The Telegraph.com recently published an article highlighting the efforts of the Alton Fire Department in improving their ISO rating, which could lead to lower insurance premiums for residents and businesses.
Alton's fire chief, Bernie Sebold, announced that the city's Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) has been upgraded from a Class 4 to a Class 3, effective October 1st. This improvement is the result of significant changes made by the department to meet ISO standards.
"The ISO rating plays a key role in how insurance companies determine property insurance costs," Sebold explained. "It takes into account factors like dispatching efficiency, water supply systems, and overall fire department operations."
Sebold encouraged residents and business owners to reach out to their insurance providers to inform them of the change, as it may lead to reduced premiums. He also noted that when the rating dropped from Class 3 to 4, some residents saw their annual insurance costs increase by $85 to $100, depending on the insurer.
ISO ratings range from 1 to 10, with 1 being the best. In Illinois, only 144 out of 2,408 fire departments have a Class 3 rating, while just 7 have a Class 1. Nationally, only 1,998 out of 47,242 departments hold a Class 3 rating.
Chief Sebold pointed out two major changes that contributed to the rating improvement: increased officer training and multi-company drills, as well as the collaboration between Alton and East Alton fire departments. Now, East Alton responds to all structure fires in Alton, and vice versa, ensuring more personnel are on scene during emergencies.
Although Alton firefighters had been conducting regular drills for years, Sebold emphasized that the focus shifted to address ISO concerns. "We increased the number of drills and expanded the areas we practiced," he said.
Manpower was another issue identified by ISO. With the department down to 48 firefighters, the mutual aid agreement with East Alton helped bolster response capabilities.
Sebold mentioned that ISO typically evaluates cities every 10 years, but Alton hadn’t been reviewed in 12 years before the last evaluation in 2008, which led to the downgrade. After becoming fire chief in 2012, he made improving the ISO rating a top priority, leading to a re-evaluation in 2013.
"We provided one full year of updated data, and ISO agreed to reassess us in May 2013," he said. "This effort has clearly paid off with the recent upgrade."
Thanks Chris
Machine Pile Drivers,Hydraulic Static Type Pile Driver,Diesel Engines Pile Driver,Crawler Solar Pile Driver
KingKong, Intelligent Equipment (Xuzhou) Co., Ltd , https://www.impimaq.com