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ISO Rating
The Insurance Service Office is recommending Desoto Fire Rescue’s classification be changed to a Class 1, with an effective date of April 1, 2016.
The system ISO uses to determine the rating of a fire department is called the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule -- a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best score. This ISO rating schedule examines many factors relating to local fire departments, especially focusing on training and equipment, and also examines the locations of the fire stations in the community. Just about every aspect of a city and a fire department was evaluated in determining the ISO rating. They give points for everything from the training aids a fire department owns to the distance between fire hydrants. ISO wants fire departments to conduct 20 hours of training per man, each month, in order to maximize points for every training aid. Historically, very few cities ever received a "Class 1" rating. There have been times where only one city, out of the nation, would receive a "1". Presently there may be as many as 40+ cities with a "1" rating in the U.S. This is still a small percentage when one considers there are more than 44,000 fire-response jurisdictions in the United States.
The system ISO uses to determine the rating of a fire department is called the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule -- a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best score. This ISO rating schedule examines many factors relating to local fire departments, especially focusing on training and equipment, and also examines the locations of the fire stations in the community. Just about every aspect of a city and a fire department was evaluated in determining the ISO rating. They give points for everything from the training aids a fire department owns to the distance between fire hydrants. ISO wants fire departments to conduct 20 hours of training per man, each month, in order to maximize points for every training aid. Historically, very few cities ever received a "Class 1" rating. There have been times where only one city, out of the nation, would receive a "1". Presently there may be as many as 40+ cities with a "1" rating in the U.S. This is still a small percentage when one considers there are more than 44,000 fire-response jurisdictions in the United States.