The Midland Fire Department is now part of an elite group of departments across the nation to earn an Insurance Service Office rating of 1.
Officials from the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office and the state's Insurance Service Office will present the Class 1 ISO rating award to City of Midland officials at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21 at the Central Fire Station (1500 W. Wall St.).
The Insurance Service Office was adopted as the state’s agency to evaluate and assign fire protection ratings to fire departments in 1998. Insurance companies use the fire protection ratings to determine home owners and business insurance premiums. ISO evaluates fire department equipment, station locations, training, fire prevention efforts, and many other factors to assign a protection rating.
The rating, which is on a 1-to-10 scale, predicts a community’s overall fire risk by awarding lower classifications to community with lower insurance risk. The rating also allows a city to see how it is prepared for risk with infrastructure and organizational growth as compared to similar cities.
“It’s great to have an outside agency verify that we are among the top departments in the nation with our equipment, infrastructure and people,” said Fire Chief Robert Isbell. “This is truly a testament to the hard work of the members of the Midland Fire Department.”
The new ISO rating will have a small effect on homeowner’s insurance rates with a more significant impact on commercial rates for business and industry, which will be an economic benefit for the community. Residents saw a bigger effect on their homeowner’s insurance rates when the fire department obtained an ISO 2 rating more than one year ago.
###Media Contact: Fire Chief Robert Isbell