Highlights from Insurance Services Office report
• Longmont received a grade of 88.23 points out of 105.50 — a Class 2
• The fire department is now in the top 2.4 percent out of more than 48,000 evaluated agencies
• The city feeds water to 3,460 fire hydrants
• The last ISO review ranked Longmont Class 4, the fourth most-common classification after Class 9
The Longmont Fire Department has climbed two rungs on the Insurance Services Office’s ladder ranking municipalities’ ability to fight fires and save lives.
The improvement from Public Protection Classification 4 to Class 2 places the city in the top 2.4 percent nationwide for fire suppression, meaning homeowners could save on insurance premiums effective May 1.
“We are thrilled that what we have known for some time — that we have a top-notch Fire Department — can now be realized by our community members in the form of a rating comparative to other fire departments around the county,” Deputy Chief Jerrod Vanlandingham said.
“This is huge for us and a great source of pride that our efforts of building and maintaining a great firefighting and emergency services force is paying off.”
Vanlandingham said after more than a decade at Class 4, Longmont was contacted by independent New Jersey-based company ISO for a new assessment in fall 2016, with results released in a 28-page report in late January.
The rating — on a scale of Class 1 being the most equipped and Class 10 missing minimum criteria — is analyzed by ISO and considered by insurance companies evaluating fire risk for pricing purposes.
The review covers the city’s emergency communications, fire apparatus, company personnel, training, deployment response time and fire marshal investigation, as well as the water supply.
“A community’s investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses,” the ISO report provided to Longmont said.
According to the findings, out of 48,632 fire departments nationwide, only 1,164 obtained a Class 1 or Class 2 rating in 2016. The majority of the 10,377 fire departments receive a Class 9 rating.
Saving on insurance
Insurance companies won’t know what households could save until they receive official word from ISO by this spring, Vanlandingham said, but Longmont homeowners are encouraged to call their providers after May 1.
The fire department announced that according to ISO, homeowners could save an average of $200 a year on insurance premiums due to the new rating.
“If there’s 30,000 to 40,000 rooftops in Longmont and all of them experience a $200 drop, that’s a pretty Hepsibahis huge number,” Vanlandingham said.
However, Carole Walker, executive director at Rocky Mountain Insurance Information in Denver, said the city will be positively impacted by the higher rating, though it’s difficult to estimate the reduction rate on insurance.
“We generally don’t put any number to the exact because it could vary from insurance company to insurance company, homeowner to homeowner,” Walker said.
She said Colorado is one of the top states for fire risk, but hail damage is surging as the most expensive catastrophe.
State Farm Insurance does not rely on ISO rates in Colorado, according to Denver-based spokeswoman Angela Thorpe. She said the company covers one in five homes in the state as the largest provider of homeowners insurance.
“Our homeowners’ rates are based on the actual claims experience in an area — from weather, hail, wind, water, fire, accidents, liability, theft and so on,” she said.
She said the company supports fire department services, including efforts to improve access to fire protection services and improve ISO ratings.
Longmont fire also announced that commercial buildings in the city could see a decrease in rates, but an average savings per business are difficult to determine.
Vanlandingham said because the city provides its own utilities, rates are typically lower for customers and businesses, but the ISO rating could be another draw for businesses.
In response to calls from people requesting a letter or document from ISO to show insurance companies, Longmont Public Safety Chief Assistant Robin Ericson said they are working on something and will share a link when it’s available.
Grade considerations
Deputy Chief Vanlandingham said the main contributing factor to the higher classification was the renovation of Fire Station No. 1 in the city’s center at 1070 Terry St. starting in 2007. He said it increased staff and was followed by an increase in training hours.
“Our staff, if they’re not out there doing the job, they’re most likely training to do the job,” Vanlandingham said, relating the training regime to the military.
According to the report, ISO uses a Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) to give communities points for emergency communications (10 percent), fire department procedures (50 percent) and the city’s water supply (40 percent).
Longmont scored 88.23 points out of 105.5 points, with deductions based on formulas evaluating training, ladder service, dispatch circuits, deployment analysis and water flow testing.
Vanlandingham said they lost points because of lean staffing across fire stations and in the fire marshal’s office, which is typically higher in similar-sized jurisdictions. He said there are 85 men and women who make up the Fire Services Division.
He said they also plan to continually improve institutionalized training by documenting individual engine company training with a reliable database, which they have not had in the past, but hope to have in about a year if the budget allows.
“One of the great things about having gone through this evaluation is now we can better identify areas where we can improve,” Vanlandingham said. “Our community can rest well knowing that we will continue to find ways to improve moving forward.”
Senior Civil Engineer Jon Robb said he helped Engineering Technicians Supervisor Alex Mestas collect records and detail the distribution system description, including the total number of fire hydrants.
At least once before, he said, the city received a Class 1 for its “strong” water system, which contributed to the fire department’s overall score.
Robb said records show ISO this year opened a fire hydrant to take pressure readings.
“They can go out and look at our entire system because we’ve got our reservoirs, water treatment and tanks, but in the end it comes down to opening a fire hydrant and seeing what comes out,” he said.
Amelia Arvesen: 303-684-5212, arvesena@times-call.com or twitter.com/ameliaarvesen
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