standards.
Most insurance companies use this rating system to determine the fire insurance rates for both residential and commercial properties within a community. Communities with an ISO 1 ranking are afforded the lowest fire insurance rates.
How does ISO decide the rating?
To determine the ISO rating for fire departments, the organization conducts a field survey and scores fire departments across four key areas, including:
Emergency communications systems (e.g., dispatching for fires) 10% weight
The overall department (e.g., staffing, training, certification, equipment, and facilities) 50% weight
Water-supply system (e.g., inspection and testing of hydrants, availability of water needed to suppress fires) 40% weight
Extra credit, reviews community risk reduction (e.g., fire prevention codes and enforcement, education and outreach) extra 5.5% weight
Note: A 100-point scale is used.
More information about ISO and the classification process is available at www.isomitigation.com.