Saline County Fire District #7 has improved their Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating from a 9/10 to a 5/5Y. The ISO grades fire departments across the United State on “departments’ personnel, training, trucks, equipment, incident reporting and the general operation of a fire department.” The improved rating could mean lower insurance rates for some Saline County residents.
According to Saline County Emergency Management, the ISO rating is used by some insurance providers to help establish insurance rates for fire protection. “A lower score can mean reduced rates with some insurance companies for home and business owners.”
SCEM issued a press release early this week, detailing the area where coverage could be affected. Those within five road miles of the fire station or within proximity of a fire hydrant could benefit from the lower rating.
Shane Komarek, Saline County Fire District #7 Chief, says the station improved their rating by purchasing two new trucks and selling an older one.
“Getting those trucks boosted our water supply in the station,” Komarek said. “We are now able to hold 4,000 gallons of water in three different trucks.”
Komarek said he plans to further improve the station’s ISO rating by running water shuttle scenarios. The faster the department is able to shuttle water, the lower their ISO rating will fall.
— Press release Saline County Emergency Management —
Saline County Fire District #7 is proud to announce they have received a new Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating which means some, may see decreased insurance rates. The 5/5Y rating marks an improvement from the fire department’s previous score of 9/10.
ISO evaluates and grades fire departments across the United States. ISO looks at departments’ personnel, training, trucks, equipment, incident reporting and the general operation of a fire department. They also look at the local water department and its ability to provide adequate water flow for firefighting and finally they look dispatch services (911) available to the fire department.
The ISO rating has traditionally been used by many insurance providers to establish rates for fire protection coverage. A lower score can mean reduced rates with some insurance companies for home and business owners.
Residents and businesses in the Northcentral section of Saline County covered by District #7 may benefit from this change in ratings and could mean a savings for many property owners within 5 miles of their station. Not all insurance companies use ISO ratings to determine insurance premiums. For those that do, there will likely be minimal savings for homeowner insurance premiums, however, business and industrial rates may be impacted more significantly. Individuals are encouraged to call their insurance companies to determine what, if any, affect this classification upgrade will have on their premium rates.
For a volunteer department, this is a very good rating and reflects the hard work and dedication that the volunteers of Fire District #7 have committed to provide effective fire protection to their response area. These volunteers dedicate many hours to training, maintaining equipment, and fighting fires all throughout the year.
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