Alton FD improves ISO rating

ALTON — Even with a smaller number of firefighters on duty, the efforts led by the city’s fire chief are resulting in an improved insurance rating for Alton this fall, which could lead to lower property insurance premiums for residents and businesses.

"The city of Alton's Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating has been upgraded to a Class 3, effective October 1st," said Fire Chief Bernie Sebold, who previously had a Class 4 rating. "The ISO rating plays a key role in helping insurance companies determine the cost of property insurance for both homes and businesses. To assess the PPC rating, ISO looks at several factors, including the fire department's dispatching capabilities, water supply system, and overall operations."

Sebold encouraged residents and business owners to reach out to their insurance agents about the upcoming change, explaining that it could result in reduced costs.

"I recommend that Alton residents and local business owners contact their insurance providers and let them know about the new ISO rating that will take effect on October 1st," he said. "When we moved from a Class 3 to a Class 4 rating, some people reported an increase in their annual insurance costs by around $85 to $100, depending on the carrier."

ISO ratings range from 1 to 10, with Class 1 being the best. In Illinois, only 144 out of 2,408 fire departments have a Class 3 rating. There are just seven departments with a Class 1 rating and 56 with a Class 2 rating.

Nationally, out of 47,242 fire departments, only 1,998 are rated Class 3, while 61 are Class 1 and 592 are Class 2.

Chief Sebold explained that two major changes were made to improve the department’s performance. First, there was an emphasis on more officer training and multi-company drills. Second, East Alton firefighters now respond to all working structure fires in Alton, and vice versa.

Although Alton firefighters have always conducted monthly drills, Sebold said they adjusted the focus of these exercises to better meet ISO requirements as part of their improvement plan.

"We increased the frequency of our drills and expanded the areas we're practicing in," he added.

Manpower was another issue identified by ISO. With only 48 firefighters currently on staff, Sebold partnered with the East Alton Fire Department to ensure that each department responds to structure fires in the other city, thereby increasing the number of available responders during emergencies.

Sebold also noted that ISO typically evaluates cities every 10 years, but Alton hadn't been assessed in over a decade before the last evaluation in 2008. That review led to the downgrade from a Class 3 to a Class 4 rating.

"In the summer of 2008, ISO conducted its first evaluation of Alton since 1996," he said. "They cited issues with staffing and training as reasons for the downgrade. When I became fire chief in April 2012, one of my main goals was to improve the department’s ISO rating. After contacting ISO, we were asked to provide one full year of updated data, and they agreed to re-evaluate us in May 2013."

Thanks Chris

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