The DeKalb Fire Department were recently given a Class 2 rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), a body who evaluate public fire protection services, which means that it’s one of the best fire departments in the country.
ISO operate in a way which uses a 105.5-point system in order to evaluate a community’s emergency communication systems, water system and fire department as a whole, with ratings varying from one to 10 – one being the best of the best.
In a news release, DeKalb Fire Chief Eric Hicks said that the lowered rating was the reward of years of hard work and effort, and that they will work especially hard to maintain that status.
“Our investment in fire mitigation, which is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses, helped improve our rating,” Hick said. “Cooperation and commitment of all city departments were essential to this achievement and we will all work hard to maintain the Class 2 rating in the future.”
One of the main reasons why DeKalb weren’t given a Class 1 rating is due to ISO determining that the department as a whole was lacking in inspection, while the condition of the city’s fire hydrants left a lot to be desired.
However, as a result of this, Hicks said that they will be restarting a hydrant inspection and maintenance program with the ambition of claiming a Class 1 rating by 2022.
“I really think ISO [Class] 1 is attainable at a very low cost to the city,” stated Hick . “It’s just going to take some effort and time to get it down.”
